Camera Girl The Coming of Age

This revealing biography of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy explores her early years as a writer, photographer, and ambitious young woman—offering a fresh portrait of the future First Lady before her life with John F. Kennedy.

“One of the most detailed, nuanced portraits of Jackie to date.” —The Washington Post

From New York Times bestselling author and presidential historian Carl Sferrazza Anthony, Camera Girl is an illuminating and “wholly refreshing” (David Maraniss) look at Jackie’s formative years in Paris, New York, and Washington, DC.

In the early 1950s, long before she became an international icon, Jacqueline Bouvier was a curious, driven young journalist working for the Washington Times-Herald as the “Inquiring Camera Girl.” Armed with her Graflex camera, she roamed the streets of the nation’s capital, capturing candid photographs and asking everyday Americans thoughtful, revealing questions—producing hundreds of widely read columns.

Drawing from these columns, previously unpublished writings, and original interviews with those who knew her, this richly detailed biography traces Jackie’s coming-of-age as she pursued a career, challenged expectations placed on women, and navigated love, ambition, and identity.

A vivid work of narrative nonfiction, this book offers a compelling look at midcentury America, women in journalism, and the making of one of the most fascinating and influential women of the 20th century.