Kenneth Willardt

Kenneth Willardt (30 January 1966) is a Danish photographer based in New York City, specializing in celebrity, beauty, and fashion portraiture.

Willardt grew up in Espergaerde, Denmark, near Copenhagen. He studied at the Danish School of Photography in Copenhagen and apprenticed under photographer Torsten Graae. He moved to New York City in 1987 where he has worked on beauty and fashion-focused editorials and campaigns.

He has worked for Christian Dior, Nivea, L'Oréal, Pantene, Target and Marco Bicego jewelry.

He has done editorial work for W Magazine, Vanity Fair (U.S and Italian), Allure, GQ, InStyle, the British and U.S. editions of Glamour, the Brazilian, Chinese, Japanese, German and Spanish editions of Vogue, A-Anna Magazine, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, and Seventeen. Willardt has done a television campaigns for Maybelline, and their 2009 "Maybelline Loves New York" and 2010 calendars.

Willardt has shot portraits and editorials for Lady Gaga, Amy Adams, Drew Barrymore, Selma Blair, Carmen Electra, America Ferrera, Teri Hatcher, Katherine Heigl, Milla Jovovich, Keira Knightley, Beyoncé Knowles, Lindsay Lohan, Eva Longoria, Sarah Jessica Parker, Rihanna, Jessica Simpson, Liv Tyler, Julianne Moore, Christian Slater, Gerard Butler, Mia Goth and Carrie Underwood.

For Willardt's 2013 exhibition Size Does Matter, Plus-size model Robyn Lawley was photographed nude with various animals, including rabbits, an owl, an octopus and tarantulas. Each image in the exhibit had a QR code. When the QR code was scanned with a cell phone, added movement in the image was visible on the cell phone screen. In addition to the images in the gallery, a billboard with Lawley flanked by bunnies was placed on the West Side Highway in Manhattan.

• 2003: "Photographer of the Year" award, Pantene Pro-V Beauty Awards, London.
• "Best New Photographer," PDN Magazine.

• Kodak House, Tokyo, Japan.
• 2003: "Bullseye" branding campaign "Sign of the Times" for Target was included in the Cooper Hewitt, National Design Museum's 2003 National Design Triennial.
• 2013: Size Does Matter, 588 Gallery, Chelsea, New York, November – December 2013. Solo exhibition.
• 2014: The Beauty Book, 588 Gallery, Chelsea, New York, 7 November 2014 – 7 February 2015. Solo exhibition.

• Lupton, Ellen; Albrecht, Donald; Yelavich, Susan; Owens, Mitchell (2003). Inside Design Now: The National Design Triennial. New York, NY: Princeton Architectural Press. p. 174. ISBN 9781568983950. LCCN 2002015746. OCLC 260027916. Retrieved 30 October 2013. 

• Beauty Book. Kempen, Germany: teNeues, 2014. In conjunction with an exhibition at 588 Gallery, Chelsea, New York.

ISBN 978-3-8327-9879-6

Library of Congress Number: 2014943584