Bert Stern was born and raised in Brooklyn from 1929, the son of Jewish immigrants. An influential artist and photographer, he developed a love for photography from a young age, following the footsteps of his father, who was taking professional pictures of children. He started his career at Look magazine as an art director and after a few years, he became the director of Flair magazine where started developing his first films. Around the same time, he began developing his own professional pictures. His marriage to Allegra Kent, a celebrated ballet dancer and actress, was cut short in the 1960s due to his heavy work schedule and his amphetamine addiction. Shortly after, he entered the US army where he was appointed head of photography.
