The Lives of Lee Miller is a biographical memoir by British photographer Antony Penrose, the son of Lee Miller. It was published in 1985 and later in 1995 by Thames & Hudson. Elizabeth "Lee Miller" Penrose was born in 1907 in New York. At seven years old, she was raped and infected with a sexually transmitted disease. Miller later goes to Paris to study and returns to New York a year later. As luck would have it, she became a model in New York City.
In two years, Miller has made the cover of Vogue and become one of the most popular models in the industry. She goes back to Paris to study photography from Man Ray. They collaborated on several projects before they split up. Miller later comes back to New York and starts her studio. She marries an Egyptian business executive and moves to Africa for three years. During World War II, Miller decides to become a photojournalist documenting the war all over Europe for Vogue magazine. She later suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and alcoholism. Miller died in 1977 at the age of 70 after suffering from lung cancer.
The memoir documents the life Miller lived throughout her seventy years of life. From the streets of New York to the battlefields of World War II, Penrose tells the story of her mother's adventures through photography.
The Lives of Miller was adapted into a film titled Lee. It was directed by American filmmaker Ellen Kuras, starring British actress Kate Winslet as Lee Miller. The film was released in 2024.
