For decades, Anna Wintour has been synonymous with Vogue—and with an icy, demanding persona immortalized by Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada. But as the 76-year-old steps down from her editor-in-chief role (she remains Global Editorial Director of Condé Nast), a more nuanced portrait emerges from recent interviews: a driven perfectionist, a devoted mother, and a woman who never saw the fictional Miranda Priestly as a true reflection of herself.
"It wasn't a one-to-one portrayal," former assistant Lauren Weisberger told the Daily Mail, acknowledging her novel was inspired by her time at Vogue but not a literal account. Streep, who will reprise her role in the upcoming sequel, said she did think of Wintour while preparing: "I tried to imagine what it was like to carry her responsibility and to be as interested in the world and curious as she must have to be."
Wintour herself has always dismissed the comparison. "It was entertainment," she told 60 Minutes in 2009. "It was not a true rendition of what happens within this magazine." Yet she admitted the armor she wears—those signature Chanel sunglasses—is practical. "I can sit in a show and if I am bored out of my mind, nobody will notice," she said. "At this point, they have become, really, armor."
Behind the formidable reputation is a woman who came of age when "women still left the dinner table so men could smoke their cigars," she told the Financial Times. She worked her way up from British Vogue to become the most powerful figure in fashion, presiding over the Met Gala for 27 years. "I like my age," she said. "I feel as alive, excited and aware as ever."
Colleagues describe a boss who demands excellence but inspires loyalty. "If I'm such a bitch, then they must really be a glutton for punishment, because they're still here," she quipped, noting many staffers have stayed for 15 or 20 years. "If one comes across as sometimes being cold or brusque, it's simply because I'm striving for the best."
Friends, including former creative director Grace Coddington, acknowledge the aloofness is calculated. "I think she enjoys being not completely approachable," Coddington wrote in her memoir. Wintour confirmed: "I am certainly very competitive. What else am I—needy? Probably very needy, yes."
Outside the office, Wintour is a mother of two: son Charlie, 40, and daughter Bee, 38, with ex-husband David Shaffer. She balanced parenting with a transatlantic commute during her early Vogue years. "I didn't put the magazine above all," she hinted, suggesting the real Anna is far more complex than the legend.
As her reign at Vogue's top post concludes, Wintour's legacy is not just the covers she chose or the trends she set—it's the paradox of a woman who built an empire on perfection while insisting she's simply doing what she loves. "I try not to be [a bitch]," she said. "But I like people who represent the best of what they do, and if that turns you into a perfectionist, then maybe I am."