A picture may be worth a thousand words, but if it’s a photo of a A-list Hollywood celebrity it also is worth millions of dollars. Magazines especially are willing to pay exorbitant levels of money for exclusive, cover page pictures of a celebrity wedding or the first pictures of a celebrity’s newborn. Here are the top five most expensive celebrity photos in history, compiled with the help of Forbes and Zimbio:
5. Eva Longoria and Tony Parker
Wedding Pictures, July 2007
Price: $2 million
Buyer: OK! Magazine
When the Desperate Housewives star and the San Antonio Spurs starter got married in Paris in 2007, OK! magazine shelled $2 million to publish exclusive and intimate pictures from their fairytale wedding. However, the fairytale didn’t last forever and the couple filed for divorced in January 2011.
4. Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher
Wedding Pictures, October 2005
Price: $3 million
Buyer: OK! Magazine
Kutcher and Moore, one of the hottest couples in Hollywood, sold vintage black and white pictures from their wedding to OK! magazine. It’s reported the couple donated the money from the sales to Habitat for Humanity and the victims of Hurricane Katrina and Rita. The unlikely couple is still together.
3. Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt
Baby Pictures, June 2006
Price: $4 million
Buyer: Getty Images and People Magazine
Jolie and Pitt, probably the most famous pairing in the world, introduced their first newborn Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt to the world in 2006, but not before demanding $ 4 million dollars from Getty Images. People reportedly paid Getty $4 million to use the six photos in their publication and the issue sold 2.2 million copies! Brangelina have donated the money from the earnings to charity.
2. Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony
Baby Pictures, March 2008
Price: $6 million
Buyer: People Magazine
In 2008, Mama J-Lo appeared on the cover page of People with her one month old twins Max and Emme.. A total of twelve exclusive pictures, shot at the Marc and J-Lo’s Long Island home, were worth $ 6 million dollars. The couple reportedly split in early 2011.
1. Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt
Baby Pictures, August 2008
Price: $14 million
Buyer: People Magazine
The pictures of Jolie and Pitt with their new born twins Knox and Vivienne are by far the most expensive pictures to appear in public. The famous family- after intense media wars for exclusive rights- sold their pictures to People magazine. Along with the cover page photo, the19 page magazine story featured extensive interviews with Jolie and Pitt. The couple reportedly donated the earnings from the pictures to several charity organizations.