Kevin Carter Biography

Kevin Carter was an internationally renowned South African photojournalist. He was the 1994 Pulitzer Prize recipient for his photograph showing a vulture patiently observing a starving Sudanese child. Regarded as an ambitious man with turbulent emotions which ultimately drove him into despair, Carter had a bright but short-lived career. Though he was seriously affected by the innumerable tragedies he witnessed during the course of his job, the globally acclaimed photographer never shied away from showing the society's unspeakable cruelties to the world at large. Raised in a whites-only neighborhood, Carter often questioned his parents’ indifferent attitude towards the prevalent issue of apartheid. He studied at a Catholic boarding school and later studied pharmacy. After dropping out due to bad grades, he joined the South African Army. However, he quit the service after facing ill treatment. Following the 1983 Church Street bombing in Pretoria, Carter decided to become a photojournalist to expose and document the pathetic condition of this society marred by crime and violence. On 24 July 1994, the depressed photographer committed suicide at the age of 33.