Born in Philadelphia, she studied photography briefly with Alexey Brodovitch at New York City's New School for Social Research in 1948. She became a full member of Magnum in 1953 and has photographed widely in Russia and in China. In 1980 she received the National Book Award for In China and was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Society of Magazine Photographers. Her books and exhibition catalogues include: The Unretouched Woman (1978) and Marilyn Monroe: An Appreciation (1987).