Photo: Lynn Gilbert / CC BY-SA 4.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Sontag is, to me, less a critic than a model of how to pay attention. Against Interpretation taught me to resist the lazy rush to decode art into meaning, and On Photography still reframes how I look at every image scrolling past. What moves me most is the moral nerve of Illness as Metaphor, written while she herself faced cancer, dismantling the cruelty of how we talk about disease. She had both intellect and anger, and used them together. The National Book Award and Jerusalem Prize confirm it, but her real legacy is that her essays refuse to age. She still makes you think harder.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Susan Sontag
- Name (Japanese)
- スーザン・ソンタグ
- Reading
- すーざん・そんたぐ
- Born
- January 16, 1933 – December 28, 2004
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Capricorn / Rooster
- Origin
- New York City, New York, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- writer / film director / screenwriter / professor / essayist
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- North Hollywood High School
- University
- University of Paris
Awards & achievements
- 1965 George Polk Award
- 1966 Guggenheim Fellowship
- 1975 Guggenheim Fellowship
- 1977 National Book Critics Circle Award in Criticism
- 2000 National Book Award
- 2000 National Book Award for Fiction
- 2001 Jerusalem Prize
- 2003 Princess of Asturias Literary Prize
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
5. Works & records
| Category | Title | Role | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notable work | On Photography | — | |
| Notable work | Against Interpretation | — | |
| Notable work | Illness as Metaphor | — | |
| Notable work | AIDS and Its Metaphors | — | |
| Notable work | Under the Sign of Saturn | — |
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was Susan Sontag born?
January 16, 1933 – December 28, 2004.
Where is Susan Sontag from?
Susan Sontag is from New York City, New York, United States.
What does Susan Sontag do?
Susan Sontag works as writer, film director, screenwriter, professor, essayist.
What is Susan Sontag known for?
Notable works include On Photography, Against Interpretation, Illness as Metaphor.
Writer — see all → · Film director — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-17
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.