If there’s one iconic image from the Awards Season it is Faye Dunaway’s Oscars photoshoot. Terry O’Neill photographed the actress having a glamorous breakfast by the pool of the legendary Beverly Hills Hotel, in nothing other than a silk gown and heels. It’s the morning after her triumphant night at the 1977 Academy Awards, where she won Best Actress for Network.
“She isn’t sure quite who she is any more. I waited for her to look away from the camera, and I got the shot.” — Terry O’Neill.
While capturing an actress having breakfast is nothing unusual, what stands out in the shot is the gilded and gleaming Oscar statuette, the dozens of newspaper headlines on the floor, and the hazy morning light on the background. Maybe she simply woke up and threw on a silk gown and heels for an early breakfast, or perhaps she never went to sleep at all. Either way, O’Neill unknowingly captured one of the most iconic photographs.
