Norman Seeff was born 1939 in Johannesburg, South Africa. He graduated at King Edward VII School in Johannesburg. At the age of 17, he was drafted as the youngest player in the South African national soccer league. Seeff qualified as a medical doctor in 1965. For three years he worked in emergency medicine at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto. In 1968, he immigrated to the United States. His photographs of the people he encountered on the streets of Manhattan were discovered by graphic designer Bob Cato, former Vice President of Creative Services at Columbia Records. His early work includes images of Debbie Harry, Patti Smith, Robert Mapplethorpe, Andy Warhol as well as other New York City personalities. At the end of 1971 and on the recommendation of Cato, Seeff relocated to Los Angeles to become creative director of United Artists Records. Seeff has documented over 500 sessions with artists of many disciplines such as Ray Charles, Joni Mitchell, Kiss, Steve Jobs, Steve Martin, John Huston, Martin Scorsese, Billy Wilder, Bob Fosse, Tina Turner, Alicia Keys, Sir Francis Crick, and many others. Seeff lives in Los Angeles with his wife Sue Kiel and works out of his studio in Burbank.