Anna Wintour
 | |
| Born | 3 November 1949 |
|---|---|
| Birthplace | London |
| Nationality | British-American |
| Occupation | Fashion journalist and media executive |
| Known for | Editorial leadership of Vogue and the Met Gala |
| Affiliation | Condé Nast; Metropolitan Museum of Art |
Anna Wintour (born 3 November 1949) is a British-American fashion journalist and media executive. She served as editor-in-chief of the American edition of Vogue from 1988 until 2025 and is the magazine's global editorial director and Condé Nast's chief content officer.[1] Her tenure at Vogue is associated with centering celebrity culture in fashion-magazine coverage, supporting emerging designers and linking editorial authority to large cultural and fundraising events.[2][1]
Early life and entry into fashion journalism
Wintour was born in London to Charles Wintour, a journalist and editor of the Evening Standard, and Eleanor Trego Baker, a film critic. Her brother later became the political editor of The Guardian.[2] She developed an interest in fashion as a teenager, including by repeatedly altering her school uniform, and her father arranged her first fashion job at the Biba boutique when she was 15. She left school at 16, entered a training programme at Harrods and briefly attended fashion classes.[2]
In 1970, after the British editions of Harper's Bazaar and Queen merged, Wintour joined the resulting publication as an editorial assistant. She moved to New York City in 1975 to become a junior fashion editor at Harper's Bazaar, but was fired from the position within nine months. She subsequently worked for women's magazines and New York Magazine before joining Condé Nast.[2][1]
Career
In 1983, Wintour became the first creative director of Vogue. She became editor-in-chief of British Vogue in 1985 and then edited House & Garden in the United States in 1987-1988. She took over American Vogue in 1988.[2][1]
Wintour's first American Vogue cover, published in November 1988, showed model Michaela Bercu photographed outdoors by Peter Lindbergh, wearing a jeweled Christian Lacroix couture jacket with stonewashed Guess jeans. It was a departure from the magazine's earlier studio-staged covers, and the first Vogue cover to feature jeans.[3][2][1]
During her editorship, Vogue increasingly featured celebrities from film, music, sport and politics as fashion figures, and Wintour supported emerging designers through the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund.[2][1]
After 37 years as editor-in-chief of American Vogue, Wintour stepped back from the role in June 2025 to focus on her global responsibilities. She oversees the strategic direction of Condé Nast's portfolio and mentors new editorial leadership at Vogue, including Chloe Malle, the head of editorial content for the American edition.[1]
Met Gala and philanthropy
Wintour became a co-chair of the Costume Institute Benefit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1995. She is credited with turning the benefit into a major popular-culture event, which has raised more than $50 million for the museum's Costume Institute.[2] Wintour remains a trustee of the museum, which renamed its Costume department the Anna Wintour Costume Institute in 2014.[2][1]
Wintour has raised more than $10 million for AIDS research and is an advocate for LGBTQ+ rights and equity in fashion.[2] She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Order of the Companions of Honour in 2025.[1]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 "Anna Wintour | BoF 500". The Business of Fashion. Retrieved September 16, 2026.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 NWHM Staff (2026). "Anna Wintour". National Women's History Museum. Retrieved September 16, 2026.
- ↑ June 27, 2025. "Remember Anna Wintour's shocking first Vogue cover?". CNN. Retrieved September 17, 2026.