Bettina Cirone | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1933-08-19)August 19, 1933 (age 91) |
| Nationality | American |
| Known for | Model, photographer |
Bettina Cirone (born August 19, 1933)[1] is an American photographer, interviewer, and formerFord model who lives in theUpper West Side ofNew York,New York.[2][3] Cirone has taken photographs of celebrities; including actors, musicians, artists, politicians including President Donald Trump in the United States and internationally since about 1970. Her works have appeared in magazines, newspapers, books and at the Guggenheim Museum (1965). A retrospective of her work was held in Norwich, Connecticut in 1995 at the New England Museum for Contemporary Art.[4]
Bettina Cirone was a Ford model in the 1960s, during which she modeled for major fashion magazines.[2][3] She modeled for, and was a friend of,Salvador Dalí,[2][5] who gave her prints that he personally autographed, along with a copy of his book, Diary of a Genius, signed "Pour mon amie Bettina, Hommage Dalí, 1966," and includes a pen sketch of Don Quixote. The book was sold in the late 2000s. Another was a framed print of a blue lion that signed "Pour Bettina". It, along with another print that Dali gave her, was stolen in 2014.[2][6]
Cirone started working as aphotojournalist around 1970, when she was hired[citation needed] during New York City MayorJohn Lindsay's administration and assigned to the Lower Manhattan Development City Planning Commission to shoot landmarks in downtown Manhattan.[7][better source needed] In the early 70's she gravitated to capturing images of celebrities likeAlec Baldwin,Sigourney Weaver,Kim Basinger,Ben Vereen,Michael Douglas, andGregory Hines.[8] Her photographs have appeared in publications, likeDaily News,Newsday,People magazine,[2]New York Magazine,[9]Jet,[10]New York Newsday,[11]The New York Post,[12] andAmerican Photo.[13] She has also taken photographs of political figures. For two years she was the official photographer for New York City MayorJohn Lindsay. She has also photographedTed Kennedy,Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis,John F. Kennedy Jr. andCaroline Kennedy.[2] Cirone, who photographedCarolyn Bessette-Kennedy and John F. Kennedy, commented that Bissette "succeeded in souring some of his sweetness".[14] She was a contributor to theVernon Jordan portrait collection held at theNew York Public Library.[15]
Cirone works as much as 18 hours each day.[8] She has taken photographs backstage after performances, like the image of Douglas, Weaver, Hines and Vereen afterJelly's Last Jam. She has been described as apaparazza.[8] Cirone was hired to photographJoan Crawford in her apartment forArchitectural Digest.[16]
During an assignment forUSA Today, to photographPeter Boyle,Timothy Hutton andRobert Culp at a pre-production party forTurk 182, Cirone was interviewed about her career. She described her preference to photograph celebrities when they are "willing to be photographed", like at celebrity events. One roll of black and white film that she took ofDustin Hoffman trying on hats forDeath of a Salesman is one of the most well-published works.[17] In January 1986, her images were produced for aPlayboy pictorial essay entitled "Grapevine: Reviving a Dead Salesman".[18]
Many of her images have been personally autographed by the celebrities that she has photographed, like two signed photographs ofAndy Warhol that had been taken by Cirone atStudio 54 with author and playwrightTennessee Williams. Pictures ofGeorge Clooney,Mary Tyler Moore holding Cirone's cat, andMia Farrow are a few of the photographs in Cirone's home.[2] International artists that she's portrayed include Jordi Aluma andErté.[2]
Her works have appeared in books, such asUrban Design as Public Policy,[19]There's No Place Like Home: Confessions of an Interior Designer,[20]Human Biology,[21] andHollywood Royalty: Hepburn, Davis, Stewart, and Friends at the Dinner Party of the Century.[22] A retrospective of her work was exhibited in 1995 inNorwich, Connecticut at the New England Museum for Contemporary Art. It was curated by Baird Jones, who said that she has been "one of New York's most durable celeb photographers."[3]
Cirone donated photographs or other material to theSkyscraper Museum forWTC: MONUMENT, a memorial to theWorld Trade Center.[23] She was also one of the witnessing photographers that captured "the wrenching images, the fears and sorrows, the reconciliation, the extraordinary drive and devotion" following the 2001World Trade Center disaster for Aileen Ghee'sWitnessing documentary andHere is New York photograph exhibit. The proceeds benefited World Trade Center victims through theChildren's Aid Society.[24][25][26][27] In 2013, Cirone donated to theInternational Women's Media Foundation.[28]
Cirone is regularNew York Post contributor[citation needed] and has been a celebrity interviewer for World Liberty TV.[29] She and Debbie Tuma[verification needed] were interviewers atInnerview in the Hamptons during many benefits[citation needed] including the Watermill Center benefit in 1996 in Long Island, New York. People interviewed includedDemi Moore,Susan Sontag, andRobert Wilson.[30]
Cirone's photograph of Morgan Freeman posing with his granddaughter E'Dena Hines (stabbed to death by her boyfriend), was featured on the front page of the New York Post August 17, 2015.
In 2016 Cirone was mentioned in the book, Salvador Dalí and Andy Warhol Encounters in New York and Beyond.[31]
{{cite book}}:|work= ignored (help)In daily news photography, the winners were Betinna Cirone,Daily News,...
| External media | |
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| Images | |
 Bettina Cirone | |
| Andy Warhol, taken by Cirone | |
| Photographs taken by Bettina Cirone, Getty Images | |
| Video | |
 Bettina Cirone video testimony, Voices of 9/11 |
