He was born in Brooklyn (New York). After studying English and American literature at Cornell University in the mid sixties, Richard Kalvar worked in New York as an assistant to French fashion photographer Jérôme Ducrot. He decided to become a photographer due to an extended trip with a camera to Europe in 1966-1967. After working for two years in New York, he was offered his first and last role in the theatre, acting in France, in Marseille and Paris, where he settled, co-founding the Viva agency in 1972. In 1975 he became an associate member of Magnum Photos, and a full member two years later. He has subsequently served as vice-president and as president. Kalvar has done extensive personal work in America, Europe and Asia. In 1980 Kalvar held a one-man show at Agathe Gaillard gallery in Paris and has participated in many group shows. A major retrospective of his work was shown at the Maison Européenne de la Photographie in 2007, accompanied by his book Earhlings.