Matt Irwin (photographer)

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Matthew James Irwin (10 February 1980 – 5 May 2016) was a British celebrity photographer. He was born in Southport, England, and grew up in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, though he later said he didn’t believe and felt rejected for being gay. His sister is author Carys Bray, and their father was a stake president in Devon and Cornwall.

Irwin began taking photos at 15. He moved to London and worked as an editor and in-house photographer at Dazed & Confused, with his first cover shoot in 2007. He photographed many famous stars, including Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj, One Direction, Rihanna, Kesha, Rita Ora, Miley Cyrus, and Cara Delevingne.

In May 2016, Irwin was found dead in his London Fields flat; the door was left open. His family said he had committed suicide, a conclusion later supported by the coroner. He had been suffering from depression, and his post-mortem showed he died from a GHB overdose. He left an open letter on his laptop about his struggles with depression and growing up in a cult, which was published in Dazed in September 2016.