Anna: The Biography
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- Create Date：2022-06-22 01:16:36
- Update Date：2025-09-23
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- Author：Amy Odell
- ISBN：1838957251
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Summary
The life and career of one of the most important women in media—Anna Wintour， the iconic editor in chief of Vogue who has changed the face of fashion—are expertly explored in this definitive biography featuring exclusive interviews and untold revelations。
As a child， Anna Wintour was a tomboy with no apparent interest in fashion but， seduced by the miniskirts and bob haircuts of swinging 1960s London， she grew into a fashion-obsessed teenager。 Her father， an influential newspaper editor， loomed large in her life， and once he decided she should become editor in chief of Vogue， she never looked back。
Impatient to start her career， she left high school and got a job at a trendy boutique in London—an experience which would be the first of many defeats。 Undeterred， she found work within the competitive world of magazines， eventually moving to New York to leave behind an association with her well-known father。 Before long， Anna’s journey to Vogue became a battle to ascend， no matter who or what stood in her way。 Once she was crowned editor in chief—in one of the most vicious transitions in fashion magazine history—she continued the fight to retain her enviable position， ultimately rising to dominate all of Condé Nast itself。
Based on extensive interviews with Anna Wintour’s closest friends and collaborators， including some of the biggest names in fashion， journalist Amy Odell has crafted the most revealing portrait of Wintour ever published。 Weaving Anna’s personal story within a larger narrative about the hierarchical dynamics of the fashion industry and the complex world of Condé Nast， Anna charts the relentless ambition of the woman who would become an icon。
As a child， Anna Wintour was a tomboy with no apparent interest in fashion but， seduced by the miniskirts and bob haircuts of swinging 1960s London， she grew into a fashion-obsessed teenager。 Her father， an influential newspaper editor， loomed large in her life， and once he decided she should become editor in chief of Vogue， she never looked back。
Impatient to start her career， she left high school and got a job at a trendy boutique in London—an experience which would be the first of many defeats。 Undeterred， she found work within the competitive world of magazines， eventually moving to New York to leave behind an association with her well-known father。 Before long， Anna’s journey to Vogue became a battle to ascend， no matter who or what stood in her way。 Once she was crowned editor in chief—in one of the most vicious transitions in fashion magazine history—she continued the fight to retain her enviable position， ultimately rising to dominate all of Condé Nast itself。
Based on extensive interviews with Anna Wintour’s closest friends and collaborators， including some of the biggest names in fashion， journalist Amy Odell has crafted the most revealing portrait of Wintour ever published。 Weaving Anna’s personal story within a larger narrative about the hierarchical dynamics of the fashion industry and the complex world of Condé Nast， Anna charts the relentless ambition of the woman who would become an icon。
Reviews
Eden Church | The Required Reading List
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Odell presents a sharply nuanced portrait of a woman who has remained an icon of mystery for many years。
Brent M
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One of the best books I’ve ever read。 If you love all things Vogue and Anna， you won’t be able to out it down。
Marcia
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A very well researched and detailed book， but it was dense reading， especially wading through all the various minutiae of numerous staffing changes through her working career。 It was interesting， but not a fun read。
Jim Cabaj
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Anna Wintour-so much is written about her， but who is she？ The public knows her as the editor and chief of Vogue and the character fictitious in Devil Wears Prada， but who is she really。 Author Amy Odell provides a window into Anna Wintour through friends， co-workers， etc。 unlike allot that is written about Anna Wintour， the author tries to stay above the gossip and get rid of the tabloid stuff。 I came out of this with a brief understanding of the drive that made Anna Wintour a success。 Publishe Anna Wintour-so much is written about her， but who is she？ The public knows her as the editor and chief of Vogue and the character fictitious in Devil Wears Prada， but who is she really。 Author Amy Odell provides a window into Anna Wintour through friends， co-workers， etc。 unlike allot that is written about Anna Wintour， the author tries to stay above the gossip and get rid of the tabloid stuff。 I came out of this with a brief understanding of the drive that made Anna Wintour a success。 Publisher， philanthropist， businesswoman， etc。 Lucky or unlucky are those that get to work with her to see the visionary that she is。 。。。more
Cleaver Patterson
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An interesting book， if a little dry in places。 If you’re looking for a more gossipy read about Anna Wintour herself then try Jerry Oppenheimer’s excellent ‘Front Row’。 Odell’s book delves deeper into Wintour’s work ethics and her actual approach to running a magazine， but is none the worse for that。
Monica
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She’s a privileged mean girl who used people to get her way to the top。
Christine
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I found the front half of the book absolutely fascinating and then it dragged on for the latter half。 I knew of Anna Wintour but not much about her until The Devil Wears Prada came out。 Learning about her upbringing and how she broke into the world was really interesting but once she became establish， the book read more like a laundry list of things she’s done。
Kitty Gheen
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3。5 stars。 This book is very well researched and I did learn a ton about Queen AW。 However， the writing is just not good。 The sentences are choppy。 There are major timeline jumps within paragraphs。 Words are literally used incorrectly - for example， referring to fashion shows as "bi-annual events" when they are semi-annual events。 I wish someone else could take this same research and present it properly。 3。5 stars。 This book is very well researched and I did learn a ton about Queen AW。 However， the writing is just not good。 The sentences are choppy。 There are major timeline jumps within paragraphs。 Words are literally used incorrectly - for example， referring to fashion shows as "bi-annual events" when they are semi-annual events。 I wish someone else could take this same research and present it properly。 。。。more
Emily
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It's difficult to review biographies， because one tends not to know the subject。 That being said， it's a mostly well-written book that balances praise and criticism。 The lay-out of the endnotes was a little confusing though。 It's difficult to review biographies， because one tends not to know the subject。 That being said， it's a mostly well-written book that balances praise and criticism。 The lay-out of the endnotes was a little confusing though。 。。。more
Joyce
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This is the only biography on Anna Wintour I’ve read so far， and decided to do so after reading a Guardian review of it。 I’ve always been intrigued by Ms Wintour， as I’m sure many people are。 How frequently rumours swirl about how she’s on her last days at Vogue/Condé Nast， only to arise stronger and more magnificently ambitious and ferocious than ever。 If you had to put Amy Odell in a camp， I’d say slightly ‘team Anna’， but I think the biography remains largely unbiased， highlighting Anna Winto This is the only biography on Anna Wintour I’ve read so far， and decided to do so after reading a Guardian review of it。 I’ve always been intrigued by Ms Wintour， as I’m sure many people are。 How frequently rumours swirl about how she’s on her last days at Vogue/Condé Nast， only to arise stronger and more magnificently ambitious and ferocious than ever。 If you had to put Amy Odell in a camp， I’d say slightly ‘team Anna’， but I think the biography remains largely unbiased， highlighting Anna Wintour’s acts of generosity both big and small， moments of weakness her beloved sunglasses weren’t able to conceal， while also referring to the many missteps she’s made that have been gleefully covered to great extent by the media， and the repercussions of her decisions。While Anna declined to be interviewed for this book， she did provide Odell with the contact details of friends and colleagues who may be willing to speak about her， and over 250 sources’ opinions about her were included to create this biography。 The notes and index for this biography are extensive， thorough， and impressive。 Through reading Anna ， it is clear to me that many people are protective of Anna Wintour， but also recognise her faults and instances where her choices were， quite frankly， terrible and sometimes cruel。 Anna Wintour remains to me an incredibly complex and intelligent person who has not only successfully endured in a ruthless industry but has remained a fashion and business supreme precisely because she’s so hard to read and predict; I like and admire that she has protected herself by being so。 Yes， she entered the industry with many privileges not afforded to others and it gave her a big leg up but she has not become the powerful force she is now without amazing perseverance and commitment， and making every step count。 I felt like the biography sheds light on a side of Anna Wintour that many people wilfully ignore because they hate the idea that she managed to succeed where others haven’t。 Many people want to see her fail because they have determined her moment in the sun has set。 Perhaps this time is coming soon but Anna doesn’t give you a way to catch and end her — she’s five steps ahead， and she’ll step down when she wants to， thank you very much。 。。。more
Chris
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Fabulous。
Brittany Quale
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A fascinating examination of a women's ascent to power。 The story really gets going once Anna arrives at Vogue， around a quarter of the way in the book。 Reading this made me reflect on leadership styles， femininity， friendship， and the advantages of being oneself。 A fascinating examination of a women's ascent to power。 The story really gets going once Anna arrives at Vogue， around a quarter of the way in the book。 Reading this made me reflect on leadership styles， femininity， friendship， and the advantages of being oneself。 。。。more
Susan Long
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A fascinating profile of one of the most fascinating people。 No matter the times， Anna serves as a constant and her survival alone is worth the read。
Katy Smith
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Like 80% of this book is about hiring shuffles at Condé Nast。 Anna Wintour is fascinating and hearing about her childhood was very interesting。 I don’t feel like there are incredible insights in this book though。 Kinda fun， but kinda boring。
False
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I picked up a few facts I wasn't aware of， including her lack of university education。 She wanted to start working right away， and that， she did。 Power craving， moneymoneymoney。。。not much explanation to that "drive" for perfectionism and overlording beyond similar emotional behaviors in her father。 Not much about the siblings， or， given that this book was just published， whether she had any new love interest in her life。 When would she haveThis book left me with two very specific questions: How I picked up a few facts I wasn't aware of， including her lack of university education。 She wanted to start working right away， and that， she did。 Power craving， moneymoneymoney。。。not much explanation to that "drive" for perfectionism and overlording beyond similar emotional behaviors in her father。 Not much about the siblings， or， given that this book was just published， whether she had any new love interest in her life。 When would she haveThis book left me with two very specific questions: How does this woman still have a job？ How is Conde Nast still in business？In terms of autobiographies， it is well written and very generous to the subject， but not overly forgiving。 The writing is complex and did require me to pause to reference other books about that period at Conde Nast and draw a bit of an org chart of the publishing world in my head。 （Was a big fan of Jay Fielden's T&C， loved "Save me the Plums" about Gourmet。。。I grew up in the heyday of loud publishing， so I often stopped to remember this world as it was）。 As for the subject。。。Anna Wintour is a product of her time， and the first I dunno 60 or so years of her life follow the trajectory of many successful career women in her era。 Well-placed， well-connected upbringing， breaking barriers in her industry， failing up， etc。 We all know the 20th-century narrative。 I mean despite little blip-recessions here and there， things were really great in this world between 1981 and the 2000s。 The end of the Cold War！ Deregulation！ The Spice Girls！ It was really hard not to do well when the entire world was doing well。 Things start getting dicey in 01 but really shit hit the fan in 08， and now it feels like the world is completely changed。 But what was confusing is just that whole entire microcosm of publishing refused to see it coming and adapted begrudgingly。 Anna was a company woman， and Si Newhouse was like the Jack Welch of Magazines。 He grew his business through acquisition and product development。 It seemed that before the crash， Conde Nast had like 4 home magazines， 7 fashion ones， 3 men's， and so on。 It was cannibalizing its own readership and ad sales！ Anna， too， seemed to not understand segment marketing。 The book recounts an interview she had about Men's Vogue in which that target market seemed to be， I dunno， everyone who was a man and maybe women， too？ She really wanted to be appealing and inclusive to almost everyone but at the same time kind of missed the mark on 。。。marketing。 I also knew from "Save the Plums" that Conde Nast was terrible at the internet， but this new biography also confirmed it。 It was like instead of simply looking outside their building and asking how to make money on the internet， they just kept stumbling around creating these properties that had nothing to do with their core brand and trying to consolidate intellectual property over advertisable content。 While this is all happening， she did a really really good job of failing to see colonial mindsets or insensitive tropes in what was being produced。。。She put on blinders to the Harvey Weinstein thing！ In her focus on her "vision"， she actually was blind to many things in the overall cultural narrative， and she probably propagated some really bad ideas。 I dunno。。。 she eventually comes around in like last year （2021） when the book ends。。。The thing that is so frustrating is instead of creating her own elegant exit， as many of her compatriots have （I love reading airmail！）， she continues to try to push her vision， which is just not really reflecting the world in which we live nor is it reflecting the world in which we aspire to live。 the time？ Why is she still employed and why does Vogue still exist？ 。。。more
Aira Mae
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DNF at 28%I am interested to know more about Anna Wintour but my God， this biography is excruciatingly descriptive。 It went on and on about each photography and article she worked on。 An absolute snoozefest 😭
Amy Golden
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Detailed account of Anna Wintour’s life and rise to power。 While Wintour was not interviewed， she encouraged those she knows to participate in the project。
Christine
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I got this book as a Goodreads giveaway。 I did not know much about Anna Wintour but found her life story and rise to Vogue editor-in-chief fascinating。 I felt the last third of the book ran a little long but overall found her story and that of fashion and publishing over those years very interesting。
Andrew Smith
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Anna Wintour has been Editor-in-Chief of Vogue magazine for decades， a workaholic whose somewhat prickly personality has earned her the nickname ‘Nuclear Wintour’。 I’d enjoyed The Vanity Fair Diaries: 1983-1992 by Tina Brown in which Wintour featured as somebody Brown had befriended and sought counsel from when she took up the reins at Vogue’s sister magazine and I’d hoped this biography might offer up similarly spicy account of how a talented and ambitious woman worked her way up to the top of Anna Wintour has been Editor-in-Chief of Vogue magazine for decades， a workaholic whose somewhat prickly personality has earned her the nickname ‘Nuclear Wintour’。 I’d enjoyed The Vanity Fair Diaries: 1983-1992 by Tina Brown in which Wintour featured as somebody Brown had befriended and sought counsel from when she took up the reins at Vogue’s sister magazine and I’d hoped this biography might offer up similarly spicy account of how a talented and ambitious woman worked her way up to the top of her profession。 Born in England， Anna’s father was editor of the London Evening Standard and her mother an American with strong family lineage。 Consequently， Anna never had to struggle for money。 She was always interested in fashion and after working on a number of smaller publications she found herself heading up British Vogue。 But this was never going to be enough for her， she had her eyes on the ‘big job’ in New York。 This book details her journey and along the way provides a decent commentary on the daily workings of a fashion magazine。 In this respect it’s pretty comprehensive， but what it lacks is some real in-depth insight into the woman herself。 This is primarily down to the fact that it’s all pieced together from third party accounts of events and opinions put forwards by friends and foes。 It really isn’t anything like first person account Tina Brown produced。The picture painted is of a woman whose leadership style is decisive but autocratic， who is controlled but also controlling and yet despite all the power she wields it seems that Wintour has an aversion to direct confrontation。 It’s also clear that she never engages in small talk with her colleagues。 Accordingly， some of her behaviours feel odd and unnecessarily cold – such as her one word feedback to those who present their hard work for her approval （either a positive ‘ok’ or a disdainfully abrupt rejection）。There are certainly elements I found interesting， including sections touching on her associations with Donald Trump， and Harvey Weinstein but for me there was too much focus on descriptions of how any number of fashion shoots played out and the piecing together of various editions of her magazine。 Also， a good deal of time is spent discussing what everyone is wearing – Anna， it seems， has zero tolerance for anyone who she considers to be badly dressed。 Ultimately， I came away with a feeling that the author had failed to get fully under the skin of this enigmatic lady in this detailed but unfortunately dull telling of her story。 。。。more
Crosby Cobb
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Started the audiobook on a car trip and honestly wouldn’t have finished it if the narrator’s voice wasn’t British and beautiful。 Wanted to like the content more than I did！
G。A。 Benoit
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This book was a struggle but my curiosity got the best of me。 In the book， Anna is quoted as saying “I’m so bored with myself” …。 Girl， me too。 This book was more of the story of Condé Nast under Anna Wintour rather than a revelatory biography。
☆
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Boring for me。
Elizabeth Chadsey
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A great start-to-finish biography of an icon。 While it does touch on vogues evolution along with Anna， this is a book about Anna Wintour， if you’re looking for a book about vogue， the fashion magazine industry， the met gala etc， this may not do it for you。 I enjoyed it very much。
Lilian
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interesting read…。But the pacing is off。 It rushed through the years preceding her reign as editor of Vogue and then became a bit boring with too much nitty gritty on ad pages and circulation。 Could have done with more vigorous editing perhaps。
Rachel
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I was torn on whether or not to give this 5 stars because of the author's work。。。or 2 stars because。。。Anna， herself。 I settled at 4。 I was torn on whether or not to give this 5 stars because of the author's work。。。or 2 stars because。。。Anna， herself。 I settled at 4。 。。。more
Gerard Ruf
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Anna has been an inspiration of mine since I was a little kid。 Odell perfectly captures her workaholic essence， attention to detail and fashion forward thinking， while showing us a side of her often hidden。 A wildly interesting yet complicated character， who， like many of the sources said， is nothing like her cold persona。 Anna is deep down， just a normal person， with many flaws， who has changed fashion forever。
LeeAnne
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This book has a light， breezy conversational tone making it easy to read。 Unfortunately， it just isn't that interesting。 I still don't understand what all of the hype is around this woman。 I've come to the conclusion that Anna Wintour is aloof and distant and so not very interesting to me as a person。 This book has a light， breezy conversational tone making it easy to read。 Unfortunately， it just isn't that interesting。 I still don't understand what all of the hype is around this woman。 I've come to the conclusion that Anna Wintour is aloof and distant and so not very interesting to me as a person。 。。。more
Ghost of the Library
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Except perhaps for my significant other， I can't say I know of anyone who doesn't know the name Anna Wintour。I admit it to picking this up with a somewhat voyeuristic glee， knowing next to nothing about her， just like most people I imagine :） I was pleasantly surprised with how well written it is， how well the reading flows from beginning to end and， I admit， how much I ended up respecting the woman behind the sunglasses （and the author）。Amy Odell states quite clearly at the end that this was a Except perhaps for my significant other， I can't say I know of anyone who doesn't know the name Anna Wintour。I admit it to picking this up with a somewhat voyeuristic glee， knowing next to nothing about her， just like most people I imagine :） I was pleasantly surprised with how well written it is， how well the reading flows from beginning to end and， I admit， how much I ended up respecting the woman behind the sunglasses （and the author）。Amy Odell states quite clearly at the end that this was a struggle of a project to get off the ground， and at times she despaired on whether or not she would succeed， but succeed she did， and with flying colors I should add。This is not an official biography， so she could have we easily gone the gossipy way and turn this into a vehicle for everyone who has pending business with Wintour to speak their mind and air the dirty linen - thankfully she did not。What this is is a very well crafted project telling the beginning， middle and present/future of a woman whose career is nothing short of remarkable and whose life is to say the least， supremely interesting。You don't get to the top like Anna Wintour has without making a few frenemies along the way， especially when you're a woman in a very manly world， which publishing was when she started （and still is in some ways）。Amy Odell somehow manages to walk that thin line between respect and outright flattery， never turning into a Wintour fan while always making it clear how much she admires the woman。Frankly this is a great example of diplomatic writing， and I wouldn't be surprised if Wintour had given the ok for a lot of the author's sources to talk to her。If you want gossip， this ain't it， but if you want to learn a tiny little bit more about the magazine lady like my husband calls her。。。lol。。。。by all means have a go， you will not regret it。Happy Reading！ 。。。more
IsabelRower
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Not enough gossip and still have no sense of her personality， although did have some funny anecdotes
Ary Chest
，
I'm perplexed。 In some ways， this biography demystifies Anna Wintour， and， in a lot of other ways， it reinforces the woman， the myth， and the legend。 Anna definitely was ahead of the times in a lot of ways， and， in others， clung to tradition。 She really was a workaholic， from the time she was very young。 Because of her father's job， she was bred to be a society girl。 She even had her own apartment， in her family's house， at 15。 She was so used to getting everything her way and curating her own w I'm perplexed。 In some ways， this biography demystifies Anna Wintour， and， in a lot of other ways， it reinforces the woman， the myth， and the legend。 Anna definitely was ahead of the times in a lot of ways， and， in others， clung to tradition。 She really was a workaholic， from the time she was very young。 Because of her father's job， she was bred to be a society girl。 She even had her own apartment， in her family's house， at 15。 She was so used to getting everything her way and curating her own world， from a young age。 In a lot of ways， internet-wise， she predicted the future， but I think got lost in how internet culture would dictate fashion capital。 I wish the book had gone into how influencers ate away at the magazine industry， and made Anna's job harder。 But， overall， a fun read。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Anna: The Biography
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Anna: The Biography&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Anna: The Biography&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0