Chris von Wangenheim

Christoph "Chris" von Wangenheim (21 February 1942 – 9 March 1981) was a German fashion photographer of the late 1960s through the early 1980s.

Spouse(s)

• Regine Jaffey (?-1981)

Parent(s)

• Konrad Freiherr von Wangenheim

Early life and career

von Wangenheim was born in Berlin, son of Konrad Freiherr von Wangenheim, a German aristocratic and army Cavalry Captain (Rittmeister) who became a well-known horse rider at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin as Gold Medalist in Team Eventing. While serving during World War II, Konrad was captured on the Eastern Front and held prisoner in a POW camp located in the Soviet Union. He remained imprisoned for more than a decade, and was found hanged days before his intended release.

After studying architecture for a period of time, von Wagenheim decided to pursue his interest in photography. In 1965, he moved to New York where he worked as a photographer's assistant for David Thorpe and James Moore until 1967. He started his own studio the following year and began working for the American edition of Harper's Bazaar, and for the Italian edition of Harper's Bazaar in 1970. American Vogue became his primary outlet in 1972, but he also worked for its German, French and Italian editions, as well as for Esquire, Playboy, Interview, and Viva magazines. von Wangenheim is also well known for his advertisements for Christian Dior, Calvin Klein, and Revlon.

Supermodel Gia Carangi did her first major fashion shoot with him in October 1978. He also took the notorious photographs of Carangi standing naked behind a chain-link fence. Carangi became one of von Wagenheim's favorite models and she worked with him on several fashion photographs throughout her career.

As of September 1, 2015, there will be a book on von Wangenheim's work and life entitled Gloss: The Work of Chris von Wangenheim http://www.thechrisvonwangenheimbook.com/ by Roger Padilha and Mauricio Padilha, published by Rizzoli, with a forward by photographer Steven Klein.

Death

On 9 March 1981, von Wangenheim died in a single car crash while vacationing in Saint Martin.

At the time of his death, von Wangenheim was in the process of divorcing former model Regine Jaffry with whom he had one child.