Born in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1949, Greg Gorman completed a course in Press Photography at the University of Kansas (1967-1969) and then went on to take a Degree in Fine Arts and an M.A. in Film Studies at the University of Southern California (1972).
His career as a photographer began in 1968, with a series of shots of a Jimi Hendrix concert at Kansas City, taken with a camera he had borrowed from friend. He then took photographs of a Doors concert and, a year later, of one given by Janis Joplin in Los Angeles.
His work ranges from fine art male and female nudes to advertising campaigns magazine design and graphics for films (such as Tootsie, The Big Chill, Bond, Man in the Iron Mask).
The music and cinema world has always been one from which he has drawn his subjects, producing both studio and open-air portraits. In the music field he has worked with Michael Jackson, David Bowie, Frank Zappa, Elton John, Bryan Ferry, Bette Midler, Iggy Pop, Billy Idol, Joe Cocker, Grace Jones and many others also producing covers for records and CDs. His subjects in the film world have included Marlon Brando, Kevin Costner, John Travolta, Kim Basinger, Goldie Hawn, Al Pacino, Barbra Streisand, Elisabeth Taylor, Keanu Reeves, Tom Cruise, Antonio Banderas, Leonardo Di Caprio, Sophia Loren, Robert De Niro, Johnny Depp and many others. In the advertising field he has produced campaigns for such names as Reebok, Rolex, Coca-Cola, Shiseido, Colgate, United Airlines, AT&T. Some of his famous portraits have also been used for advertising campaigns, such as those of Cindy Crawford for Foster Grant and Pierce Brosnan for Omega.
His photographs have appeared in many major international magazines - for example, GQ, Vogue, L'Uomo Vogue, Vogue Homme, Max (French, ltalian and German editions), Amica, Tempo, Life, Esquire, Us, Town and Country, Interview, Detour, Vanity Fair, Time, Newsweek, American Photo, Rolling Stone.