Simon & Schuster Vivian Maier Developed: The Untold Story of the Photographer Nanny (Hardcover)

Vivian Maier Developed from Simon & Schuster is a definitive biography that unlocks the remarkable story of Vivian Maier, the nanny who lived secretly as a world-class photographer. It features nearly 400 of her images, many never seen before, placed for the first time in the context of her life.

Vivian Maier's work was famously discovered in a Chicago storage locker. Before posthumously skyrocketing to global fame, she had so deeply buried her past that even the families she lived with knew little about her. No one could relay where she was born or raised, if she had parents or siblings, if she enjoyed personal relationships, why she took photographs, and why she didn't share them with others. In this biography, author Ann Marks uses her complete access to Vivian Maier's personal records and archive of 140,000 photographs to reveal the full story of her extraordinary life.

Based on meticulous investigative research, the book reveals the story of a woman who fled from a family with a hidden history of illegitimacy, bigamy, parental rejection, substance abuse, violence, and mental illness to live life on her own terms. Left with a limited ability to disclose feelings and form relationships, she expressed herself through photography, creating a secret portfolio of pictures teeming with emotion, authenticity, and humanity. With limitless resilience, she knocked down every obstacle in her way, determined to improve her lot in life and that of others by tirelessly advocating for the rights of workers, women, African Americans, and Native Americans. No one knew that behind the detached veneer was a profoundly intelligent, empathetic, and inspired woman, who was so creatively gifted that her body of work would become one of the greatest photographic discoveries of the century.

Author Ann Marks spent thirty years as a senior executive in large corporations and served as chief marketing officer of Dow Jones/The Wall Street Journal. After retirement, she put her research and analysis skills to use as an amateur genealogist and became inspired to unlock the mysterious life of photographer Vivian Maier. She has dedicated years to studying Maier's archive of 140,000 images and is an internationally renowned resource on Vivian Maier's life and work.