Anna Wintour
Anna Wintour (born
November 3,
1949 in
London,
England) is the
Editor-in-Chief of the
U.S. edition of
Vogue, a position she has held since
1988.
Wintour is an icon of the
fashion world as well as occasionally appearing on the
International Best Dressed List. Her personal style is best identified by her ubiquitous
sunglasses and by her hairstyle, a
pageboy cut some have compared to a
Louise Brooks bob.
Early Life
Wintour was born in London. Her father, Charles Wintour, was a former editor of The
Evening Standard and her mother was Elinor (or Eleanor) Baker. Her mother, often referred to as an heiress, which may or may not be the case, was the daughter of a Harvard professor. The family included three other children: Jimmy, the eldest, an assistant director of housing for the Lambeth Borough Council; Nora, who works at an international organization in Geneva; and Patrick, the youngest, who started as labour correspondent at
The Guardian in 1983 and rose to become the political editor for both
The Guardian and the
The Observer in 2006. [
1]
Wintour was educated at
North London Collegiate School, but never graduated.
Career
She started working in fashion magazines in
1970 in London. She became editor of
British Vogue in
1986 and of
House and Garden in
1987. In the latter position, she was so fond of putting couture in photo spreads that industry wags began to refer to the magazine as
House & Garment. She did, however, turn both magazines around, increasing their circulation.
She was expected to do the same at
Vogue, which had, under her predecessor
Grace Mirabella, become more focused on lifestyles as a whole and less on fashion. Industry insiders worried that it was losing ground to the upstart
ELLE. Under Wintour's editorship, the magazine renewed its focus on fashion and returned to the prominence it had held under
Diana Vreeland. However, since Wintour's editorship, many critics have charged that instead of models, celebrities are becoming the face of the monthly magazine. Indeed, a wide range of prominent women have graced the front cover of Vogue, from Oscar-winning actresses (
Nicole Kidman,
Charlize Theron, and
Angelina Jolie) to celebrities (
Melania Trump) and politicians (
Hillary Clinton). Additionally, Wintour is known to be an avid and effective champion of the fashion industry. She has played a great part in the success stories of the designers
John Galliano (of
Christian Dior) and
Michael Kors.
Personal Life
She has often been the target of various animal rights organizations such as
P.E.T.A who are angered by her use of fur in Vogue and her refusal to run paid advertisements from animal rights organizations. Undeterred, she continues to use fur in photo spreads. She is routinely assaulted by activists over this matter. According to the
New York Times, "Last season...in Paris a woman ran up to [her] and slammed her with some bloody matter packed into a pie tin...an activist outside the
Dolce and Gabbana show nailed her with a flour bomb." She herself said she has been physically attacked so many times she's "lost count."
She was previously married to child psychiatrist
David Shaffer and has two children by him, Charles (Charlie) and Katherine (known as Bee). She is now involved with investor
Shelby Bryan.
Wintour is also a noted
philanthropist. She is a trustee of the
Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and has worked to create attention for young and emerging
fashion designers. She is also a major fundraiser for
AIDS charities. Wintour began the CFDA/Vogue Fund in order to encourage, support and mentor unknown fashion designers.
Memoirs and Biographies
In 2003,
Lauren Weisberger, Wintour's former assistant, authored the best selling
roman à clef The Devil Wears Prada. While it has been suggested that the setting (the fictional
Runway fashion magazine) and the book's antagonist (editor-in-chief Miranda Priestly) were based on
Vogue magazine and Wintour, Weisberger denies this. In mid-2006, a movie based on
The Devil Wears Prada was released. Wintour attended the movie premiere of
The Devil Wears Prada wearing
Prada.
In the film, actress
Meryl Streep plays Miranda Priestly. Streep denies that her portrayal was based on Wintour, whom the actress says she only met at the first benefit screening of the film. Despite knowing the role was allegedly based on Wintour, she stated she had no interest in doing a documentary on the
Vogue editor, preferring to draw her inspiration from an amalgam of überbosses she's met over the years.
In 2005, Wintour was the subject of an unauthorized
biography by Jerry Oppenheimer,
Front Row: The Cool Life and Hot Times of Vogue's Editor In Chief. Oppenheimer previously authored books on American icons such as
Martha Stewart,
Barbara Walters,
Jerry Seinfeld, and
Ethel Kennedy.
*
"The Devil Wears Teflon" New York Times July 10, 2006
