Sorensen was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, the son of Christian A. Sorensen (1890 - 1959), who served as Nebraska attorney general (1929–33), and Annis (Chaikin) Sorensen. His father was Danish American and his mother was of Russian Jewish descent. His younger brother, Philip C. Sorensen, later became the lieutenant governor of Nebraska. He graduated from Lincoln High School during 1945. He earned a bachelor's degree at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, and attended law school there, graduating first in his class.
During January 1953, the 24-year-old Sorensen became the new Senator John F. Kennedy's chief legislative aide. He wrote many of Kennedy's articles and speeches. In his 2008 autobiography _Counselor: A Life at the Edge of History_, Sorensen said he wrote "a first draft of most of the chapters" of John F. Kennedy’s 1957 book _Profiles in Courage_ and "helped choose the words of many of its sentences."
Original 14 x 11 silver print with Halsman's stamp on the reverse. Dated on the reverse in pencil 1961.
