Penelope Cruz

Born in Zurich in 1954, Michel Comte is one of the world's busiest fashion and magazine photographers. He trained as an art restorer and then taught himself photography. In 1979, he received his first advertising commission from Karl Lagerfeld for the fashion label Chlo and moved to Paris. In 1981, he moved to New York and later to Los Angeles for his work on American Vogue. He describes his restless life with the words: ‘I have always lived on the edge'. As soon as he notices that his life is lacking risk, he moves on and focuses on something new.

He has worked for Vanity Fair and Vogue, and shot portraits of celebrities from the world of art, music, and entertainment including Julian Schnabel, Jeremy Irons, Demi Moore, Mike Tyson, Carla Bruni, and Michael Schumacher, creating icons of portrait photography in the process.

If you find yourself in Germany, make sure to check out his exhibit, Retrospective, which is running until May 10th, 2009 at NRW-Forum Kultur und Wirtschaft.

Robert Downey Jr.

Halle Berry

Sylvester Stallone

Sharon Stone

Mickey Rourke

Naomi Campbell

Jeremy Irons

Italian designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana

courtesy of photography collection