# Lauren Weisberger
**Lauren Weisberger** (born 1977) is an American novelist best known for her 2003 debut *The Devil Wears Prada*, a novel drawn from her year as an assistant to Vogue editor-in-chief [Anna Wintour](https://www.edgepedia.org/anna-wintour). The book became a bestseller, a 2006 film starring [Meryl Streep](https://www.edgepedia.org/meryl-streep) and [Anne Hathaway](https://www.edgepedia.org/anne-hathaway), an Elton John musical on London's West End, and a film sequel released in 2026, and her books have sold more than 12 million copies worldwide.[1](https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Lauren-Weisberger/22566829)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1977, Scranton, Pennsylvania; grew up in Allentown, where she graduated from Parkland High School in 1995[2](https://www.laurenweisberger.com/author/) |
| Education | BA in English, Cornell University, 1999[2](https://www.laurenweisberger.com/author/) |
| Signature job | Assistant to editor-in-chief Anna Wintour at Vogue; she lasted about a year before moving to Departures magazine[3](https://westportmoms.com/meet-lauren-weisberger-the-mom-behind-the-devil-wears-prada/) |
| Debut novel | *The Devil Wears Prada*, April 2003; a total of a year on the New York Times Bestseller List[2](https://www.laurenweisberger.com/author/) |
| Film | 2006 adaptation directed by David Frankel, written by Aline Brosh McKenna, grossed $326 million worldwide[4](https://alumni.cornell.edu/cornellians/weisberger-prada/) • [5](https://www.aol.com/articles/andrea-not-anymore-whatever-happened-110000000.html) |
| Sales | More than 12 million copies worldwide; *The Devil Wears Prada* published in forty languages[1](https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Lauren-Weisberger/22566829) |
| Other adaptations | West End musical with music by Elton John (since 2022, starring Vanessa Williams as Miranda Priestly); film sequel *The Devil Wears Prada 2* in 2026[1](https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Lauren-Weisberger/22566829) |
| Later life | Lives in Connecticut with her husband, playwright and screenwriter Mike Cohen, and their two children; a ninth novel is set for summer 2027[4](https://alumni.cornell.edu/cornellians/weisberger-prada/) • [5](https://www.aol.com/articles/andrea-not-anymore-whatever-happened-110000000.html) |
## Early life and education
Weisberger was born in [Scranton, Pennsylvania](https://www.edgepedia.org/scranton-pennsylvania), and moved to Allentown in the sixth grade, graduating from Parkland High School in 1995. She attended Cornell University, where she took creative writing courses, and graduated in 1999 with a BA in English. After graduation she spent a summer in Scranton and then traveled through Europe, Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Thailand, India, Nepal, and Hong Kong before moving to Manhattan.[2](https://www.laurenweisberger.com/author/)
## Vogue and the origins of The Devil Wears Prada
Her first job after college was as Assistant to the Editor-in-Chief of *Vogue*, Anna Wintour. She lasted a year before leaving for a position at Departures magazine, where she wrote 100-word reviews by day and took writing classes at night.[2](https://www.laurenweisberger.com/author/) • [3](https://westportmoms.com/meet-lauren-weisberger-the-mom-behind-the-devil-wears-prada/) An editor at Departures sent her to a creative writing class, and the book took shape there; her professor encouraged her to submit her work as a novel, and it was sold within two weeks.[6](https://omeka.wilkes.edu/omeka/files/original/f89f28370864656ecd947b4da3266c4c.pdf)
In a 2026 essay in *Vogue*, Weisberger described the beginnings differently from the legend that grew around them: she started the book at 23 as an essay for a workshop, with no plan to create a franchise, and wrote what felt true to her experience as an assistant "in very close proximity to a powerful woman, one who filled me with abject terror." She has said it was not an attempt at revenge on anyone.[7](https://www.vogue.com/article/life-after-the-devil-wears-prada-lauren-weisberger) In a 2003 Publishers Weekly interview she said the material went beyond her own time at Vogue: friends in publishing, fashion PR, and advertising supplied similar stories, along with what she called her slightly overactive imagination.[8](https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/authors/interviews/article/23213-the-devil-wears-prada-and-the-writer-wears-dior.html)
She has consistently maintained that the characters were composites, though Anna Wintour was widely assumed to be the basis for [Miranda Priestly](https://www.edgepedia.org/miranda-priestly), the tyrannical editor of the fictional Runway magazine, and Weisberger for protagonist Andy Sachs.[4](https://alumni.cornell.edu/cornellians/weisberger-prada/)
## The Devil Wears Prada and its adaptation
*The Devil Wears Prada* was published by Doubleday in April 2003. By her own account the book spent a total of a year on the New York Times Bestseller List; the Cornell alumni magazine describes it as six months on the hardcover list and six atop it in paperback.[2](https://www.laurenweisberger.com/author/) • [4](https://alumni.cornell.edu/cornellians/weisberger-prada/) Fox bought the film rights before publication, after reading only the first 100 pages and an outline, according to *Variety* reporting cited by Town & Country.[9](https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/arts-and-culture/a71153016/lauren-weisberger-devil-wears-prada-author/)
The 2006 film, directed by [David Frankel](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-frankel) and written by Aline Brosh McKenna, starred Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, and [Stanley Tucci](https://www.edgepedia.org/stanley-tucci) and grossed $326 million worldwide.[4](https://alumni.cornell.edu/cornellians/weisberger-prada/) • [5](https://www.aol.com/articles/andrea-not-anymore-whatever-happened-110000000.html) Weisberger has a brief cameo in the film, which she says is hard to locate even after many viewings.[2](https://www.laurenweisberger.com/author/) The attention that followed the book, which she later called "some of it flattering, plenty of it vicious," was not something she had been prepared for.[7](https://www.vogue.com/article/life-after-the-devil-wears-prada-lauren-weisberger)
The franchise kept expanding. A musical with songs by [Elton John](https://www.edgepedia.org/elton-john) opened at the Dominion Theatre on London's West End in 2022 and continues to run, with [Vanessa Williams](https://www.edgepedia.org/vanessa-williams) starring as Miranda Priestly; Weisberger described her involvement as more consultative than practical.[1](https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Lauren-Weisberger/22566829) • [10](https://www.lavanguardia.com/magazine/lifestyle/20260426/11510538/lauren-weisberger-autentica-andy-sakcs-vivia-abrumada-agotada-lagrimas.amp.html) A film sequel, *The Devil Wears Prada 2*, premiered in the spring of 2026. It does not use her sequel novel, but she visited the set several times; screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna has said "we all owe a great debt to Lauren for creating the characters."[1](https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Lauren-Weisberger/22566829) • [4](https://alumni.cornell.edu/cornellians/weisberger-prada/) • [11](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/movies/the-devil-wears-prada-2-aline-brosh-mckenna-screenwriter-interview/) The early 2000s production had struggled to secure costumes and locations because designers feared angering Wintour; for the sequel, Wintour appeared on the cover of Vogue alongside Streep in support of it.[5](https://www.aol.com/articles/andrea-not-anymore-whatever-happened-110000000.html)
## Other novels
Weisberger's subsequent books are all New York Times bestsellers: *Everyone Worth Knowing* (2005), about a woman who leaves investment banking for a job at a New York PR firm; *Chasing Harry Winston* (2008); *Last Night at Chateau Marmont* (2010); the sequel *Revenge Wears Prada: The Devil Returns* (2013), which reached number two on the list; *The Singles Game* (2016), about a professional tennis player rebuilding her image; *When Life Gives You Lululemons* (2018), a spin-off centered on Emily Charlton, Miranda's former first assistant; and *Where the Grass Is Green and the Girls Are Pretty* (2021), set around a college admissions scandal.[1](https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Lauren-Weisberger/22566829) • [2](https://www.laurenweisberger.com/author/) • [12](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/lauren-weisberger/the-singles-game/) • [13](https://time.com/5296657/allison-pearson-lauren-weisberger-new-books/)
A ninth novel is in the works, set for summer 2027.[4](https://alumni.cornell.edu/cornellians/weisberger-prada/) In 2026, her Spanish-language publisher Urano relaunched her trilogy of Prada books to coincide with the sequel film; Weisberger said the books were faithfully translated without changes to the stories.[10](https://www.lavanguardia.com/magazine/lifestyle/20260426/11510538/lauren-weisberger-autentica-andy-sakcs-vivia-abrumada-agotada-lagrimas.amp.html)
## Later life
Weisberger lives in [Connecticut](https://www.edgepedia.org/connecticut) with her husband Mike and their two children, a daughter born around 2011 and a son born around 2012; the family has been in Westport since 2014, though during COVID they sold their house and lived on a boat for three years.[3](https://westportmoms.com/meet-lauren-weisberger-the-mom-behind-the-devil-wears-prada/) • [5](https://www.aol.com/articles/andrea-not-anymore-whatever-happened-110000000.html) She is described by profiles as private and publicity-shy, and she and Anna Wintour have not spoken in the years since her time at Vogue.[5](https://www.aol.com/articles/andrea-not-anymore-whatever-happened-110000000.html) Writing in 2026, she reflected that if she wrote *The Devil Wears Prada* today it would be more layered, with more empathy for assistants and bosses alike, though she still values the unfiltered honesty of the young writer who first produced it.[7](https://www.vogue.com/article/life-after-the-devil-wears-prada-lauren-weisberger)
## References
1. [Lauren Weisberger | Official Publisher Page, Simon & Schuster](https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Lauren-Weisberger/22566829)
2. [Author | Lauren Weisberger (official website)](https://www.laurenweisberger.com/author/)
3. [Meet Lauren Weisberger, the mom behind The Devil Wears Prada, Westport Moms](https://westportmoms.com/meet-lauren-weisberger-the-mom-behind-the-devil-wears-prada/)
4. [How Lauren Weisberger '99 Wrote a Novel, and Sparked a Phenomenon, Cornellians (Cornell University)](https://alumni.cornell.edu/cornellians/weisberger-prada/)
5. [Andrea? Not Anymore. Whatever Happened to The Devil Wears Prada Author Lauren Weisberger?, AOL / Town & Country](https://www.aol.com/articles/andrea-not-anymore-whatever-happened-110000000.html)
6. [Q&A with Lauren Weisberger, The Beacon (Wilkes University), September 11, 2007](https://omeka.wilkes.edu/omeka/files/original/f89f28370864656ecd947b4da3266c4c.pdf)
7. [Life After 'The Devil Wears Prada', Vogue essay by Lauren Weisberger, April 28, 2026](https://www.vogue.com/article/life-after-the-devil-wears-prada-lauren-weisberger)
8. [The Devil Wears Prada, and the Writer Wears... Dior?, PW Talks with Lauren Weisberger, Publishers Weekly, March 17, 2003](https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/authors/interviews/article/23213-the-devil-wears-prada-and-the-writer-wears-dior.html)
9. [What Happened to 'The Devil Wears Prada' Author, Lauren Weisberger?, Town & Country](https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/arts-and-culture/a71153016/lauren-weisberger-devil-wears-prada-author/)
10. [Lauren Weisberger, la auténtica Andy Sachs, La Vanguardia, April 26, 2026](https://www.lavanguardia.com/magazine/lifestyle/20260426/11510538/lauren-weisberger-autentica-andy-sakcs-vivia-abrumada-agotada-lagrimas.amp.html)
11. [Gird Your Loins: Aline Brosh McKenna Answers All of Your Questions About 'The Devil Wears Prada 2', Marie Claire](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/movies/the-devil-wears-prada-2-aline-brosh-mckenna-screenwriter-interview/)
12. [The Singles Game, Kirkus Reviews](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/lauren-weisberger/the-singles-game/)
13. [Two Novelists Revisit Beloved Characters After a 15-Year Hiatus, TIME, May 31, 2018](https://time.com/5296657/allison-pearson-lauren-weisberger-new-books/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Literature and written works › Writers and literary biographies › Fiction writers: novelists and genre › Romance and popular fiction writers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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