The woman who many believe inspired the character of Emily Charlton in The Devil Wears Prada has spoken out for the first time in 20 years. She was the real-life assistant to Miranda Priestly (played by Meryl Streep in the 2006 film) and is also involved in the upcoming sequel.
Celebrity stylist Leslie Fremar says she was the real-life inspiration for a character in the book that formed the basis for the movie The Devil Wears Prada. The book drew from author Lauren Weisberger’s experiences as an assistant to Vogue editor Anna Wintour, who is widely believed to be the model for the film’s demanding editor, Miranda Priestly. Fremar worked under Wintour for eight months.
Confirming her identity, Fremar told Vogue‘s The Run-Through podcast: “No, I know I am. I am Emily.”
It reminded me of when I first heard about Lauren Weisberger’s book. Apparently, Anna Wintour’s office called me in, and she asked, ‘Who is Lauren Weisberger?’ I explained she’d been her junior assistant, but only for about eight months. Then Anna just said, ‘Well, she wrote a book about us, and you’re even more awful than her!’ It was pretty wild.
I wanted to ask more questions, but it’s difficult to get many answers from her, she explained.
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Fremar said the first draft of The Devil Wears Prada was initially very harsh and gloomy. They toned it down before the final version, but felt like they were compromising their original vision when they did.
Looking back, it felt like a direct portrayal of our lives,” she said. “Even though she was told to write it as a novel, it was clearly inspired by many things we both experienced.
The stylist insisted she absolutely said the now-famous line, ‘a million girls would kill for this job,’ because she genuinely felt it was true. She also mentioned her coworker didn’t seem enthusiastic about being there.
She explained that they stopped speaking to each other completely after she left, and a conversation now would likely be very uncomfortable.
Looking back, I realize I wasn’t very pleasant to work with, and I was likely stressed because I felt like I was doing both my job and hers. It was really frustrating for me. I suspect she was more focused on her own projects, like writing a book, and wasn’t taking her work responsibilities as seriously as I was.
During their conversation, Fremar remembered meeting the actress, and said the actress didn’t seem very interested when Fremar revealed she was the actual Emily.
I told her my name was Emily, but she didn’t seem very impressed. I expected a bigger reaction, but she just said, ‘Oh, OK.’
The Devil Wears Prada 2 is released in cinemas on 1 May.
The latest issue of Living Legends is available now! This special 100-page, full-color magazine celebrates the incredible Sir David Attenborough. You can find it at newsstands or order it online.
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2026-04-30 14:49