Annie Leibovitz, Creditors in Settlement Talks
The photographer now lose her homes and rights to all her artwork.
Sept. 9, 2009— -- Famed photographer Annie Leibovitz and her creditors are involved in ongoing settlement talks, even though a deadline to repay a $24 million loan has passed, a source familiar with the discussions told ABC News.
The celebrity photographer, whose high fees and expensive shoots made her almost as famous as the stars she shot, risks losing her four homes and the rights to every photograph she has ever taken and even those she plans to shoot in the future if the talks are not successful.
If the talks fail, it is possible that Leibovitz would file for personal bankruptcy, but none of the parties are -- at least publically -- discussing that option.
Montieth Illingworth, a spokesman for Art Capital Group, the company that is owed the money, declined to comment Wednesday saying the lender had nothing to say at the moment.
Leibovitz's spokesman Matthew Hiltzik only said, "'Annie is working to resolve the situation." In the past, he accused the company of harassing Leibovitz.
Click Here to See Leibovitz's Famous Vanity Fair Cover Shots
It isn't exactly clear where all of Leibovitz's money has gone. She was once rumored to have a so-called contract for life from magazine publisher Conde Nast that paid anywhere from $2 million to $5 million a year. For individual photo shots she was reported to charge $100,000 to $250,000 a day.
Regardless of exactly how much she took in, with iconic photos on the cover of Rolling Stone and Vanity Fair and posh clients such as Louis Vuitton, The Peninsula and American Express, Leibovitz wasn't exactly poor.
But Leibovitz, 59, apparently has never been too good at keeping tabs on her money, either.
A detailed look at her finances, published last month by New York magazine, noted that her shoots often ran over budget and in her own personal life she often spent generously on those she loved. When her partner Susan Sontag was being treated for cancer, she chartered a private jet to transport her around the country.
In this 2006 Vanity Fair cover shot by Annie Leibovitz, Scarlett Johansson and Keira Knightley posed nude with Tom Ford.
The depth of Leibovitz's problems didn't surface until the New York Times did a front page feature in February on the company -- the Times called it a "pawnshop" in the headline -- that loaned her the $24 million.
The bulk of Leibovitz's debt apparently comes from extensive renovations at two of the Greenwich Village town houses that she bought in 2002 and ultimately combined into one property. Damage during the renovations led to a $15 million lawsuit from a neighbor.
Leibovitz's Vanity Fair covers also included Tina Fey, left, and Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes with their baby.
One possible option is that Leibovitz files for personal bankruptcy, which would leave it up to a judge to sort out her debts and the rights over her work.
In a lawsuit, Art Capital Group alleged that Leibovitz breached her contract with the company by refusing to allow real estate experts into her homes to appraise their value and by blocking the company from selling her photographs.
Her most famous images include a photograph of John Lennon taken hours before he was assassinated and a nude portrait of a pregnant Demi Moore for the cover of Vanity Fair.
Related Stories
ABC News Live