# Mary McCartney
**Mary McCartney** (born 1969, London) is a British photographer, film director, author, and plant-based food advocate whose portrait and fine art photography centers on unguarded, emotionally charged moments of intimacy in her subjects.[1](https://marymccartney.com/about/) • [2](https://www.sothebys.com/en/artists/mary-mccartney) She is the oldest daughter of [Paul McCartney](https://www.edgepedia.org/paul-mccartney) and the photographer [Linda McCartney](https://www.edgepedia.org/linda-mccartney), and has built an independent career spanning photography, documentary film, publishing, and food sustainability advocacy.[3](https://time.com/4119110/paul-linda-mary-mccartney/) • [1](https://marymccartney.com/about/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1969, London[2](https://www.sothebys.com/en/artists/mary-mccartney) |
| Career start | Began working as a professional photographer in 1995[4](https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp06459/mary-mccartney?displayStyle=thumb) |
| Royal commission | Invited by Buckingham Palace in 2015 to take the official portrait marking Queen Elizabeth II becoming the longest-reigning monarch[1](https://marymccartney.com/about/) |
| Feature documentary | *If These Walls Could Sing*, on the 90-year history of Abbey Road Studios; premiered at the Telluride Film Festival (September 2022), released December 2022, streaming on Disney+, nominated for a Critics Choice Documentary Award[1](https://marymccartney.com/about/) • [2](https://www.sothebys.com/en/artists/mary-mccartney) |
| Food advocacy | Co-founded Meat Free Monday in 2009 with her father Paul and sister Stella; consultant on Linda McCartney foods; executive produced and presented three Emmy-nominated seasons of *Mary McCartney Serves It Up!* on Discovery+[1](https://marymccartney.com/about/) |
| Collections | Victoria and Albert Museum and National Portrait Gallery, London; Royal Academy, London; Fondation d'entreprise Hermès, Paris; Chateau La Coste, Aix-en-Provence[1](https://marymccartney.com/about/) |
| Publications | Books including *From Where I Stand* (2010), *Monochrome Colour* (2014), and *Feeding Creativity* (TASCHEN)[1](https://marymccartney.com/about/) |
## Background and family
McCartney was born in London in 1969, not long after her parents married in March of that year.[2](https://www.sothebys.com/en/artists/mary-mccartney) • [5](https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2013/mar/10/mary-mccartney-photographing-strong-women) Her mother, Linda Eastman, had spent the 1960s documenting the rock scene, mostly in New York, before meeting Paul McCartney in London while working on a portfolio of the "swinging 60s"; she stopped taking professional commissions after the marriage.[5](https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2013/mar/10/mary-mccartney-photographing-strong-women) As a baby, Mary appeared tucked inside her father's jacket on the photo of his first solo album, and she grew up in front of the camera.[3](https://time.com/4119110/paul-linda-mary-mccartney/)
She has described an artistic household in which photography was ordinary: "My mum and dad were both interested in photography, so I grew up subconsciously seeing a lot of photography in books and exhibitions and having it in my day-to-day life."[3](https://time.com/4119110/paul-linda-mary-mccartney/) One of her earliest memories is her mother taking her to a darkroom in Soho, where she watched a black and white image appear on paper in the developing tray.[6](https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/about/photographs-collection/photographers-in-focus/photographer-in-focus-mary-mccartney) The family toured with her parents' work and spent summers at a remote farm in Scotland, a contrast she credits with shaping how she works with people.[7](https://www.alainelkanninterviews.com/mary-mccartney/)
## Photography career
McCartney began taking photographs in her early twenties, after editing her mother's contact sheets for an exhibition and realizing she could make pictures herself; she learned on a manual Leica film camera through a short course at the [University of Westminster](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-westminster), covering shutter speeds and F-stops.[3](https://time.com/4119110/paul-linda-mary-mccartney/) • [8](https://hero-magazine.com/article/215387/mary-mccartney) • [9](https://www.sothebys.com/en/articles/just-a-moment-a-conversation-with-mary-mccartney) The National Portrait Gallery dates the start of her professional career to 1995.[4](https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp06459/mary-mccartney?displayStyle=thumb)
Her stated approach is connection rather than spectacle: she researches her sitters, works to put them at ease, and prefers available light or continuous lights over flash.[6](https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/about/photographs-collection/photographers-in-focus/photographer-in-focus-mary-mccartney) She favors negative film for its depth, turning to digital for low-light situations.[6](https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/about/photographs-collection/photographers-in-focus/photographer-in-focus-mary-mccartney) Her assignments have appeared in publications including [Harper's Bazaar](https://www.edgepedia.org/harpers-bazaar), Interview, Vogue, GQ, and [National Geographic](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-geographic), and she is a contributing editor to Cultured Magazine.[4](https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp06459/mary-mccartney?displayStyle=thumb) • [1](https://marymccartney.com/about/)
**Major exhibitions.** Her solo shows include *Off Pointe*, a study of the Royal Ballet after hours, first shown at the [Royal Opera House](https://www.edgepedia.org/royal-opera-house), London (2004); *British Style Observed* at the [Natural History Museum, London](https://www.edgepedia.org/natural-history-museum-london) (2008); *From Where I Stand* at the National Portrait Gallery (2010 to 2011); the mid-career retrospective *Developing* at The Lowry, Manchester (2013); *Monochrome Colour* (2014); and the two-person show *Mother Daughter* pairing her work with her mother's at Gagosian Gallery, New York (2015).[4](https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp06459/mary-mccartney?displayStyle=thumb) • [2](https://www.sothebys.com/en/artists/mary-mccartney) • [10](https://gagosian.com/quarterly/2015/11/30/mary-mccartney-mother-daughter/) More recently she presented *Can We Have a Moment?*, a retrospective of more than 30 years of photography, at Sotheby's London in 2023, and *STRIKING* at the Loggia of Galerie Rudolfinum, Prague (2025).[9](https://www.sothebys.com/en/articles/just-a-moment-a-conversation-with-mary-mccartney) • [11](https://marymccartney.com/art/striking/)
In 2015 she was invited by [Buckingham Palace](https://www.edgepedia.org/buckingham-palace) to take the official portrait marking Queen Elizabeth II becoming the longest-reigning monarch, photographed in the Queen's private audience room.[1](https://marymccartney.com/about/) • [3](https://time.com/4119110/paul-linda-mary-mccartney/) She has called it the sitter hardest to beat.[6](https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/about/photographs-collection/photographers-in-focus/photographer-in-focus-mary-mccartney)
Beyond celebrity portraiture, she has documented everyday life through the #someone Instagram project, hundreds of iPhone snapshots of strangers that reached nearly 60,000 followers.[3](https://time.com/4119110/paul-linda-mary-mccartney/)
## Film
McCartney's first feature documentary as director, *If These Walls Could Sing*, tells the 90-year history of [Abbey Road Studios](https://www.edgepedia.org/abbey-road-studios).[2](https://www.sothebys.com/en/artists/mary-mccartney) • [1](https://marymccartney.com/about/) The film premiered at the [Telluride Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/telluride-film-festival) in September 2022, had its London premiere at Abbey Road Studios in December 2022, and streams globally on Disney+; it was nominated for a Critics Choice Documentary Award.[1](https://marymccartney.com/about/)
Her music film work continues with *Finding Faith*, an original short containing footage never seen before, which will precede the [George Michael](https://www.edgepedia.org/george-michael): The Faith Tour film, filmed at the Palais Omnisports in Paris and scheduled to be generally released in November 2026.[1](https://marymccartney.com/about/)
## Food and sustainability
McCartney has worked in food sustainability for over 25 years, acting as a consultant on Linda McCartney foods, and in 2009 co-founded the global collective Meat Free Monday with her father and sister Stella, encouraging a weekly meat-free day.[1](https://marymccartney.com/about/) • [12](https://time.com/6302562/stella-mccartney-sustainability-interview-lvmh/) She is a global ambassador for Green Common Foods, a plant-based food tech brand in Asia, and executive produced and presented three seasons of the Emmy-nominated cooking show *Mary McCartney Serves It Up!* for Discovery+, with guests including [Stanley Tucci](https://www.edgepedia.org/stanley-tucci), Oprah, Dave Grohl, and her father.[1](https://marymccartney.com/about/) • [9](https://www.sothebys.com/en/articles/just-a-moment-a-conversation-with-mary-mccartney) She has said the environmental impact of eating animals keeps her vegetarian for life.[13](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/sep/24/mary-mccartney-this-much-i-know-my-mum-was-quite-a-cool-chick)
Her books span both fields: photography titles such as *From Where I Stand* (Thames and Hudson, 2010) and *Monochrome Colour* (GOST, 2014), the cookbooks *Food* (2012) and *At My Table* (2015), and *Feeding Creativity* (TASCHEN), which combines portraits and recipes from friends, family, and the creative community.[1](https://marymccartney.com/about/) • [9](https://www.sothebys.com/en/articles/just-a-moment-a-conversation-with-mary-mccartney)
## References
1. [About, marymccartney.com](https://marymccartney.com/about/)
2. [Mary McCartney Biography, Sotheby's](https://www.sothebys.com/en/artists/mary-mccartney)
3. [See Intimate Family Photos of the McCartney Family, TIME](https://time.com/4119110/paul-linda-mary-mccartney/)
4. [Mary McCartney, Person, National Portrait Gallery](https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp06459/mary-mccartney?displayStyle=thumb)
5. [Mary McCartney on photography: 'I've always been drawn to strong women', The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2013/mar/10/mary-mccartney-photographing-strong-women)
6. [Photographer in Focus: Mary McCartney, National Portrait Gallery](https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/about/photographs-collection/photographers-in-focus/photographer-in-focus-mary-mccartney)
7. [Mary McCartney, Alain Elkann Interviews](https://www.alainelkanninterviews.com/mary-mccartney/)
8. ["I love caught moments", Mary McCartney's 30 year retrospective, HERO](https://hero-magazine.com/article/215387/mary-mccartney)
9. [Just a Moment: In Conversation with Mary McCartney, Sotheby's](https://www.sothebys.com/en/articles/just-a-moment-a-conversation-with-mary-mccartney)
10. [Mary McCartney: Mother Daughter, Gagosian Quarterly](https://gagosian.com/quarterly/2015/11/30/mary-mccartney-mother-daughter/)
11. [Striking, marymccartney.com](https://marymccartney.com/art/striking/)
12. [Stella McCartney Is Changing Fashion From Within, TIME](https://time.com/6302562/stella-mccartney-sustainability-interview-lvmh/)
13. [Mary McCartney: 'My mum sang backing vocals on Let It Be', The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/sep/24/mary-mccartney-this-much-i-know-my-mum-was-quite-a-cool-chick)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Visual arts and design › Photographers › Fashion and portrait photographers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license