Lynsey Addario
Lynsey Addario is a Pulitzer Prize–winning war photographer who documents conflict and human rights with unflinching courage and extraordinary compassion.
Conflict Photographer
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MacArthur Genius Grantee
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Pulitzer Prize Winner
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Conflict Photographer • MacArthur Genius Grantee • Pulitzer Prize Winner •
More about Lynsey
Lynsey Addario is an American photojournalist who has been covering conflict, humanitarian crises, climate change, and women’s issues around the Middle East and Africa on assignment for The New York Times and National Geographic for more than two decades.
Since September 11, 2001, Lynsey has covered conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Lebanon, Darfur, South Sudan, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Yemen, Syria, and—most recently—Ukraine.
In March 2011, while on assignment in Libya for The New York Times, covering the fighting between dictator Moammar Gadhafi's troops and rebel forces, Lynsey and three fellow journalists were stopped, taken out of their vehicle, pushed face-down into the dirt, tied up, and taken hostage for a week. She had already been kidnapped once, in Fallujah, Iraq, in 2004. Oprah named Lynsey to her Power List for the “Power of Bearing Witness.”
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In 2015, American Photo magazine named Lynsey as one of the five most influential photographers of the past 25 years, saying she changed the way we saw the world's conflicts.
She’s the recipient of numerous top journalism awards and has been nominated for two Emmy Awards. Her New York Times bestselling memoir, It's What I Do, chronicles her personal and professional life as a photojournalist coming of age in the post-9/11 world. A film documentary based on Lynsey’s life—Love + War—premiered one of National Geographic’s first female photographers, sharing unforgettable stories and images that illuminate resilience, compassion, and the power of women worldwide. (On Disney+ and Hulu)
Speaking Topics
Resilience
Geopolitics
Culture
Watch Lynsey in action
Presentations
It’s What I Do
A Photographer’s Life of Love and War
Pulitzer Prize–winning photojournalist Lynsey Addario takes the stage to reveal the human cost of war. Drawing from years in conflict zones and extensive reporting from Ukraine for The New York Times, she shares harrowing stories, unforgettable images, and the deeply personal drive that compels her to return—despite the risks and the pull of family.
“As a photographer who is constantly in violent situations where the instinct is to turn away, I always try to figure out how to make you not turn away.
– Lynsey Addario