Anna Wintour is leaving Vogue after 37 years : but who is she behind the magazine ?
The birth of an icon
Anna Wintour (born November 3, 1949, London, England) is a British editor who worked as the editor in chief of Vogue since 1987. Known as the most important figures in fashion, she’s stepping down as editor in chief of Vogue but would continue as the magazine’s global editorial director.
She dropped out of North London Collegiate in 1966 and four years later became a fashion assistant for Harper’s & Queen magazine. After working as a fashion editor for a series of New York magazines, she served as editor (1986) of British Vogue and as editor (1987) of House & Garden, which she controversially relaunched in the United States as HG.
The start in Vogue
In 1988 Wintour replaced Grace Mirabella as editor in chief at American Vogue. The move came three years after the American launch of the French magazine Elle. Under Wintour’s direction, Condé Nast Publications Vogue’s parent company launched several spin-offs, most notably Teen Vogue (1993). Meanwhile, Wintour orchestrated a spate of high-profile philanthropic Vogue associations, including the transformation of the Met Gala, the annual fundraising event for the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (of which she has served as cochair most years since 1995). Originally an elite gathering of Manhattan socialites, the gala became an internationally chronicled celebrity-dominated red-carpet event known as the “East Coast’s answer to the Oscars.”
In a move that reflected her wide-ranging influence, in 2013 Wintour became artistic director at Condé Nast. Seven years later she was named the company’s global chief content officer.
The devil wears Prada and documentaries
In addition to such achievements, Wintour also became known for her imperious demeanor which is heightened by her propensity to sport dark sunglasses. The Devil Wears Prada (2004), the best-selling novel by Lauren Weisberger that in 2006 was adapted into a popular film starring Meryl streep and Anne Hathaway, is an account of the comic travails of one of the personal assistants of the fictional fashion magazine editor Miranda Priestly. The Priestly character is widely believed to have been a caricature of Wintour, for whom Weisberger once worked. Wintour appeared in the documentaries The September Issue: Anna Wintour & the Making of Vogue (2009), charting the creation of the September 2007 issue of the magazine, and The First Monday in May (2016), chronicling the preparation for the “China: Through the Looking Glass” exhibition and its accompanying gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
In June 2025 Wintour announced that she was stepping down as editor in chief of Vogue but would continue to serve as the magazine’s global editorial director. In addition, a new position was being created, head of editorial content, who would report to Wintour and oversee day-to-day operations at Vogue. Wintour was expected to spend more time as Condé Nast’s global chief content officer.
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