Miranda Priestly
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| Miranda Priestly | |
|---|---|
 Meryl Streep portraying Miranda Priestly in 'The Devil Wears Prada' |
|
| First appearance | The Devil Wears Prada |
| Information | |
| Gender | Female |
| Age | 50 |
| Occupation | Fashion editor |
| Title | Editor-in-chief, Runway magazine |
| Relationships | "B-DAD" in novel; Stephen in film. One previous marriage |
| Children | Twin daughters Cassidy and Caroline, age 10 |
| Portrayed by | Meryl Streep |
| Created by | Lauren Weisberger |
Miranda Priestly is a fictional character in Lauren Weisberger's 2003 novel The Devil Wears Prada, portrayed by Meryl Streep in the 2006 film adaptation of the novel.
She is a powerful New York City-based editor-in-chief of the fictional fashion magazine Runway. She is known as much for her icy demeanor, as for her outstanding power within the fashion world.
She was born Miriam Princhek in the East End of London. Her family was orthodox Jewish and was poor but devout. The family relied on the community for support because her father worked odd jobs only occasionally and her mother had died in childbirth. Miriam's grandmother moved in with the family to assist in raising the children. Miriam saved the small bills that her siblings would give her and worked as an assistant to a British designer. She made a name for herself in London's fashion world and studied French at night and was made junior editor of the Chic magazine in Paris. When she was twenty-four Miriam changed her name to Miranda Priestly and replaced her rough accent with a sophisticated one. Miranda spent ten years at French Runway before Elias-Clark transferred her to American Runway. She, her two twin daughters, and her husband moved to a penthouse apartment on Fifth Avenue at 76th Street. She is the editor-in-chief of Runway, a very chic and influential fashion magazine published by the Elias-Clark company. She is known for wearing a white Hermès scarf every day somewhere on her person and treating her subordinates in a manner that borders on emotional and psychological abuse.
While she reminds employees "a million girls would kill for this job", Priestly's cruel treatment of staff causes a high turnover rate among personal assistants.
Priestly has twin daughters, who one review suggested "look like extras from The Omen."[1]
In the film version, her past is not mentioned at all.
Contents |
[edit] Comparisons of the character
[edit] Novel
Weisberger denies that Miranda Priestly is modeled on Anna Wintour, saying in the publicity material for the book[2] that her antics and demands are partially fictional and partially a composite of actual experiences she and her friends had in their first jobs. But others familiar with Wintour, who makes a walk-on appearance near the end of the novel (and in fact is later described as having a bitter rivalry with Miranda), say there are specific similarities between life and art:
- Both serve as trustees of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
- Both have trouble remembering the names of people who work for them.
- Both are known for a fashion quirk: Miranda for her white Hermes scarf and Anna for often wearing sunglasses indoors.
- Both are native Londoners who never attended college.
- Both have distanced themselves from at least part of their family background.
- Both are "size-zero" thin.
- Both have two children by a previous husband.
[edit] Film
Most, if not all reviews and articles of the movie made reference to Anna Wintour, the editor of Vogue magazine. Nicknamed "Nuclear Wintour" (playing on the term nuclear winter), Anna has been known to possess most of the same traits as Priestly, although she has shown more redeeming traits. Streep has told multiple reporters that she did not personally base her portrayal on Wintour, but instead on men she has known; Streep actually didn't meet Wintour until a pre-release screening of the movie.
Other comparisons include:
- "Condolence cards need be sent, written in blood, to Cruella De Vil, Martha Stewart and the ghost of Joan Crawford from Mommie Dearest."[1]
[edit] References
- ^ a b Peter Howell, "The devil in Ms. Streep", Toronto Star, Toronto ON: Torstar, 30 June 2006. Page C3, 6 columns.
- ^ Weisberger, Lauren; Q and A; randomhouse.com; retrieved September 3, 2006.
