Daniela Rossell (born 1973, Mexico City) is a Mexican photographer best known for her portraits of the privileged Mexican elite, of which she herself is a member. Her best-known photographic work was published in 2002 under the title Ricas y Famosas, which is a photographic series portraying upper-class Mexican women, many whom had connections to the PRI Institutional Revolutionary Party. Life Rossell was born into the elite class she would later photograph. She is the granddaughter of two former Mexican governors. Her mother was an art collector, and Rossell was raised with an appreciation for fine art. She was educated at the American School Foundation, an exclusive and academically rigorous prep school in Mexico City. There, she developed an interest in theatre and began acting at age sixteen. She studied acting at the Núcleo de Estudios Teatrales. She then briefly studied painting at the National School of Visual Arts, but left to pursue a career in photography. Rossell currently lives and works in Mexico City and shows throughout Latin America, Europe and the United States. Art The photographic series Daniela Rossell is best known for is Ricas y Famosas (Rich and Famous), which spanned over the years 1994-2001 and was published as a book in 2009 (Oceano De Mexico, The first models for these photographs were the friends and family of the artist, who were Mexican elite, and then began to spread to other elite women who volunteered to model. Each model chooses how to depict their identity surrounded by their lavish material items and selling sex appeal in their poses. Rossell believes that her models are influenced by magazines and television shows in how they should perform in front of the camera because they want to look American. This quest to look American requires these models to modify their lifestyle and manipulation of identity that is a form of unhappiness. Despite having materialistically everything, these women struggle to find satisfaction in who they are because of the fantasy portrayed of America. When looking at the photographs is the large amounts of art and non-Christian icons mixed with Christian art found in these lavish homes. For example, one woman is posed lying seductively across a massive sized Buddha surrounded by champagne and money. The juxtaposition between sacred object and sexual attraction makes for a conflicting yet entertaining subject. One of the themes of the series is femininity and the role