anna wintour biography

Anna Wintour

Anna Wintour is best known as the influential editor-in-chief of 'Vogue' magazine and for her iconic pageboy haircut and large sunglasses.

Who Is Anna Wintour?

Fashion icon Anna Wintour is the eldest daughter of Charles Wintour, the editor of the London Evening Standard newspaper. Wintour landed the editorship of American Vogue in 1988. She revived the Condé Nast publication and became one of the most influential figures in the fashion industry, known widely for her iconic pageboy haircut and chilly demeanor. In 2013, Wintour added to her responsibilities at Condé Nast by becoming its artistic director.

Wintour was born on November 3, 1949, in London, England, to newspaper editor Charles Wintour and philanthropist Elinor Wintour. Born into a family with considerable wealth, Wintour demonstrated a tendency to do things her own way at an early age. As a teenager, she made the decision to forgo academics, dropping out of her fancy finishing school and opting instead for a life that revolved around the tony London life of the 1960s that she so clearly adored. With her signature hairstyle — she first went to the bob at the age of 15 and has changed it very little since then — Wintour frequented the same London clubs of pop culture's biggest stars, including members of the Beatles and Rolling Stones.

The management style and drive that Wintour would later show as a magazine editor was in part inspired by her late father, a decorated World War II veteran who'd earned a tough, stern and talented reputation as editor of the London Evening Standard . Wintour never shied away from the similarities she shared with the man known as "Chilly Charlie." "People respond well to people who are sure of what they want," Wintour told 60 Minutes in May 2009.

Early Editorial Career

Long before Vogue , however, Wintour started out in the fashion department of Harper's & Queen in London. Over the years, she rose up the editorial ladder and bounced from publication to publication between New York and London. In 1976, she moved to New York and took over as fashion editor at Harper's Bazaar . Still in her 20s and still in New York, Wintour left Harper 's for a job at Viva , a publication owned by the same outfit that managed Penthouse . There, Wintour essentially became the magazine's fashion department, cutting her teeth as a high-end editor and manager. Wintour spent generously on photographers and shoots, arranging for expensive trips to places like the Caribbean and Japan.

Following a brief stop at Savvy , where she served again as the magazine's fashion editor, Wintour took a job with New York magazine in 1981. From the start, Wintour displayed her own sense of style and direction, even going so far as to bring her own desk to her new office. Its look: "A contemporary Formica-topped affair on two metal sawhorses as legs...along with a high-tech chrome-framed chair with a seat and back made of bungee cords," wrote Jerry Oppenheimer, in his 2005 unauthorized biography of Wintour, Front Row.

From British 'Vogue' to American 'Vogue'

In 1986, two years after she married South African psychiatrist David Shaffer, Wintour returned to London as chief editor of the Condé Nast-owned British Vogue . Not surprisingly, Wintour had her own ideas about the magazine and where it needed to go.

"I want Vogue to be pacy, sharp, and sexy, I'm not interested in the super-rich or infinitely leisured. I want our readers to be energetic, executive women, with money of their own and a wide range of interests," she told the London Daily Telegraph . "There is a new kind of woman out there. She's interested in business and money. She doesn't have time to shop anymore. She wants to know what and why and where and how."

Wintour's sharp critiques and lack of patience soon earned a few memorable nicknames: "Nuclear Wintour" and "Wintour of Our Discontent." The editor, though, relished it. "I'm the Condé Nast hit man," she told a friend. "I love coming in and changing magazines."

Her next big makeover came in 1987 with another Condé Nast publication, Home and Garden , where she summarily changed the publication's title to HG and managed to reject nearly $2 million of already-paid-for photos and articles.

Grumblings about Wintour's changes were quick to appear, but her bosses at Condé Nast were clearly behind her, doling out a salary of more than $200,000 to its demanding editor, and allowing a $25,000 annual allowance for clothes and other amenities. In addition, the magazine's owners arranged for Concorde flights between New York and London so Wintour and her husband could be together.

Revitalizing 'Vogue': Ending the Supermodel Era, Introducing High-Low Fashion

Wintour's stay at HG didn't last long. In 1988, she was named editor-in-chief of Vogue , allowing for her return to New York. The move by Condé Nast came at a time when its signature fashion publication was at a crossroads. A magazine that had been at the forefront of the fashion world since the early 1960s, Vogue suddenly found itself losing ground to a three-year-old upstart, Elle , which had already reached a paid circulation of 850,000. Vogue 's subscriber base meanwhile, was a stagnant 1.2 million.

Fearing that the magazine had become complacent or worse, boring, Wintour was placed atop the editorial masthead with all the freedom, not to mention financial backing, that she needed to revitalize the publication. In her three-decade reign at the magazine, Wintour more than accomplished her mission, restoring Vogue 's preeminence while producing some truly mammoth issues. The September 2004 edition, for example, clocked in at 832 pages, the most ever for a monthly magazine.

Along the way, Wintour demonstrated fearlessness about forging new ground. She decisively called an end to the supermodel era, showcasing a preference for celebrities rather than models on her covers. Wintour was also the first to truly mix low-end fashion items with more expensive pieces in her photoshoots. Her debut cover in November 1988 included a 19-year-old Israeli model outfitted in a pair of $50 jeans and a $10,000 jewel-encrusted t-shirt.

Prolific Fashion Influencer

Over the years Wintour also demonstrated an ability to speak her mind. As gentle as she could be about the matter, the editor informed Oprah that she'd need to lose 20 pounds before she would put her on the cover of her magazine. And early in 2008, when Hillary Clinton snubbed Vogue out of fears that appearing too feminine might undermine her presidential ambitions, Wintour fired back at the Clinton camp with a letter in the February issue of her magazine.

"The notion that a contemporary woman must look mannish in order to be taken seriously as a seeker of power is frankly dismaying," she wrote. "This is America, not Saudi Arabia. It's also 2008: Margaret Thatcher may have looked terrific in a blue power suit, but that was 20 years ago. I do think Americans have moved on from the power-suit mentality."

Of course, with that power and influence comes a well-documented ego. Through the years, Wintour developed a reputation for being aloof and cold. It has been said that she is difficult to work for, and insists that her staff always look fashion-forward and rail-thin. Wintour, a mother of two who famously wore Chanel micro-mini skirts throughout her pregnancies, doesn't exactly deny she can be a demanding person for which to work. "I'm very driven by what I do," Wintour has said. "I am certainly very competitive. I like people who represent the best at what they do, and if that turns you into a perfectionist then maybe I am."

Criticism, Reputation and 'The Devil Wears Prada'

One of Wintour's former assistants, Lauren Weisberger, wrote The Devil Wears Prada (2003), a fictionalized account of her days at Vogue . Her main character, played by Meryl Streep , was a demanding boss not unlike Wintour. The book was made into a film in 2006, and Wintour turned heads when she arrived at the film's premiere dressed in Prada. This move showed critics and fans alike that Wintour was not without a sense of humor.

"The thing about Lauren's book and this film is that I do not think fiction could surpass the reality," a UK fashion editor told a reporter around the time of the movie's release. "You only have to see Anna's requests for seats at the New York shows to get an inkling of how art in this instance is only a poor imitation of life. Most of us just ask for seats in the first or second row. She has her people request a seat from which she will not have to see or be seen by specific rival editors. We spend our working lives telling people which it-bag to carry but Anna is so above the rest of us she does not even have a handbag. She has a limo. And she has her walkers [Vogue staff members] Andre Leon Talley and Hamish Bowles, whose main job is to carry her bits around for her."

In 2006, plans were announced to allow a documentary film to be made about the work done behind the scenes on Vogue's September 2007 issue. Weighing nearly five pounds, the issue of the magazine was the largest ever to be published. The movie, entitled The September Issue , was released in August 2009. The movie showed, for the first time, the exacting work required to produce an issue of Vogue . Touted as "the real Devil Wears Prada ," the movie received wide critical acclaim. However, Wintour came across as much subdued than the Streep imitation of her. One critic described the famous editor as possessing "regal confidence."

Met Gala, CFDA Charities and Politics

In general, Wintour appears unfazed by comments about her in the media. But what doesn't seem to get much mention is her charitable work. Wintour helped raise money for the Twin Towers fund after the September 11th terror attacks. With the Council of Fashion Designers of America, she also helped create a new fund to encourage and support up-and-coming designers. As a board member of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, she also organizes a fundraiser for the museum's costume department, which over the years has brought in some $50 million. In October 2017, Wintour made headlines when she appeared on The Late Late Show With James Corden , revealing she would never invite Donald Trump to the Met Gala again.

Starting in 2009, Wintour launched her New York City economic stimulus project with the Vogue -sponsored Fashion's Night Out. The annual event, held in more than 800 stores across the city in September, lets the general public shop and mingle with some of the elite personalities of the fashion world, including Oscar de la Renta , Tommy Hilfiger and Wintour herself. Stars, such as Halle Berry and Sarah Jessica Parker , have also turned out for this fashion celebration. Although the event had successfully expanded worldwide, it closed its doors in New York City after a four-year run, reportedly due to inefficient planning and organizing.

Wintour has also thrown herself into politics. In February 2012, she co-hosted a fundraising event for President Barack Obama with actress Scarlett Johansson . Her "Runway to Win" soiree offered up Obama-themed fashions and accessories from such designers as Diane Von Furstenberg, Marc Jacobs and Tory Burch. “The runway is no longer just a runway, it’s now a force for change in politics,” Wintour told The New York Times .

Personal Life

She and her husband David Shaffer divorced in 1999. The couple has two children together: Charles and Katherine. Wintour lives in New York City with her longtime boyfriend, investor Shelby Bryan.

QUICK FACTS

• Name: Anna Wintour
• Birth Year: 1949
• Birth date: November 3, 1949
• Birth City: London
• Birth Country: United Kingdom
• Gender: Female
• Best Known For: Anna Wintour is best known as the influential editor-in-chief of 'Vogue' magazine and for her iconic pageboy haircut and large sunglasses.
• Journalism and Nonfiction
• Astrological Sign: Scorpio
• North London Collegiate School

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CITATION INFORMATION

• Article Title: Anna Wintour Biography
• Author: Biography.com Editors
• Website Name: The Biography.com website
• Url: https://www.biography.com/celebrities/anna-wintour
• Access Date:
• Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
• Last Updated: April 15, 2021
• Original Published Date: April 2, 2014

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An uninvited guest at the gala: talk of the new Anna Wintour biography.

The book, written without the Vogue editor’s direct participation, was dismissed by its subject.

By Vanessa Friedman

• May 2, 2022

When Anna Wintour, officially an honorary co-chair of the Met Gala, unofficially its prime mastermind, takes her customary place this evening atop the museum stairs to greet her famous guests, she will be doing so not just in the shadow of the giant, eagle-bedecked marquee, but that of a new, unauthorized biography: “Anna,” by Amy Odell. Met watchers and Met attendees alike may well be rubbing their hands in anticipatory glee, and whispering over dinner.

Maybe now all will be revealed! The way Ms. Wintour gets brands to shell out tens of thousands of dollars for a table! The inside scoop on who is on the banned guest list! How she chooses what she wears — and what a lot of other people wear too!

As Willy Staley wrote in The New York Times Book Review , “You’ll walk away knowing every step — and misstep — in Wintour’s famous ascent to the heights of magazinedom, but without a working theory of the case, no conceptual framework to pack it all into and remember it by.”

Though written with the input of a variety of past and present Anna acolytes, the book is not particularly revealing; the gossip is largely familiar for anyone who has followed the Wintour ascendancy, though those who haven’t may find it vaguely dishy.

The Met Gala being a case in point. Though Ms. Wintour’s role in the party is duly recorded, including her alleged banning of parsley and onions and garlic from the dinner, readers looking for insight about how she has worked the levers of power to transform a classic New York cultural fund-raiser into an unprecedented event that raised $16.4 million in one night last September will be largely disappointed.

In any case, Ms. Wintour is already coolly casting doubt on the book. When asked for comment, her office simply emailed back: “‘Anna: The Biography’ was written without Anna’s participation and, regrettably, she was not given the opportunity to fact check anything in it.”

Which may be in itself a more palpable demonstration of her canny gamesmanship — showing her security by not forbidding anyone from talking to the author, even helping by having her office suggest some names, such that the author actually thanked her in the author’s note, then implying questions about its reliability — than anything in between the pages.

Vanessa Friedman was named the fashion director and chief fashion critic in March 2014. In this role she leads global fashion coverage for both The New York Times and International New York Times. More about Vanessa Friedman

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Anna — how Wintour reached the pinnacle of her profession

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Lauren Indvik

Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

The morning after Donald Trump was elected president, Anna Wintour stood in front of her editors and wept. It was a rare and, to staff, shocking display of emotion for the notoriously cool and collected Wintour, whose glossy magazine had in 2016 publicly thrown its weight behind Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.

Wintour is a woman “endowed with the rare ability to turn attachments — to both outcomes and people — on and off like a switch”, as journalist Amy Odell writes in Anna , a new biography of American Vogue’s longstanding editor-in-chief. But for a moment at least, Trump’s success threw her.

Widely considered the most powerful person in fashion, as well at publisher Condé Nast, where she is chief content officer and global editorial director, Wintour has been the subject of fascination and scrutiny since she became editor of British Vogue in 1985. And yet she has remained as seemingly mysterious to her confidantes, assistants, colleagues and the press as to the rest of the world. Through more than 250 interviews and extensive research, Odell assiduously charts how Wintour reached the pinnacle of her profession — and then superseded it, spreading her influence into Hollywood, Broadway, government, even sports.

As the book tells it, Wintour’s earliest ambition was to edit American Vogue. But despite her well-connected London upbringing as the daughter of Evening Standard editor Charles and his American wife Eleanor “Nonie” Wintour, the path there is far from smooth. Leaving school at 16, she is fired from her first job at the hip boutique Biba in the mid-1960s, under suspicion of stealing clothes, and is also dismissed from her first New York job at Harper’s Bazaar. Andy Warhol, who thought Wintour was “a terrible dresser”, declines to hire her as a fashion editor at Interview magazine.

Is Wintour a tyrant who should have been let go years ago? Or a boss whose style of leadership would be praised in male form?

When Wintour finally lands the top job at American Vogue, she cleans house. The staff permitted to remain find her “scary”, a micromanager who regularly kills stories and photo shoots deemed substandard. Odell notes that “there is debate about how creative Anna is as an editor”, and she argues that what ultimately secures Wintour’s place at the top — and keeps her there — is her personal brand, of which her stylishness and superhuman work ethic are central. Although she has a weakness for “pets” such as writer André Leon Talley (who in the 1990s is afforded a $350,000 salary to write a monthly column), what she relishes is control.

Wintour’s Vogue is a creative and commercial success but her job is far from secure. When Ron Galotti joins as publisher in 1994, he and Condé Nast owner Si Newhouse warn Wintour to feature more advertisers’ clothes in editorial pages, or else. She does, and during the late 1990s grows her power within the company and, more importantly, without. Acting as a sort of GM of the fashion industry, it is Wintour who gets John Galliano funding for his young label, and lands Marc Jacobs his creative director job at Louis Vuitton. Vogue covers, once exclusively reserved for models, become sought-after prizes for celebrities, though they must hustle for Wintour’s approval: Oprah is made to lose 20 pounds before she becomes the first black woman to have her own Vogue cover in 1998.

But it is The Devil Wears Prada — the 2006 film based on the book by former assistant Lauren Weisberger, starring Meryl Streep as the queenly , Wintour-inspired protagonist — that turns Wintour into a bona fide celebrity. It also, says Odell, makes her untouchable at Condé Nast, even as the tally of her various missteps — Vogue’s relentless body-shaming, the lack of racial diversity in its staff and pages — adds up. These errors are easy to condemn but Odell is careful to remind readers that Wintour’s attitudes were once the norm. “A creature of habit, she often simply fell back on working with her favourite people, like photographer Mario Testino,” Odell writes of the lack of black photographers shooting for Vogue.

A takedown biography of Wintour would have been easy, and Odell resists the temptation, seeking to paint a more nuanced portrait without any input from Wintour herself (who opened her Rolodex to Odell, but declined repeated requests to be interviewed).

But the book lacks a strong point of view. Is Wintour a tyrant who should have been let go from Vogue years ago, or an effective boss whose leadership methods would be readily praised in male form? Odell, an opinionated writer, is curiously reticent on these and other questions.

Wintour obsessives will no doubt revel in the details of her diet (whole-milk lattes, rare steaks, caprese salads without the tomatoes), and management style. But as for the woman behind the manicured bob and dark sunglasses? The mystery remains intact.

Lauren Indvik is the FT’s fashion editor

Anna by Amy Odell, Allen & Unwin £20, 464 pages

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