The Devil Wears Prada 2 has thrust its real-life inspiration, Anna Wintour, back into the spotlight, reviving decades-old fashion lore about the mysterious former Vogue editor and the gaggle of assistants she kept in her orbit throughout her illustrious career.
Though she arguably steals the spotlight in the first movie, Wintour’s on-screen counterpart Miranda Priestly (played by Meryl Streep) is nothing without her assistants — even when they can’t spot a cerulean sweater or when they crash-out on a diet of cubed cheese.
The plight of Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) and Emily Charlton (Emily Blunt) as they struggle under the watchful and ever-judgmental eye of their boss is the emotional crux of the first movie, and as it turns out, the real-life stories of Wintour’s former assistants are just as enticing.
It’s said that Wintour had three assistants at any given time, with the first responsible for her main scheduling and appointments and the others tasked with running daily errands and coordinating her personal affairs, including her home life.
In anticipation of Miranda Priestly’s return in The Devil Wears Prada 2, we’re sorting through all of the fashion icon’s former assistants, including when they worked for her, what they’ve said about her, and where they’re at now. Gird your loins!
The beginning era: Meredith Asplundh and Laurie Schechter — 1980s to 1990s
Wintour’s assistant lore kicked off decades ago with her earliest assistants Laurie Schechter and Meredith Asplundh. The former began working with Wintour in the 1980s, before Asplundh took the reins in the early 90s. As the assistant foremothers, they’ve been candid about their experience.
In a 2025 essay, Schechter said the intensity of the role caused her to lose nearly four kilos within the first two weeks of starting. She described Wintour as a “prickly pear” in that she was “spiky on the outside, but soft and sweet on the inside”.
Schechter also said Wintour was “mercurial”, adding that she has “done incredible things for people in the industry” despite not being “warm and fuzzy” in her management style.
“People called her ‘ice queen’ or ‘nuclear Wintour,’ but I actually think she has a maternal side she doesn’t show to everyone,” Schechter.
For her part, Asplundh saved her revelations for Amy Odell’s 2022 book, Anna: The Biography, alleging to the author that she was told not to leave her desk even if she needed to use the bathroom, unless another assistant was present. Beyond that, Asplundh did say in a 2011 interview that she quit the job “after my thousandth cappuccino run in stilettos that even a stripper wouldn’t wear”.
What they’re doing now: Schechter is a bit of a media slashie, listed as fashion and lifestyle expert and stylist on LinkedIn, while Asplundh works as a fitness and nutrition consultant. Talk about a left turn!
The Emily inspiration: Kate Young — 1997
Kate Young worked as Wintour’s assistant for almost a year back in 1997. In an extremely enjoyable deep-dive, fellow Vogue staffer at the time, Plum Sykes, claims Young was the “prime suspect” of having inspired the character of Emily in The Devil Wears Prada.
“I’d always secretly thought that Kate, then one of Anna’s assistants and now one of the most successful celebrity stylists in Hollywood, had inspired the character,” Plum, who insisted she wasn’t Emily herself, wrote earlier this year.
What they’re doing now: Young is a prominent celebrity stylist for A-list clients including Scarlett Johansson, Natalie Portman, Margot Robbie, and Michelle Williams, among others.
The blueprint: Lauren Weisberger — 1999 to 2000
In the pantheon of former Wintour assistants, Lauren Weisberger is the most famous. She quite literally wrote the book (ahem The Devil Wears Prada) about her 11-month experience working at Vogue, which went on to inspire the namesake movie and birth Wintour’s fictional stand-in Miranda Priestly.
Despite drawing heavily from her experience when writing The Devil Wears Prada, Weisberger has largely stopped short of directly mentioning Wintour in the press. In 2013, she said Wintour was “not at all” on her mind and that she doesn’t have “a tremendous amount of feelings about her”.
But Weisberger dug a little deeper earlier this year, saying working under Wintour was “a year of being yelled at” and that hours stretched “all day and a lot of the night”. Weisberger also claimed Wintour told her to “fix” her hair after getting hired, and that she harboured “deep feelings of inadequacy” within a “very prominent” culture of thinness.
What they’re doing now: Weisberger is a novelist, having written seven other novels following The Devil Wears Prada.
Team #AW: Rey-Hanna Vakili, Lily Stav Gildor, and Lili Goksenin — 2014
The trio of assistants who took on the job in 2014 were Rey-Hanna Vakili, Lily Stav Gildor, and Lili Goksenin, who were apparently known in fashion circles as #TeamAW. Goksenin was reportedly the most senior of the bunch, with Vakili and Gildor serving as assistant two and three, respectively.
Goksenin has remained extremely tight-lipped about her time at Vogue, but Vakili and Gildor have given us a few spots of tea. For her part, Vakili — who, for the record, is from Australia! — said getting the gig was “lucky timing” after another assistant vacated the role, describing it as “a once in a lifetime opportunity”.
“Anna is an incredible woman. Anyone who works for her would say the same thing,” Vakili said. “I was given unprecedented access to the world of fashion and invaluable industry insights that I will forever be grateful for.”
Meanwhile, Gildor said in a 2021 TikTok that she unsuccessfully applied for four Vogue jobs before landing the assistant gig via an industry connection. She also claimed outfit repeating was common in the office (gasp!), saying “everyone chic at Vogue does” it.
What they’re doing now: Vakili currently serves as the Managing Director for influencer marketing platform LTK Australia. Lily Stav Gildor, meanwhile, is a textile artist in LA, and Lili Goksenin is the Head of Editorial at fine art auction house Sotheby’s.
The new era: Sache Taylor, Sammi Tapper and Marley Marius — late 2010s to mid 2020s
In the latest era of Wintour’s career, that trio was made up of Sache Taylor, Sammi Tapper and Marley Marius, who worked for Wintour between from 2017 to October 2025, and are referred to internally as ‘Anna’s Angels’. They spoke about their experience on the Run-Through With Vogue podcast earlier this year.
Of the interview process, Marius said “questions were personal” because Wintour “doesn’t want a robot”. In terms of the day-to-day, Marius revealed she was given a “21-page handbook” that’s passed down from former assistants, and that work hours start “very early”.
Wintour and her assistants were the first people in the Vogue office every day, according to Tapper. Other bits of tea from the trio’s interview included the office attire (Marius said “everyone wears heels”) and the fast-paced nature of the job.
“When [Wintour] asks for someone, she wants that person very quickly,” Marius said.
It’s worth mentioning that as the newest batch of Wintour assistants, we should take this trio’s comments with a commercial grain of salt. They’re less willing to trash-talk their boss than those who exited Wintour’s orbit years ago.
What they’re doing now: Sache Taylor is currently the Special Events Director at Vogue US, while Sammi Tapper is Vogue’s Director of Operations and Content Strategy. For her part, Marley Marius is Vogue’s Senior Editor of Features and News, so all that errand-running certainly paid off.
Those are the most prominent batch of former Wintour assistants, whose stories could honestly inspire even more Devil Wears Prada movies. We might have sequel fatigue, but that turly doesn’t count when we’re talking about Miranda Priestly!
Lead images: Vogue/TikTok and Disney
