NORMAN JEAN ROY

Norman Jean Roy is a Canadian portrait painter born in 1969. Roy is best known for his portraits of celebrities, actors and influential artists. His portraits have been published and commissioned for the covers and pages of major magazines.

Roy was born in Sherbrooke, Quebec. At the age of 6, he became interested in photography. At the age of fourteen, his family moved to the United States, where Roy learned English. After studying architecture and design, Roy worked for the design department of the Saturn division of General Motors in Nashville, Tennessee.

Two years later, he acquired a 35mm camera and began photographing friends and local models. Finding the industry difficult and competitive, he left photography and pursued a career in golf. In 1994, American Photo magazine published an article and cover story on Richard Avedon. Roy was fascinated and resumed his portrait work. After six months in France, Roy returned to Nashville to hone his technical skills. In 1999, Roy was selected as an emerging talent by Photo District News, one of the most promising young photographers. He then found his first photo agent.

Since then, he has been shooting portraits of prestigious clients, Justin Trudeau, Heidi Klum, Ed Sheeran, alongside major advertising campaigns for L'Oréal, Rolex, etc.
Roy, now based in New York, is known for shooting almost exclusively on film with minimal editing.