Diana Wintour

Editor-in-chief of Vogue and fashion icon with a purportedly volatile, aloof, and elitist attitude, Anna Wintour is undoubtedly one of the most intriguing and powerful figures in the current fashion industry.

Anna Wintour was born November 3, 1949 in London, England. Her father, Charles Vere Wintour, was the well-respected editor of the Evening Standard. Wintour, whose passion for fashion began early, was often questioned by Charles for what youth wanted to see on the pages of his magazine.

While not many people associate Wintour with familial happiness, she was actually one of five children. She attended North London Collegiate School but found the dress code too staunch. By fourteen, she was sporting hitched hemlines and her characteristic bob hairstyle. The following year, she began dating older men such as Piers Paul Read and Nigel Dempster, and the year after she dropped out of school entirely.

Working at Biba boutique as well as Harrods, Wintour dabbled in fashion classes but quickly dropped out. Her boyfriend, Richard Neville of Oz publication, introduced her to the fast paced world of magazine production. Ultimately taking a position in fashion journalism at Harper’s Bazaar, Wintour left for New York when she didn’t get along with her new editor.

Her connections led to Viva, but the magazine went under in 1979. All the while, her love life continued to be varied and wild, including a rumored affair with Eric Idle.

Back to the publishing game in 1980, she took a job at Savvy followed by a prominent position at New York. It was here her work earned recognition, especially when she arranged a cover with actress Rachel Ward. When the issue sold a staggering number of copies, Wintour was well on her way to the kind of success she desired.

Although her eye was always on the editor-in-chief position, Wintour settled for creative director at Vogue. She also began dating David Shaffer, whom she married in late 1984. In April 1986, she took the helm at the British Vogue and not long after gave birth to her son. It was during this time Wintour radically changed the magazine and laid the groundwork for her notoriously difficult personality.

Her brief move to House & Garden was relatively unsuccessful, and she was eventually moved to the position she had coveted for over a decade—editor of American Vogue. Wintour is credited with returning Vogue to its focus on fashion unlike its competitors, which often ran lifestyle pieces. Due in part to her three successful spin-offs, Teen Vogue, Vogue Living, and Men’s Vogue, Wintour earned the prestigious “Editor of the Year.”

Wintour is noted for using her power to promote up-and-coming designers including John Galliano and Marc Jacobs. Others know Wintour for her devoted charity work, including $10 million towards AIDS relief. PETA, however, is constantly targeting Wintour for her continued use of fur on the pages of Vogue.

Wintour has also found herself thrust into the spotlight thanks to the novel and film adaptation of The Devil Wears Prada. The character Miranda Priestly (portrayed by Meryl Streep) is supposed by many to be a loosely fictionalized version of Wintour. Anne Hathaway played the part of her assistant, thought to be author Lauren Weisberger, who was actually Wintour’s personal assistant for a time.

Other spoofs have occurred in Zoolander and the Robert Altman directed Prêt-à-Porter. These references help maintain her visibility in pop culture.

Wintour’s first marriage ended in divorce in 1999. They had two children together. Her second marriage, to investor Shelby Bryan, took place in 2004. They are still together.