TIME's Best Portraits of 2014

  • Seth Meyers. From "We'll Do it Late." January 13, 2014 issue.
    Marco Grob for TIME
    1 of 55
  • Spike Jonze. From "Lonely Boy." January 20, 2014 issue.
    Dan Winters for TIME
    2 of 55
  • Maria Alyokhina (left) and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova. From "What Pussy Riot Does Next." January 20, 2014 issue.
    Yuri Kozyrev for TIME
    3 of 55
  • Janet Yellen. From "The Sixteen Trillion Dollar Woman." January 20, 2014 issue.
    Peter Hapak for TIME
    4 of 55
  • Monique and Jocelyne Lamoureux. From "The Enforcers." February 10, 2014 issue.
    Michele Asselin for TIME
    5 of 55
  • François Hollande. From "Can He Fix France?" February 17, 2014 issue.
    Marco Grob for TIME
    6 of 55
  • The Dalai Lama. From "Tibetan Wisdom." March 3, 2014 issue.
    Marco Grob for TIME
    7 of 55
  • Lupita Nyong'o. From "The Front Runner." March 3, 2014 issue.
    Sebastian Kim for TIME
    8 of 55
  • Wes Anderson. From "On the Night Train With Wes Anderson." March 10, 2014 issue.
    Markus Jans for TIME
    9 of 55
  • Woody Allen. From "No. 1 With a Bullet." April 14, 2014 issue.
    Therese + Joel for TIME
    10 of 55
  • Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. From "The Patriot." April 28, 2014 issue.
    Takashi Osato for TIME
    11 of 55
  • John Oliver. From "Oliver's Twist." April 28, 2014 issue.
    Peter Yang for TIME
    12 of 55
  • Colin Firth. From "10 Questions." April 28, 2014 issue.
    Peter Hapak for TIME
    13 of 55
  • Eric Holder. From TIME's "100 Most Influential People in the World." May 5 / May 12, 2014 issue.
    Paola Kudacki for TIME
    14 of 55
  • Mary Barra. From TIME's "100 Most Influential People in the World." May 5 / May 12, 2014 issue.
    Paola Kudacki for TIME
    15 of 55
  • Serena Williams. From TIME's "100 Most Influential People in the World." May 5 / May 12, 2014 issue.
    Paola Kudacki for TIME
    16 of 55
  • Jason Collins. From TIME's "100 Most Influential People in the World." May 5 / May 12, 2014 issue.
    Paola Kudacki for TIME
    17 of 55
  • Robert Redford. From TIME's "100 Most Influential People in the World." May 5 / May 12, 2014 issue.
    Paola Kudacki for TIME
    18 of 55
  • Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. From TIME's "100 Most Influential People in the World." May 5 / May 12, 2014 issue.
    Peter Hapak for TIME
    19 of 55
  • Laverne Cox. From "America's Transition." June 9, 2014 issue.
    Gillian Laub for TIME
    20 of 55
  • Jamie Ewing. From "America's Transition." June 9, 2014 issue.
    Gillian Laub for TIME
    21 of 55
  • Jenny Slate. From "Good Humor Woman." June 16, 2014 issue.
    Peter Hapak for TIME
    22 of 55
  • Jürgen Klinsmann. From "Stars, Stripes and Soccer." June 23, 2014 issue.
    Levon Biss for TIME
    23 of 55
  • Left to right: Jermain Jones, Fabian Johnson and Geoff Cameron. From "Stars, Stripes and Soccer." June 23, 2014 issue.
    Levon Biss for TIME
    24 of 55
  • JR. From "French photographer JR thinks selfies can change the world." June 23, 2014 issue.
    Lauren Fleishman for TIME
    25 of 55
  • Jeff Koons. From "Show Me the Bunny." July 7 /July 14, 2014 issue.
    Sebastian Kim for TIME
    26 of 55
  • Mark (left) and Ilja Terebin. From "The Antisocial Network." July 7 / July 14, 2014 issue.
    Rafal Milach—INSTITUTE for TIME
    27 of 55
  • Jack Antonoff. From "Music Therapy." July 21, 2014 issue.
    Geordie Wood for TIME
    28 of 55
  • Terry Crews. From "Crews Control." September 22, 2014 issue.
    Peter Hapak for TIME
    29 of 55
  • Henry Kissinger. From "The Lion in Winter." September 22, 2014 issue.
    Marco Grob for TIME
    30 of 55
  • U2. From "U2's New Mission." September 29, 2014 issue.
    Sebastian Kim for TIME
    31 of 55
  • Gillian Flynn. From "The Marriage Plot." October 6, 2014 issue.
    Daniel Shea for TIME
    32 of 55
  • Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi. From "After the Revolution." October 6, 2014 issue.
    Peter Hapak for TIME
    33 of 55
  • Mia Wasikowska. From "The Long Trek." October 6, 2014 issue.
    Erik Tanner for Time
    34 of 55
  • Mark Bittman. From "How to Eat Now." October 20, 2014 issue.
    Grant Cornett for TIME
    35 of 55
  • Eddie Redmayne. From "Let's Get Physicist." November 10, 2014 issue.
    Sebastian Kim for TIME
    36 of 55
  • Jessica Chastain. From "The Art of Science." November 10, 2014 issue.
    Robert Maxwell for TIME
    37 of 55
  • Matthew McConaughey. From "The Art of Science." November 10, 2014 issue.
    Robert Maxwell for TIME
    38 of 55
  • Anne Hathaway. From "The Art of Science." November 10, 2014 issue.
    Robert Maxwell for TIME
    39 of 55
  • Taylor Swift. From "Taylor Strikes A Chord." November 24, 2014 issue.
    Martin Schoeller for TIME
    40 of 55
  • Channing Tatum. From "Body of Work." November 24, 2014 issue.
    Carlos Serrao for TIME
    41 of 55
  • Benedict Cumberbatch. From "The Price of Genius." Dec. 1 / Dec. 8, 2014 issue.
    Dan Winters for TIME
    42 of 55
  • Angelina Jolie. From "The Lady and The Scamp. Angelina Jolie Finds Her Equal." Dec. 1 / Dec. 8, 2014 issue.
    Paola Kudacki for TIME
    43 of 55
  • Chris Rock. From "Will The Real Chris Rock Please Stand Up?" Dec. 1 / Dec. 8, 2014 issue.
    Geordie Wood for TIME
    44 of 55
  • Dr. Jerry Brown. From "2014 Person of the Year." Dec. 22 / Dec. 29, 2014 issue.
    Jackie Nickerson for TIME
    45 of 55
  • Salome Karwah. From "2014 Person of the Year." Dec. 22 / Dec. 29, 2014 issue
    Jackie Nickerson for TIME
    46 of 55
  • Katie Meyler. From "2014 Person of the Year." Dec. 22 / Dec. 29, 2014 issue
    Jackie Nickerson for TIME
    47 of 55
  • Bryan Schutmaat for TIME
    48 of 55
  • Professor Thomas W. Geisbert. From "2014 Person of the Year." Dec. 22 / Dec. 29, 2014 issue
    Bryan Schutmaat for TIME
    49 of 55
  • Peter Piot. From "2014 Person of the Year." Dec. 22 / Dec. 29, 2014 issue
    Bryan Schutmaat for TIME
    50 of 55
  • Michael Keaton. From "The Best of Culture 2014." Dec. 22 / Dec. 29, 2014 issue.
    John Scarisbrick for TIME
    51 of 55
  • FKA twigs. From "The Best of Culture 2014." Dec. 22 / Dec. 29, 2014 issue.
    John Scarisbrick for TIME
    52 of 55
  • David Oyelowo. From "The Best of Culture 2014." Dec. 22 / Dec. 29, 2014 issue.
    John Scarisbrick for TIME
    53 of 55
  • Emily St. John Mandel. From "The Best of Culture 2014." Dec. 22 / Dec. 29, 2014 issue.
    John Scarisbrick for TIME
    54 of 55
  • Julianne Moore. From "The Best of Culture 2014." Dec. 22 / Dec. 29, 2014 issue.
    John Scarisbrick for TIME
    55 of 55
By TIME Photo

We know them as head of states, movie stars or athletes. They are forward-thinking, rebellious or controversial. They lead us or challenge us. Yet, behind their extraordinary auras and personalities, they are human beings like the rest of us.

This year, as TIME reinforced its legacy of strong visual storytelling, these newsmakers reveled in the flashes of the magazine’s photographers. From Marco Grob’s playful portrait of Seth Meyer to Yuri Kozyrev’s powerful – and exclusive – shoot with Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova of the Pussy Riots, TIME’s commissioned photographers crisscrossed the world to meet with the world’s most influential personalities; culminating in an unprecedented four-country, 12-city photo shoot by Jackie Nickerson and Bryan Schutmaat with TIME’s Person of the Year – the Ebola Fighters.

 

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