Meryl Streep and Anna Wintour have dominated their respective industries for decades — one as the undisputed queen of Hollywood, the other as the most powerful force in fashion. But their connection goes far deeper than the parallels in a 2006 iconic film. A surprising discovery by a leading genealogy website has revealed that these two icons are actually blood relatives, tracing their lineage back to a common ancestor in 18th‑century England. While fans have long linked them through The Devil Wears Prada, this real‑world twist suggests that legendary talent may truly run in the family.
Ancestry reveals a family secret behind two of pop culture’s powerhouses
Meryl Streep’s unforgettable portrayal of Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada may have been shaped by a surprising real-life connection: longtime Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour. As fans prepare for the theatrical release of The Devil Wears Prada 2, a startling genealogical discovery has revealed that Streep and Wintour are actually sixth cousins.
The revelation comes from world’s largest for-profit genealogy company Ancestry, which utilized its massive database of 70 billion records and public family trees to bridge the gap between these two cultural icons. Ancestry traced their lineages back to 18th-century Pennsylvania, identifying their common ancestors as Thomas Smith and Elizabeth Kinsey — Streep and Wintour’s fifth great-grandparents.
Their shared ancestors settled in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, just 20 miles from Allentown — the hometown of Lauren Weisberger. As a former assistant to Wintour, Weisberger authored the novel that introduced the world to the icy, high-fashion editor Miranda Priestly. While it has long been an open secret that Wintour served as the blueprint for the character, the fact that the author, the inspiration, and the actress all share roots in the same small corner of Pennsylvania are a coincidence of cinematic proportions.
Interestingly, the parallels between the two women are more than just ancestral; both of them were also born in 1949.
Anna Wintour addresses long-running ‘Devil Wears Prada’ comparisons
For years, the public has analyzed every purse-drop and pithy remark in Streep’s performance for glimpses of Wintour’s real-world persona. Wintour, who concluded her legendary 40-year tenure at Vogue last year, has historically remained coy about the comparison.
According to Ancestry, Wintour once addressed the long-standing rumors with her trademark poise: “It’s for the audience and for the people I work with to decide if there are any similarities between me and Miranda Priestly.”
With a blood connection now officially on the record, the upcoming sequel takes on a new meaning. When Streep steps back into Priestly’s designer heels, she won’t just be portraying a fashion legend — she’ll be channeling her own family history.
What’s next for Meryl Streep and Anna Wintour this May
Streep will be very busy promoting the May 1st theatrical release of David Frankel’s The Devil Wears Prada 2, which also stars Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, Justin Theroux, Kenneth Branagh, and Stanley Tucci.
Wintour, meanwhile, is set to host the Met Gala on May 4th. Although Wintour announced last year that she would step away from the editor-in-chief role at Vogue and named Chloe Malle her successor, she remains the publication’s global editorial director and chief content officer for Condé Nast.