In November 2003, musician and photographer Bryan Adams began photographing a cross section of influential American women dressed in Calvin Klein. Shot mainly in New York and Los Angeles throughout 2004, American Women is a tribute to the beauty, strength, and character of American women. Actors, journalists, musicians, artists, businesswomen, athletes, and philanthropists are included—the binding theme being that they are all American women known for excelling in their field. Proceeds from American Women will support breast cancer research programs at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center through The Society of MSKCC.

Hillary Rodham Clinton, Katie Couric, Jennifer Aniston, Gwyneth Paltrow, Scarlett Johansson, Hilary Swank, Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Lindsay Lohan, Christie Brinkley, Sarah Jessica Parker, Eartha Kitt, Aerin Lauder Zinterhofer, Nan Kempner, Paula Zahn, Cindy Crawford, Alice Sebold, Amber Valletta, Katie Holmes, Eve Ensler, and Lauren Hutton are just a few of the women Adams selected from among America's most notable women, all lovingly and glamorously captured by the camera of a rising star in the field.

Produced in close collaboration with Calvin Klein, Inc., American Women is Adams' third book presenting portraits of important women. His first, Made in Canada (Key Porter, 1999), benefited the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation and featured influential Canadian women such as Linda Evangelista, k.d. lang, Shania Twain, and Pamela Anderson. Based on its success, he published a second book, Haven (2000), to benefit the Haven Trust, a breast cancer support center in London. The book raised a considerable sum for the charity and received widespread press. For that book, Bryan photographed HRH Queen Elizabeth II, the Duchess of York, Vanessa Redgrave, Elizabeth Hurley, Kate Moss, Julie Christie, Joan Collins, and forty other influential British women.