Tributes have been paid to an award-winning photographer who has died at the age of 97.

Marilyn Stafford photographed some of the world's most famous people during her long and pioneering career.

She was born in America but lived in Shoreham for years. She died on Monday, December 2.

Brighton Museum and Art Gallery, which hosted an exhibition of her work last year, said it was "deeply saddened" to hear of Marilyn's death.

Between February and May 2022, her work was exhibited at the gallery in Pavilion Gardens - entitled Marilyn Stafford: A life in photography.

Royla Pavilion and Museums Trust chief executive Hedley Swain said he was "incredibly sad" at the loss of such "a great photographer and truly inspiring person"

He said: “It was such a pleasure to meet Marilyn last year.

“She was still extremely sharp and it was fascinating to hear her memories and stories about her iconic photographs.

“Marilyn photographed some of the world’s most famous people from Albert Einstein to Indira Gandhi but she also captured ordinary lives from the slums of Paris to Algerian refugees. Her work remains as a legacy to a great artist.”

Marilyn's career spanned several decades since photographing Einstein in 1948.

She was an advocate for women in photography after being one of very few female editorial photographers in the mid-1900s. She regularly worked for publications such as Vogue and The Observer.

She set up the Marilyn Stafford FotoReportage Award for women photographers in 2017.

A spokeswoman for Brighton Museum said: "Stafford witnessed significant, and sometimes turbulent, periods of modern social and political history."

In 2019, she was awarded the Chairman’s Lifetime Achievement Award at the UK Picture Editors’ Guild. A spokesman said Marilyn was "an extraordinary character who enriched all around her and now leaves us poorer for her departure".