MET GALA
Who is Anna Wintour? What is she famous for and what’s her role in the Met Gala?
She’s a pivotal figure at the Metropolitan Museum of Art each May, and the Vogue editor-in-chief will maintain that in 2024.
The 2024 Met Gala is upon us, and the event wouldn’t be possible without the prominent presence of Anna Wintour. The Vogue Magazine editor is one of the most influential figures in fashion and publishing. Wintour is editor at British Vogue, and the inspiration behind ‘The Devil Wears Prada’, the book and movie adaptation starring Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway.
All you need to know about the 2024 Met Gala
Who is Anna Wintour?
Born to British newspaper editor Charles Wintour and American Eleanor Trego Baker – that latter whose father was a Harvard law professor – in 1949, Wintour grew up with four siblings. One brother tragically died in a car accident when Wintour was very young. Another brother is a journalist, and a third works for the local government. Anna’s sister works in international affairs.
She studied at North London Collegiate School, where she began developing a strong sense of her own style: skirts she hemmed herself and wearing her hair in a short bob, which became her signature look. At the age of 15, thanks to her father’s connections, she landed a job at London fashion brand BIBA, and the following year the teenager entered into a training program at Harrods. The young businesswoman also enrolled in a local school to study fashion.
In 1970, Wintour began working in fashion journalism at Harper’s Bazaar UK and Queen Magazine’s Harper’s & Queen as an editorial assistant. Five years later, the fashionista made the move across the pond to New York City, where she worked as a junior fashion editor at Harper’s Bazaar.
Next came Viva magazine, where she worked as fashion editor until the publication went under a few years later, and then as a fashion editor for New York Magazine.
When did Anna Wintour start at Vogue?
Wintour’s big break came in 1983 when she landed her role as creative director at Vogue. By 1985, Wintour replaced British Vogue editor Beatrix Miller, who was retiring.
Several years later, Wintour became the editor of American Vogue and changed the whole magazine’s approach to styling and photography. She answered a lot of questions in this interview.
What is Anna Wintour’s net worth and salary?
According to recent reports, Anna Wintour’s net worth is around $50 million. The Vogue editor’s salary is said to be between $2 million and $4 million, factoring in perks such as a Mercedes S-Class with her own driver, attending international fashion weeks, staying at lush hotels like the Ritz Paris, and couture clothing.
Wintour, who is not only editor-in-chief at Vogue but also Condé Nast’s artistic director, Condé Nast’s global chief content officer, and Vogue’s global editorial director, receives designer labels in bounds from designers looking to be published in Vogue. She also reportedly has a $200,000 budget to shop for her own wardrobe.
In terms of real estate, Wintour lives in a luxurious home in New York’s West Village, which was reportedly paid through a Condé Nast, which is Vogue’s parent company, interest-free loan. The fashion editor also has a 62-acre Long Island estate and is rumoured to own the property next door to her secondary home as well.
Anna Wintour’s role in the Met Gala
As such a significant fashion icon, the Met Gala wouldn’t be what it is today without the likes of Wintour. The fashion editor brings glamour and flair to the annual event, as she is at the centre of the fashion industry network. Many people aim to sit next to Wintour at the gala. She has raised millions of dollars for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, on which she serves on the board of trustees, through benefits that have reportedly raised more than $50 million.
Forbes magazine named Anna Wintour the 39th most powerful woman in the world in 2014. In the same year, the Metropolitan Museum of Art honored Wintour by naming its Costume Institute complex after her. A few years later in 2017, Wintour’s prestige continued to rise as she traveled to Buckingham Palace to be named a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire.