Shutterstock acquires celebrity photo agency Backgrid

Shutterstock customers will gain access to Backgrid's 30 million photographs.

A picture of one woman carrying another on her back at the beach, with the words "Shutterstock acquires Backgrid" overlaid. — Picture: Shutterstock

News, entertainment and stock footage library Shutterstock has acquired celebrity photography agency Backgrid for an undisclosed sum.

The deal will make Backgrid’s catalogue of more than 30 million celebrity pictures available to Shutterstock subscribers.

Backgrid operates in the UK, US and Australia. Recent uploads to its site have included photos of actor Leonardo DiCaprio in character filming an upcoming Paul Thomas Anderson film, singer Avril Lavigne exiting a dinner date and Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez arriving at a concert in Los Angeles.

Bron Maher

@bron_maher

Bron Maher is Press Gazette's senior reporter, covering US and UK media. He joined Press Gazette in November 2021 from Newsguard, a US start-up that reviews how far news sites adhere to journalistic standards.