Marissa Roth: A Life Documenting Women, War and Peace

Send us a text

Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Marissa Roth joins Angela Nicholson on the SheClicks Women in Photography Podcast to discuss her extraordinary journey capturing stories of women, conflict and healing for more than four decades.

Marissa began her career in Los Angeles, photographing Hollywood stars and rock legends before moving into hard news and ultimately focusing on in-depth documentary work. Her long-form project One Person Crying: Women and War spans 40 years and documents the impact of conflict on women in 17 countries. With powerful sensitivity and unflinching honesty, Marissa shares how this project evolved and why it became a deeply personal exploration of inherited trauma and resilience.

In this inspiring episode, she also talks about photographing in Pakistan, living and working in the Philippines, and how a life-changing journey to Tibet opened a new path of peace and creativity. Marissa’s reflections on working as a woman in a male-dominated field are both honest and empowering, offering invaluable advice for photographers exploring difficult or emotional subjects.

Marissa discusses the importance of instinct in her work, the challenge of finishing long-term projects and how she uses photography to document memory, identity and truth. Her commitment to human rights storytelling and her quiet strength shine through.

This episode is a great listen for anyone interested in documentary photography, storytelling, women’s rights or using creative work as a tool for social awareness and healing.

 Takeaways

• Long-term documentary projects can evolve organically and often reveal deeper personal meaning over time.
• Trusting your instinct is essential, especially when photographing emotionally sensitive or complex subjects.
• Finishing a photography project can be harder than starting one - persistence and clarity of purpose are vital.
• You do not need to be in an active war zone to tell powerful stories of conflict and human resilience.
• Your own history and personal experiences can influence the stories you feel compelled to tell.
• Photography can be both a form of activism and a path to personal peace and understanding.

Connect with Marissa

• Website
• Instagram

Support the show