Eve Arnold (b.1912- d.2012) died last Wednesday at 99. There are many reasons why you need to know who she is, and what she achieved.

Her career spanned an incredible 66 years, during which she photographed icons like Marilyn Monroe, Jackie Kennedy and Malcolm X before travelling around the world pursuing her art form.

She was praised for her candid photos of celebrities and her natural, unposed photos from around the world. Just as her photos were iconic, so was she.

Eve Arnold worked for Harper’s Bazaar and Magnum Photos agency before she moved to England with her son Frank, where she began work at the Sunday Times.

She then opened solo exhibitions in prominent galleries and released 13 books of her work. She was given honorary degrees from four different universities, received an OBE and two lifetime achievement awards.

Her work inspired a generation of female photographers, and young people everywhere, including myself. However, I think that I will remember her more for her active and unwavering dedication to photography- When asked whether she still did photography, she said frankly, “That’s over. I can’t hold a camera anymore.”

To be remembered for ones work is impressive, but to continue it until you literally can’t do it anymore is inspiring.

Recently she lived in a London Nursing Home where she died on January 4 2012.

Eve Arnold didn’t just take photos. She created snapshots of real life.

She changed our view of the fabulous, making them seem real – grounded, human beings. Through her work she not only changed the way in which photos are taken today, but also our perception of those great men and women.

Nowadays stars hate the paparazzi because they don’t always show their ‘good side’, but during her career Eve was requested by stars to show the public through her work, that they were just like them.

Unedited, her photos would become some of the most famous in the world, influencing photographing techniques which are still being used today.

One of her most famous subjects, Marilyn Monroe, was revered worldwide for her beauty, every woman wanted to be her, every man wanted to be with her, but it’s only really through Eve’s photos that you can see her vulnerability.

Although some are posed, the rest seem as though Marilyn was caught off guard, whether hugging a man or talking to someone on set, she wasn’t acting, wasn’t pretending to be anything she wasn’t.

Perhaps more importantly, Eve was a woman. She was the first woman to join Magnum Photos Agency as a partner, paving the way for future female photographers.

She was already working in the ‘swinging sixties’, bringing candid photos of around the world to normal people – showing the emotions of those poor and hungry all over the world.

She managed to show their happiness, sadness, and above all, their ability to persevere. Her photos the embodiment of ‘a picture tells a thousand words’.

But above all, Eve was a normal woman – she had a son who she even moved to England for. She changed jobs like any other person, moving from Harper’s Bazaar to Magnum Photos to the Sunday Times in England, she won awards and was, and is, known world wide for her incredible photographic skills.

Eve Arnold was an inspiring and brilliant woman whose is still relevant, as is she. Her life, in my opinion, shouldn’t be passed over.

She should be remembered, as geniuses regularly are.

Bronwyn