George Barris grew up in New York City before World War II. His interest in photography was life long, and as a young man he worked for the U.S. Army's Office of Public Relations as a photo journalist. Many of his photographs of General Eisenhower were published.
After the war, he became a freelance photographer and readily found work in Hollywood. He photographed many stars of the 1950s and 1960s, including Elizabeth Taylor on the set of Cleopatra. He is best known for his work with Marilyn Monroe, with whom he was collaborating on a book at the time of her death. His photographic sitting with Marilyn was the last major sitting before her death.
