Michael Brennan

Michael J. Brennan (born August 13, 1943) is an Anglo-American photographer known for his photographic portraits of celebrities and iconic personalities.

In addition to his iconic portraits of Muhammad Ali, Brennan has photographed some of the most famous personalities of our time, including Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Nelson Mandela, Princess Diana, Pele, George Best, Mick Jagger, John Lennon and literary figures such as Norman Mailer and P.G. Wodehouse.

Now retired in Costa Rica, Michael Brennan says self-mockingly that he was "reasonably good at what he did. Looking back, he sees the 1960s and 1970s as a "fun time" before the paparazzi took over photojournalism. For Brennan, photography was not just about who to photograph: it was about atmosphere. Her great photo of Muhammad Ali is much more than the man: it is also the sweat that covers his face and the faraway look in his eyes.

"The iconic portrait of Muhammad Ali, taken by Michael Brennan in 1977, captures something much larger and deeper than the beautiful face of a handsome man. It is a detailed map of the personal journey of a man whose unparalleled talent and daring made literature pale, taught a generation to question authority, and ultimately changed the course of a society that had never seen a man exactly like him."