When Lauren Weisberger’s debut novel, The Devil Wears Prada, came out in 2003, many readers assumed that the character of Miranda Priestly was based on Weisberger’s former boss, Vogue magazine editor-in-chief Anna Wintour.
A new biography of Wintour claims that when she heard news of the book, she couldn’t recall who former assistant Weisberger was, Entertainment Weekly reports.
Wintour, known for her icy demeanor, reportedly told Vogue managing editor Laurie Jones, “'I cannot remember who that girl is” after hearing about Weisberger’s book deal, journalist Amy Odell writes in Anna, her new biography of Wintour.
The Devil Wears Prada follows Andrea Sachs, a young woman who gets a job as an assistant to Priestly, the editor-in-chief of an influential fashion magazine. Priestly is portrayed as cold and demanding in the novel and also in its 2006 film adaptation starring Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway.
Odell writes that Wintour attended the film’s premiere with her daughter, Bee. “Mom, they really got you,” Bee told Wintour after the screening.
A critic for Kirkus wrote of Anna, “The book may satisfy fashion industry devotees, but Anna’s iconic sunglasses still don’t come off.” It was published Tuesday by Gallery Books.
Michael Schaub, a journalist and regular contributor to NPR, lives near Austin, Texas.
