Born 1952 in Los Angeles, to a Jewish family, Herbert "Herb" Ritts Jr. was an American fashion photographer and director prolific for his photographs of celebrities, models, and other cultural figures throughout the 1980s and 1990s.

Ritts' work concentrated on black-and-white photography and portraits, often in the style of classical Greek sculpture, which emphasized the human shape.

During the 1980s and 1990s, Ritts prominently photographed celebrities in various locales throughout California, included Elizabeth Taylor, Vincent Price, Madonna, Denzel Washington, Ronald Reagan, David Bowie,... He also took many fashion and nude photographs of fashion models, and published many books on photography for fashion designers.

Ritts died in 2002 of complications from pneumonia at the age of 50.

These beautiful photos Ritts shot portrait of Madonna from photo shoots around 1984 and 1986.