What Devil Wears Prada Gets Right and Wrong About Vogue & Anna Wintour

It’s often the small things that are most important, and Anna Wintour is too focused on her work to worry about how she’s portrayed, especially due to the movie The Devil Wears Prada.

In a December 2024 interview with the BBC, the editor in chief of Vogue said that the most rewarding part of her job is the creative side. When asked about Meryl Streep’s portrayal of a tough fashion editor in the 2006 film The Devil Wears Prada, she left it to viewers and her colleagues to judge any similarities between herself and the character Miranda Priestly.

After leading the magazine for nearly forty years, Anna Wintour has stepped down, with Chloe Malle now in charge. However, at 76, Wintour remains active and is even featured on her first-ever Vogue cover with Meryl Streep to celebrate the upcoming film, The Devil Wears Prada 2, which will be released on May 1st.

Yes, they both wore Prada. But that’s not all.

Three former assistants to Anna Wintour—who all still work at Vogue—have revealed what it was truly like to work for her. They also discussed how accurately The Devil Wears Prada captured the atmosphere at Vogue, using the fictional magazine Runway as a point of reference.

Unlike Andy Sachs, who Miranda immediately sizes up and dismisses during her interview, none of the other characters experienced that initial cold reception.

Then again, they all put care into what they wore, and they actually wanted the job.

What was it like to interview at Vogue with Anna Wintour?

Sache Taylor, Director of Special Events, shared on the April 9th episode of The Run-Through With Vogue podcast that Anna Wintour asked her surprisingly personal questions on her first day in 2019. Taylor, who had moved from assisting in the special events department, recalled Wintour asking, ‘What do you read? How do you spend your time?’ – questions she hadn’t anticipated.

Sammi Tapper, now Director of Operations and Content Strategy at U.S. Vogue, remembered her 2023 interview being very personal. She was surprised to see the interviewer wearing sunglasses, even though the room was closed, and quickly realized the job would be demanding – which turned out to be true. The interviewer made it clear from the start that the position would be intense.

Marley Marius, a Senior Editor who joined Anna Wintour’s team shortly after graduating college in 2017, watched the movie The Devil Wears Prada before her interview. The film is based on Lauren Weisberger’s 2003 novel, which Weisberger wrote after working as Wintour’s assistant for about ten months between 1999 and 2000.

Tapper prepared for her interview with Anna Wintour by watching Wintour’s MasterClass episode, specifically a segment about getting hired as her assistant. Tapper remembered Wintour saying she looks for candidates who are authentic and genuine, and the two ended up bonding over their mutual passion for theater.

What’s the difference between first and second assistants at Vogue?

In the movie, Andy gets a job as Miranda’s second assistant. She works under Emily, played by Emily Blunt, who isn’t impressed with Andy’s unfashionable clothes or her lack of passion for the fashion world.

Malle remembers when Anna first began, she had three assistants, identified as AW123. Typically, these assistants would start at the AW2 level before moving up to AW1.

Taylor explained that when she was a first assistant, the role was much more hands-on and involved direct support for executives. She specifically handled scheduling and finances, and described the relationship as a strong mentorship – a far cry from Andy’s experience.

Tapper explained that Anna usually communicates through her first assistant, which is common in the office. The first assistant then decides which requests to pass on to the second assistant.

Does working at Vogue mean having no personal life, like in The Devil Wears Prada?

Okay, so things were amazing at work, truly! I was finally getting somewhere, really thriving, and it felt incredible. But it was like… the more successful I became, the more distant Mark, my boyfriend, and Chloe, my best friend, got. At first, they were worried about me working so much, which was sweet, I guess. But then it shifted. They started acting annoyed, like my success was somehow… a problem. It’s like they couldn’t handle me being happy and doing well. It’s honestly so frustrating, they’re just pushing me away!

Honestly, I was so relieved to hear it wasn’t as bad as she feared! She did admit, though, that she seriously worried about how taking the job would affect everyone she cared about back then – all her relationships, everything. It was a big deal, and she really thought about it, you know?

Mostly, she noted, “I think people are very excited for you.”

She also mentioned people enjoy hearing about things like Vogue and learning about her professional life. Even though it was hard being away from friends, she felt fortunate to have a strong support system who would visit and spend time with her while she worked from home.

Now, looking back, Marius realizes that living with her parents at 22 while working for Wintour actually helped keep her balanced and was more beneficial than she initially thought.

The assistants weren’t working excessively long hours, but the nature of the job made it easy to become all-consuming. As the person, now 31, explained, working in media, especially responding to current events, often blurs the line between work and life – and that’s not always a negative. They felt a strong sense of community with their colleagues at Vogue.

According to Tapper, once you commit to something, you’re fully dedicated to it for a specific period.

Is anyone fetching Anna Wintour newspapers anymore?

In the movie The Devil Wears Prada, Miranda Priestly’s assistants had to carefully arrange all the newspapers and magazines she wanted to see each morning. This was common practice at magazines in 2006, but it’s much less frequent now.

When Marius began working for Wintour, his tasks were limited to simple things like preparing her breakfast and opening doors for her.

Taylor explained that part of her routine involves preparing her iPad, which displays her daily to-do list, reminders, and a list of people who want to connect with her – she doesn’t use printed lists anymore.

Okay, so I read this fascinating piece about Anna Wintour, and it just confirms everything I suspected! Apparently, even with all her power and influence, she still… prefers paper! Like, can you believe it? Even emails – even if it’s just a quick sentence – she wants a printed copy to review. It’s insane! The only thing she’ll look at on a screen is stuff for the board, but everything else? Print, print, print! It’s so… her! I’m obsessed with this detail; it just shows how unique and wonderfully old-school she is.

Just like Miranda in the movie meticulously reads every manuscript, Anna Wintour thoroughly reviews all materials sent to her – often carried in her large L.L. Bean tote bag, which she jokingly refers to as her ‘homework bag,’ according to Jake Tapper. Amy Malle confirmed this, explaining that Wintour consistently provides detailed feedback on even multiple lengthy documents, often responding to three 4,000-word pieces overnight.

Do the Vogue assistants “gird their loins” when Anna Wintour is on her way?

It wasn’t a huge surprise, but we always knew when Anna Wintour was coming,” Taylor explained. “Typically, we’d get a call from her driver letting us know she’d arrived, and then it would take a few minutes – usually between two and five, depending on the time – for her to come upstairs. We always wanted to be ready for her arrival.

According to Tapper, Anna Wintour arrives at the office before anyone else except her assistants. However, he believes this isn’t unique to her or Vogue – it’s common in companies with respected leaders, where employees often feel motivated to arrive early.

When asked if her actions caused widespread panic, similar to the way Miranda made dramatic entrances, Marius simply said, “I did switch from clogs to better shoes, definitely.”

How accurate is the Devil Wears Prada run-through?

Tapper observed that the scene where Andy learns about the significance of cerulean blue felt authentic. This was because the assistants involved – those who managed the schedules and brought clothes into Anna Wintour’s office – had actually seen her carefully consider every outfit and accessory for photoshoots.

I’ve heard from people who were there that the meetings with Wintour were…intense. Tapper described how they’d all gather in her office, and the feedback could range from enthusiastic praise – ‘This looks great!’ – to a minor tweak – ‘It’s mostly great, just this one thing needs work.’ But sometimes, it was brutal – a complete rejection, meaning they had to start the whole thing over from scratch.

Since The Devil Wears Prada remains popular, here are some behind-the-scenes secrets about the film.

As a lifestyle insider, I always find the stories behind the stories fascinating! Did you know the movie deal for The Devil Wears Prada was actually happening before the book was even published? Apparently, just the first few chapters and a general outline were enough to convince the folks at Fox. Carla Hacken, a former executive at the studio, shared with Variety that she was the very first person to read it and immediately recognized Miranda Priestly as an iconic villain. She said they moved fast to secure the rights – it was a total scoop!

Even before the book became a New York Times bestseller in 2003, people were trying to turn it into a movie. After four different writers attempted to create a straightforward adaptation, Aline Brosh McKenna was brought in to write a new version. Her focus shifted to the compromises women often make to advance their careers at fashion magazines. “I wrote a first draft in about a month,” McKenna explained, “and then I revised it based on feedback from everyone involved.”

Creating the story behind Anna Wintour proved challenging for the production. According to author McKenna, people in the fashion industry were hesitant to speak with her, fearing retribution from Wintour and Vogue. She told Entertainment Weekly that one anonymous source reviewed her work and pointed out the characters were too kind, arguing that people in that world simply don’t have time for niceness. McKenna then revised the script to portray the characters as more driven and ruthless.

Director David Frankel told Entertainment Weekly that Anna Wintour’s influence created challenges when finding filming locations. The Met Ball meant the Metropolitan Museum wasn’t available, and Bryant Park—then the regular home of New York Fashion Week—was also off-limits.

We couldn’t even film in the apartment buildings we considered for Miranda’s place – the building committees wouldn’t allow it. Finally, a producer friend, Wendy Finerman, let us borrow a five-story townhouse on the Upper East Side.

According to Betsy Frankel, the production designer Jess Gonchor was the only person connected to Vogue during the making of the movie. He secretly visited Anna Wintour’s office and recreated it so accurately that, reportedly, Wintour immediately redecorated her actual office after the film’s release.

The costumes also proved difficult to source. At first, designer Frankel explained to Entertainment Weekly that no major designers would loan clothes for the movie, fearing the disapproval of Anna Wintour.

The film’s incredible costumes were created by the renowned Patricia Field, who gathered around 150 pieces from designers like Donna Karan, Zac Posen, Rick Owens, and even Prada. She carefully styled Meryl Streep as Miranda Priestly, making sure the character’s look was distinct from Anna Wintour. As Streep joked, “Everything was borrowed, so we had to be extra careful – no spaghetti at lunch!” because anything spilled couldn’t be returned.

Anna Wintour seems to have a good sense of humor about everything. Meryl Streep recently spoke with Wintour for Vogue’s 125th anniversary issue about playing Katherine Graham, a friend of Wintour’s, in the 2017 film The Post. When asked which role was the most difficult to portray, Streep began to answer, but Wintour playfully interrupted, saying with a laugh, “No, no! Let’s not talk about that, Meryl.”

Wintour actually did see the movie—the same screening as her previous assistant, Weisberger. She later explained to 60 Minutes that while it was entertaining, the film wasn’t an accurate portrayal of life at the magazine.

Meryl Streep was the only actress the studio considered for the role of Miranda, according to studio VP Hacken, who told Variety they didn’t even think about anyone else. Hacken admitted, “I just kept praying it would be Meryl.” She was so thrilled when Streep’s agent called to say the actress had read the script and was willing to meet with the director that she briefly put the agent on hold to celebrate. “I was yelling with excitement in my office!”

Meryl Streep explained to Entertainment Weekly that she admired the character’s strength and refusal to compromise herself. She appreciated that the character didn’t shy away from her flaws, and that she didn’t try to be likable to get what she wanted – something Streep’s friend, Carrie Fisher, used to describe as being overly accommodating. Streep noted that this character, Miranda, simply didn’t engage in that kind of behavior.

Before agreeing to the role, Meryl Streep did something very characteristic of the demanding character she would play. Though she had already won two Oscars and received eleven additional nominations, she wasn’t used to negotiating a higher salary. However, this time, she confidently asked for more money.

She told Variety that the initial offer felt a little low, and didn’t quite match how much she brought to the project. After she was prepared to walk away, they increased the offer. She was 55 years old and had only recently learned to confidently negotiate for herself.

Streep also requested specific scenes to ensure her character, Miranda, felt realistic and wasn’t over-the-top. She wanted a scene highlighting Miranda’s expertise in fashion – specifically, the one about Andy’s cerulean sweater – and another showing a vulnerable side, where Miranda appeared unguarded in her hotel room.

Meryl Streep proactively styled her hair white for the film, presenting the look to the studio head. Director David Frankel told EW that Streep fully embodied her character, Miranda, during that meeting. The studio executive simply looked into Streep’s eyes and didn’t feel the need to comment on the hair or anything else – she had already transformed into the role.

Anne Hathaway revealed she wasn’t the first choice for her role in The Devil Wears Prada. She jokingly said on RuPaul’s Drag Race that she was actually the ninth actress considered for the part – meaning she had to really prove herself, perhaps even more than her character, Andy, worked for Miranda.

Anne Hathaway revealed to Variety that while she didn’t need to audition, she still had to work hard to get the part. This included a creative effort where she literally wrote “hire me” in the sand of a Zen garden. When she finally received the news, she was at home getting dressed with friends. She recalls running into her living room, still half-dressed, and excitedly shouting, “I got The Devil Wears Prada! I got The Devil Wears Prada!”

Luckily for Anne Hathaway, the studio’s first choice for the role turned it down multiple times. Director Frankel told Entertainment Weekly they offered the part to Rachel McAdams three times. At the time, McAdams was filming The Family Stone and, after starring in hits like Mean Girls and The Notebook, didn’t want to immediately take on another popular, mainstream movie. According to Frankel, the studio really wanted McAdams, but she was set on not doing the film.

Kate Hudson turned down a highly coveted role, admitting it wasn’t the right time in her schedule. Speaking on Capital FM’s Capital Breakfast in February 2025, she said she regretted not making it work, and immediately felt disappointed when she first read the script.

Meryl Streep, impressed by Anne Hathaway’s performance in the 2005 Oscar-winning film Brokeback Mountain, played a key role in getting Hathaway cast in The Princess Diaries. Director Garry Marshall remembered that Streep saw a scene from Brokeback Mountain, then spoke with Hathaway and called Fox executive Tom Rothman, saying she believed Hathaway was talented and they would collaborate well.

Finding the right actress for Emily proved even harder. Frankel reviewed over 100 auditions for the role of Miranda’s tough assistant (including Tracie Thoms, who later auditioned for the part of Andy’s friend Lily). Ultimately, it was Emily Blunt, who showed up dressed casually, that stood out to him.

Emily Blunt was already at the Fox studio auditioning for the movie Eragon when a casting director asked her to read for The Devil Wears Prada. She recalled on The Late Late Show in May 2021 that she was in a hurry to catch her flight and felt flustered. She did the reading while wearing sweatpants and didn’t feel she looked the part.

A few days after losing out on the role in Eragon, Emily Blunt received a call from casting director David Frankel. She told Variety that she was at a club in London when he called – she actually had to take the call from the bathroom. Frankel explained that while he liked her audition, the studio wanted to see her again, this time dressed more like the character.

Emily was originally intended to be an American character, but after Kate McKinnon heard Emily Blunt deliver the sharp dialogue with her British accent, they decided to rewrite the script. As McKinnon explained to Entertainment Weekly, they met for coffee, reviewed the script, and added British expressions to better suit Blunt’s delivery.

Emily Blunt shared that she often draws inspiration from real life, even ‘stealing’ moments she observes from others. She recounted an instance on The Howard Stern Show where she overheard a frustrated mother in a supermarket scolding her child. The mother used a specific gesture—opening and closing her hand—while saying, ‘Yeah, I’m hearing this, and I want to hear this.’ Blunt found the moment so authentic that she incorporated the line and gesture into one of her films, and it’s now a memorable part of her performance.

Stanley Tucci played a key role in creating some of the most memorable lines in the film. Producers had been searching for the perfect actor to play art director Nigel for months when Tucci finally accepted the role just before filming began, as he told Entertainment Weekly. He then perfectly captured Nigel’s witty and sarcastic personality, even coming up with some of the character’s most famous lines on the spot.

Stanley Tucci recalled fondly a scene where Miranda first arrives at the office, causing a comical panic among the characters. He shared with Buzzfeed that the cast kept bursting into laughter during filming, and director David Frankel would improvise lines for him to deliver. Ultimately, ‘Gird your loins’ was the line that made the final cut. Tucci also revealed to Entertainment Weekly that another line he suggested, ‘Tits in!’, was a running joke that didn’t quite make it.

One of his most cherished memories from making the film is the connection he made with his costars. He became close with Emily Blunt and was even invited to her wedding to John Krasinski in 2010. It was there he reconnected with Felicity Blunt, who is now his wife. They married in 2012 and have two children, Matteo and Emilia.

Joe Tucci shared with People magazine that he first met his current wife at the premiere of a film in 2006. At the time, he was still married to his late wife, Kate, who had just been diagnosed with breast cancer. He explained that he made the movie, Kate began treatment, and then they attended the premiere. Kate lived for four more years after that. Interestingly, Felicity—Emily’s sister and now his wife—and Kate actually spoke at the premiere, and he has a photo of them together.

Rosario Dawson, like Anne Hathaway, vividly recalls the moment she found out she’d been cast as Lily – it happened on her 30th birthday in August 2005. While she felt good about her audition, having often played similar ‘best friend’ roles, she was still overjoyed when she got the news.

I remember being at a workshop for a new play by Alan Ball at Dartmouth when I found out about The Devil Wears Prada. It was so funny – I was just having lunch in the cafeteria when someone casually mentioned, ‘Oh, by the way, you got The Devil Wears Prada!’ and then wished me a happy birthday! It definitely made for a memorable birthday, that’s for sure.

Thoms recalls seeing Adrian Grenier, who was very popular at the time thanks to Entourage, surrounded by enthusiastic fans. Grenier cleverly managed the autograph requests by giving everyone a CD from his band, The Honey Brothers, instead.

Thoms observed that Josh Grenier, playing Andy’s boyfriend Nate, used the role as a chance to highlight his bandmates, since he wasn’t the lead singer. Thoms admired how Grenier thoughtfully acknowledged everyone’s support and actively returned that appreciation to his fellow band members.

Thoms really enjoyed her time working on the project, describing it as feeling like a grown-up, New York-based show similar to Sex and the City. However, she does wish one thing had gone differently.

She had a specific idea for how to handle the Marc Jacobs bag that Lily and Thoms clearly wanted during a crucial scene. She asked the props team to keep the bag hidden until filming began, so her reaction would be real. “The gasping, grabbing, and begging – that all happened because the bag was truly stunning,” she explained.

She confessed to TopMob News that she loved the purse so much she’d actually planned a storyline about keeping it! Unfortunately, the scene where she’d ‘accidentally’ leave it behind at work was removed, meaning she never got the chance to take it. She said it was really disappointing.

Meryl Streep didn’t travel to Paris for the film. Originally, no one was scheduled to film in Paris for the scenes depicting Miranda and Andy’s trip to Paris Fashion Week. Director David Frankel was shocked by this, but he created a compelling preview that convinced the studio to move the film’s release to the summer and increase its budget.

Hathaway and Simon Baker (playing Christian, her other love interest) traveled to France for filming, but Meryl Streep shot her scenes in New York. The studio said it was too expensive to fly Streep to France.

Meryl Streep actually ended up missing out on a lot of the enjoyable moments on set. She explained to Entertainment Weekly that fully immersing herself in her stern Miranda character and distancing herself from the playful atmosphere was a difficult experience. She could hear everyone having fun, which made her feel down. She jokingly told herself it was the cost of playing a boss, and decided it was the last time she’d try such an intense acting approach.

Before Meryl Streep adopted a more distant demeanor, she offered Anne Hathaway a quick word of encouragement, as Hathaway told People magazine. Streep said, “I want you to know I think you’re going to be great, and I’m so happy to work with you…and that’s the last nice thing I’m going to say to you.”

That’s all.

2026-04-10 04:22