French fashion photographer Patrick Demarchelier dies

Patrick Demarchelier, a French photographer who captured iconic photos of Princess Diana, Madonna, and other celebrities who was subsequently accused of sexual assault, died on Friday, according to his family. He was 78 years old at the time.

“With great sadness, we announce Patrick Demarchelier’s demise on March 31, 2022, at the age of 78,” said a message on his official Instagram account, which was accompanied by three photographs.

There was no mention of a cause of death or any other facts in the notification.

Princess Diana’s favourite photographer, Jean-Paul Demarchelier, captured some of the late royal’s most memorable images, including one of her grinning into the camera while embracing her knees and wearing a white strapless dress and a tiara, as well as another of her in a black turtleneck.

One of his most famous photographs was of Madonna wearing a twisted black hat and holding a cigarette in her lips.

Cindy Crawford, Kate Moss, Christy Turlington, Naomi Campbell, and Linda Evangelista were among the supermodels he photographed, as were Angelina Jolie, Robert DeNiro, Anthony Hopkins, and Oprah.

He was so well-known in the photographic business that his name was used multiple times in Meryl Streep’s film “The Devil Wears Prada,” a spoof of the fashion industry.

When The Boston Globe published an investigation in which seven women, including a former assistant, accused him of sexual misconduct, he became one of the most high-profile personalities in the fashion world to get embroiled in the #MeToo movement.

Demarchelier is survived by his wife, three sons, and three grandkids. He was born in the northern town of Havre.