Anna Wintour

Anna Wintour grew up around newspapers; her father edited the Evening Standard and asked her advice on reaching young readers. She started in fashion journalism in London, moved to New York for stints at New York and House & Garden, then returned to edit British Vogue from 1985 to 1987. A year later she took over American Vogue, pulling a stagnating magazine back to relevance by using it as a tool to shape the industry itself - spotting trends early, elevating designers, running the Met Gala as fashion's Super Bowl. Critics have called her aloof and ruthless; animal rights groups attacked her fur coverage, others said she sold unattainable beauty. Her former assistant wrote The Devil Wears Prada in 2003, and Meryl Streep played the Wintour-inspired editor in the 2006 film. She stepped down as editor-in-chief in 2025 but stayed on at Condé Nast, the pageboy bob and sunglasses still in place.