10313

There are plenty of Tupac Shakur photos that capture the iconic outlaw at his most defiant. As an artist, Shakur was fearless, and his photos bristle with that same electric aggression: Whether he was spitting at photographers, or merely flipping them the bird, he always brought the fight to the people. After his death in […]

Federico Fellini's 1960 film features a conflicted journalist, a beautiful actress and a famed fountain scene — not to mention a pesky photographer named Paparazzo, after an Italian word used to describe a buzzing mosquito. The character was inspired by actual tabloid photographers of the day, and meant to represent Rome's growing obsession with celebrity […]

Theirs was the star-crossed celebrity relationship to end all star-crossed celebrity relationships — as evidenced by all the bottle smashing in last year's Liz & Dick — and they went public (whether they wanted to or not) with an infamous 1962 paparazzi pic, snapped in Italy during the filming of Cleopatra. Both were massive stars, not […]

So-called "King of the Paparazzi" Ron Galella covered celebs with such fervor that one of his frequent subjects, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, got a restraining order against him. But that obsession paid off (for Galella, at least) with a series of iconic images, including Windswept Jackie, taken on Madison Avenue in New York City as Galella followed […]

Sometimes, the celebs hit back — literally. In 1973, after being hounded by Galella, Marlon Brando decked him outside a NYC restaurant, breaking the photographer's jaw and knocking out five of his teeth. The punch would end up costing Brandon a reported $40,000, but he definitely got his message across: The next time the two […]

Few celebs have had as acrimonious a relationship with the paparazzi as Jack Nicholson, as countless photos prove. One memorable moment: In 1976, the actor was vacationing in St. Tropez when he spotted a gaggle of photographers snapping away and decided to reward their persistence by dropping trou. It was a classically Jack move, though […]

For all the back-and-forth battles, occasionally, celebs and paparazzo do manage to form friendships, as evidenced by the relationship between David Bowie and photographer Richard Young. For more than 40 years, Bowie has allowed Young unprecedented access into his life, which has led to no shortage of candid, off-the-cuff images and portraits, including a lively […]

Of course, in the case of Sean Penn, all that goodwill goes right out the window. For four decades — beginning with his high-profile relationship with Madonna in the mid-Eighties — the mercurial actor has waged war on the paparazzi, punching, kicking, and, according to legend, even dangling one very unlucky photographer off a ninth-story […]

Rarely has the dark side of the relationship between photographer and (unwilling) subject been as apparent as in the case of Diana, Princess of Wales. Her 1981 wedding to Prince Charles was watched on television by an estimated 750 million, and from that moment on, her every move was documented by the unrelenting paparazzi. She […]

It's Michael Jackson and Madonna, together on the Academy Awards red carpet — you can probably guess how the paparazzi reacted. Almost a quarter-century later, it's still not clear why the two icons attended the ceremony together (Madonna maintains they went as friends), though they certainly accomplished one goal: This photo of the unlikely pair […]

Anyone who's heard Björk sing knows she's capable of summoning a mighty roar, and the same can be said about her rage. At least that's what one unlucky reporter discovered in 1996, when, after greeting the singer at a Bangkok airport, she was subjected to some old-fashioned Icelandic ire. Björk snapped, tearing at the journalist's hair and […]

Following his high-profile breakup with Britney Spears, Timberlake rebounded with another headline-grabbing relationship, dating actress Cameron Diaz. The couple managed to keep their love secret for a time, though the after the paparazzi captured them kissing in the surf, the cat was out of the bag (and in a wetsuit). More proof that, when the […]

The King of Pop's reign was already on shaky ground in 2002, especially after earlier allegations of sexual misconduct and a pair of divorces. But this photo, which showed him dangling his 9-month-old son Prince Michael II off the balcony of Berlin's Hotel Adlon, certainly didn't do him any favors. It was just one moment […]

For better or worse, it's become one of the decade's most identifiable images: Britney, the former Princess of Pop, unhinged. Her head shaved and her eyes wild, she bashed a vehicle with an umbrella, the final chapter in a three-year fall from grace. Spears claimed her bizarre behavior was the result of her getting "carried […]

How very British: In 2007, paparazzi fave Hugh Grant fought back, tossing a Tupperware container of baked beans at a photog waiting outside his home. The U.K. tabloids would have a field day with this one, and Grant was even arrested on suspicion of assault, though prosecutors declined to press charges. No word on the […]

The laid-back Coldplay frontman was pushed too far in 2008, after paparazzi tried to photograph his wife, Gwyneth Paltrow as she exited a New York hospital. Martin sprung into action, throwing a pap to the ground and snatching the camera from his hand. "You've got to have some respect," the defensive daddy growled. Message received.

Kristen Stewart's relationship with Robert Pattinson came to a rather abrupt end in 2012, after paparazzi scored photos of her in the arms of her Snow White and the Huntsman director Rupert Sanders… who also happened to be married at the time. As any Twi-hard will tell you, it wasn't supposed to end this way.

Justin Bieber went berserk on British photographers in 2013, after one of them claimed that a mere brush-by constituted assault. The pap in question kept talking (he called Bieber a "fucking little cock,") at which point JB leapt from a van looking for a fight. We can understand why he'd want to punch the dude, […]

Note to photographers: Do not step to Kanye West, especially when he's at the airport. In 2013, 'Ye had two separate incidents with paparazzi at LAX, and though he managed to avoid any serious legal trouble, he definitely let it be known that he wouldn't be a willing subject. And, hey, at least he's got […]

Much like Kanye, Alec Baldwin probably won't be sending Christmas cards to the paparazzi any time soon. For decades, he's enjoyed an adversarial relationship with the media, though in 2013, things boiled over when he attacked a photog outside of his Manhattan apartment – and allegedly used an anti-gay slur while doing so, a move […]