What The Devil Wears Prada Got Right And Wrong About Anna Wintour

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Fans of "The Devil Wears Prada" have hardly been able to contain their anticipation as the 2026 release date of the film's sequel draws closer. The original film has been launched back to the fore of pop culture nearly 20 years after its debut, which has led to a lot of conversations, the most exciting one coming straight from the horse's mouth. In a September 2025 episode of the podcast "The Run-Through with Vogue," Anna Wintour — on whom the notorious character of Miranda Priestly (played by Meryl Streep) was supposedly based — opened up about her true feelings regarding the film. Most surprising was her revelation that things at Vogue don't actually go down the way they do at the fictional Runway magazine, particularly when it comes to one of the film's most famous quotes.

"Nobody at Vogue moves at a glacial pace, least of all my assistants," Wintour confirmed, referring to the iconic scene in which Miranda tells a dallying Andy Sachs (played by Anne Hathaway), "By all means, move at a glacial pace. You know how that thrills me." For those who've been paying attention to Wintour's comments over the years — though there haven't been many — this shouldn't come as too much of a surprise. "It was entertainment," Wintour said in a 2009 interview on "60 Minutes," adding, "It was not a true rendition of what happens within this magazine." Elsewhere in the interview, the fashion icon cleared up that she doesn't expect her staff to vacate the elevator when she's riding, offering as proof the fact that many in her team have been content enough to stay with her for more than 15 years. She may have some similarities with Miranda (her setting of Met Gala rules that all attendees must follow is pretty Miranda-like!), but ultimately, they're two different people. 

Lauren Weisberger, the author of the book "The Devil Wears Prada" that the film's based on, clarified to the Daily Mail in 2010 that Miranda Priestly "wasn't a one-to-one portrayal" of Anna Wintour. Still, given she once worked as Wintour's assistant, some people had doubts. "But of course my time at Vogue informed the book, there's no denying that," she added.

Unfortunately, the rumors surrounding Wintour's personality have persisted, and she's well-aware of them. "I read in the New York Times this week that I'm an ice queen, I'm the sun king, I'm an alien fleeing from District Nine, and I'm a dominatrix," she said while appearing on "The Late Show with David Letterman" in 2009. The host pressed Wintour about whether those were true since they seemed true in "The Devil Wears Prada," and her response was perfect: "I seem to remember that actually the movie was fiction, and we really like fiction at Vogue."

In her "60 Minutes" interview that year, Wintour seemed taken aback when asked if she identifies with the term "b****," as both she and Miranda have been described. "I hope I'm not. I try not to be. But I like people that represent the best of what they do and if that turns you into a perfectionist then maybe I am," she said. As a Scorpio, she is one of the zodiac signs that are total perfectionists, after all. So, if the cold and heartless side of Miranda didn't come from Wintour, where did portrayer Meryl Streep find it? "The voice I got from Clint Eastwood," the "Mamma Mia!" star recalled to Variety in 2016. "He never, ever, ever raises his voice and everyone has to lean in to listen, and he is automatically the most powerful person in the room."

Anna Wintour and Miranda Priestly are clearly not one and the same, but Wintour has admitted that the two share some similarities. "If one comes across sometimes as being cold or brusque, it's simply because I'm striving for the best," she added on "60 Minutes," noting that she does value "friendship" and "respect" in the workplace, but it is a workplace. Backing this up, Lauren Weisberger admitted that the Vogue office was accurately portrayed on the screen, telling The Guardian in 2024 that it was "demanding and fast-paced and stressful and head-spinningly around-the-clock." Like Andy Sachs, she "would wake up every morning to voicemails left overnight." 

Interestingly, Wintour was pleased with this portrayal, telling David Letterman in 2009, "What I liked about the movie is that it really showed all the hard work that goes into the making of the magazine." When he asked her what other similarities she had with Priestly, she admitted, "I'm very decisive and I try and give very clear direction to the people I'm working with and sometimes unfortunately they don't hear the answer they want to hear." She added, "I appreciate wonderful work, good work, creative, talented people." In her "60 Minutes" interview, she confirmed that she is "very driven" and "very competitive" and "probably very needy."

Finally, Wintour and Priestly both seem to be able to keep cool under pressure. Meryl Streep's character thrives as her marriage is falling apart, while Wintour stays calm as she's repeatedly asked whether she's a horrible person to work for, despite the fact that many businessmen behave in the same way and aren't questioned or criticized. Along with her many other achievements, she's clearly a pro at dealing with rude people.