Terry O’Neill, who as a novice photographer found himself shooting pictures of an up-and-coming group called the Beatles and never looked back, spending a lifetime capturing memorable images of musicians, movie stars and other celebrity gods of the age, died on Saturday at his home in London. He was 81 .

Carrie Kania, creative director of Iconic Images, the London agency that represents him, said the cause was cancer.

Mr. O’Neill was the photographer of choice for a wide array of the stars of the 1960s and beyond. He photographed not only the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, but also Frank Sinatra; not only classic Hollywood actresses like Audrey Hepburn, but also more recent big-screen favorites like Nicole Kidman. Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandela and other prominent politicians turned up in his lens as well.