Sean O'Hagan grew up in Northern Ireland. In the 1980s he worked as a music journalist for NME and in the 1990s he began writing on culture for The Times. He has interviewed many major artists, writers and musicians, including Lou Reed, Tom Waits, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Patti Smith, Wim Wenders, Jim Jarmusch, Robert Frank, William Eggleston, Nan Goldin and Joan Didion. In 2003, he was named Interviewer of the Year in the British Press Awards. He currently works as a feature writer for the Observer and is photography critic for the Guardian.