Annie Leibovitz pawns copyright to life’s work to pay debts

Annie Leibovitz, the renowned New York photographer who has taken portraits of the Queen, has pawned the rights to her life’s work in order to raise nearly $16 million to pay off her debts.

Leibovitz secured the loan partly against properties she owns in New York, but also by putting up the copyright, negatives and contract rights to every photograph she has ever taken or will take in future as collateral, according to the New York Times, which cited documents filed to the city.

Leibovitz told friends that she used the money to pay off mortgages and other outstanding loans, according to the newspaper. She declined to comment on the specific reasons for the loans, saying only that her financial health was “fine” in an email to the paper.