Hasitha Fernando on the story behind The Devil Wears Prada as the film celebrates its 20th anniversary…
The Devil Wears Prada was that rare comedy drama that combined biting satire, witty dialogue, compelling performances whilst putting a refreshing spin on the classic fish-out-of-water scenario. The film offered a rare look at the demanding nature of the fashion industry and the chaotic workplace dynamics which surface with an over-exacting boss possessing unrealistic expectations. As The Devil Wears Prada celebrates its 20th anniversary, we look back at the film’s behind-the-scenes story and the making of a pop culture classic…
The Devil Wears Prada was Lauren Weisberger’s debut novel
Imagine your debut novel going on to sell over a million copies, become a New York Times bestseller and be published in over forty languages? Well, that’s exactly what happened to Lauren Weisberger and her critically acclaimed book The Devil Wears Prada. After graduating from Cornell University, with an English major, Weisberger embarked on an extensive travel expedition, backpacking through most of Asia, Europe and the Middle East. Following her return to the United States Weisberger decided to settle in Manhattan and soon after landed a gig as personal assistant to Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour. For the uninitiated Anna Wintour is widely regarded as the most powerful woman in publishing, having headed Vogue in the past and currently serving as the global content officer and artist director at Condé Nast. Although unanimously praised within the industry for her innate skill in recognizing emerging fashion trends Wintour has also received criticism for her demanding personality and arrogant demeanor.
Undoubtedly, Weisberger was able to experience all this firsthand during her ten month work stint at Vogue. Afterwards, Weisberger left Vogue to join the American Express publication Departures. If was during this time period that Weisberger began writing about her time at Vogue and the numerous experiences she had as a novice in the fashion industry and working under Anna Wintour. At the repeated urgings of her friends, Weisberger showed the manuscript to a few agents and eventually sold it within weeks. Although written as a fictional version of Weisberger’s experiences, the novel attracted attention due to the author’s background with the fashion industry.
Adapting the source material proved to be a challenging process
20th Century Fox bought the rights to Weisberger’s book when it was just a manuscript consisting of hundred pages with an outline for the rest of the narrative. Multiple screenwriters worked on the property, with Peter Hedges writing the first draft. Uncredited script revisions of Hedges’ draft were undertaken by Howard Michael Gould, Paul Rudnick and Don Roos. But the story still came off as very chick flick-y, lacking the biting sarcasm and sharp humor, which eventually popularized the final output. Once director David Frankel came on board, the filmmaker gave extensive notes to producer Wendy Finerman regarding his vision for the movie which aimed at making it more like a coming-of-age tale for the story’s protagonist Andy Sachs. The studio then hired Laws of Attraction scribe Aline Brosh McKenna to rewrite the screenplay by including Frankel’s suggestions and focusing more on Andy and Miranda’s complex yet intimate relationship.
Anne Hathaway wasn’t the first choice to play Andy Sachs
To even imagine Anne Hathaway was the ninth choice the studio had in mind to play Andy Sachs is unthinkable, but Fox wanted a more established dramatic actress to play the lead role in their new film. From the studio’s standpoint it was understandable because Hathaway was mostly known for her teen-centric flicks such as The Princess Diaries and Ella Enchanted at that point in time. But Hathaway was adamant to nab the role, so she campaigned persistently for the part buy even going to the extent of visiting the offices of Fox Executives and pleading them to hire her. But it wasn’t until Meryl Streep saw her captivating performance in Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain, contacted the studio and strongly advocated Hathaway’s casting, that things finally started moving forward for the actress. Hathaway prepped for the role by volunteering for a week as an assistant at an auction house, to get an idea as to what a personal assistant actually does. Prior to Hathaway’s casting Rachel McAdams was approached by the studio on multiple occasions but declined as she wasn’t interested in the project. Other actresses considered for Andy Sachs included Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson, Kate Hudson, Claire Danes, Juliette Lewis and Kirsten Dunst.
Emily Blunt’s hiring for the movie took place quite by accident
Currently one of the most recognizable actresses in the world with multiple awards and accolades to her name, Emily Blunt was an up-and-coming talent when she was cast in The Devil Wears Prada. Prior to this Blunt had only one feature film to her name, which was Pawel Pawlikoski’s My Summer of Love released in 2004. In between gigs Blunt was auditioning for the fantasy flick Eragon, which was also a production by 20th Century Fox, but after multiple unsuccessful auditions a producer on The Devil Wears Prada decided to give her a shot on their project and asked the actress to submit an audition tape. Impressed by what they saw, the producers offered her a second audition – this time dressed in attire similar to her character in the film – since she wore flip flops and jeans in the original audition tape. In the story, her character Emily, wasn’t supposed to be English in origin but Blunt decided to speak with her original English accent and the producers liked that change so much they decided to keep it.
The legendary Meryl Streep went full method for her role
Meryl Streep does not require any introduction. Being one of the most recognizable and respected talents in Hollywood the legendary actress has won many an accolade for the roles that she’d inhabited over the years. For her role as Miranda Priestely, Streep went one step further and went full method acting to play her character. Streep based her character’s icily calm voice on the quiet authority with which Clint Eastwood worked during a film shoot. As for her overall appearance Streep sought inspiration from the famous 85-year-old model Carmen Dell’ Orefice, who is well-known for her trademark white bouffant. During an interview Streep described here appearance as “a cross between Carmen Dell’ Orefice and the unassailable elegance and authority of Christine Lagarde.” The producers weren’t overtly thrilled with Streep’s idea but immediately changed their minds when they saw the actress in character channeling Miranda Priestly.
Stanley Tucci was a last minute addition to the cast
Stanely Tucci has been in the film industry since the early 90s with efforts like Billy Bathgate, Beethoven and Pelican Brief to his name. However, it was with The Devil Wears Prada that Tucci received greater recognition as a talented character actor, which invariably paved the way for roles in films such as Captain America: The First Avenger, Julie & Julia and his Academy Award nominated movie The Lovely Bones. When it came to the casting process of The Devil Wears Prada, Tucci was a last minute addition, joining the cast the weekend prior to his first seen set on a Monday morning. Over 150 actors were considered for the role of Miranda’s quick witted art director Nigel Kipling and the likes of Graham Norton, Thomas Lennon and Javier Camara were in contention for the part until Tucci was cast. The actor has since stated that of all the myriad characters he’s played in his career, Nigel Kipling was the character that mostly resembled him in real life.
The film’s production was afraid of Anna Wintour’s wrath
The wrath of legendary Vogue editor-in-chief proved to be something of a stumbling block for production as they were unable to secure locations or people involved in the fashion industry to be part of the movie, due to their unwavering loyalty to and fear of Anna Wintour. As a result production was unable to secure Met Gala scenes as the Metropolitan Museum of Art wanted nothing to do with production. They even found it difficult to access apartment buildings that would double up as Miranda Priestly’s residence as New York co-op boards refused to let them in to see their properties. Of the fashion designers that were approached by the producers only Valentino Garavani, who also designed the stunning black gown Meryl Streep wears during the museum benefit, chose to appear along with supermodel Gisele Bündchen, who signed on for a minor role in the film. Yet despite all this, the film’s production designer Jess Gonchor snuck in to the Vogue offices to get a sneak peak at Anna Wintour’s office and made a near-identical recreation of it as Miranda Priestly’s office. Gonchor’s recreation was so accurate that Wintour immediately redecorated hers following the film’s release.
A significant amount of the budget was spent on costumes
I suppose its natural for a film centered on the fashion world to have spent a lot on costumes and wardrobes. But costume designer Patricia Field spent more than $1 million of the movie’s $40 million budget on costumes and wardrobe alone, a sum which does not include the multiple fashion designer loans that were given. Although most of the fashion designers were reluctant to get involved with production due to Wintour’s disposition, Prada helped break the ice to assist costume designer Patricia Fields during the film’s production. Once shooting wrapped, all costumes were sold off at an auction in support of breast cancer.
The movie completely changed singer KT Tunstall’s career
KT Tunstall’s “Suddenly I See” juxtaposed to a montage of Andy Sachs getting ready, New York waking up and a fleeting glimpse of the fashion world truly is one of the most unforgettable aspects of the movie. The song’s usage in the film also transformed the Scottish singer-songwriter’s career due to its surging popularity after, and Tunstall opened up about its impact on her during an interview with Magic Radio in 2025, “I mean it changed my life. I remember my manager calling up and saying, “Enjoy this because it won’t probably happen again.” And what he meant by that was at the beginning of The Devil Wears Prada, it is the entire song. No edits. There is no speaking over my song. They literally made a music video with Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway in it. It was really the most amazing thing to happen at the start of my career”.
Box-office success, critical acclaim, award wins and beyond
Made on a production budget of $40 million The Devil Wears Prada went on to make $327 million at the worldwide box-office. The film was also received praise from critics and as of writing holds a respectable 75% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes with an average rating of 6.9/10. Most reviews showered unanimous praise on Meryl Streep’s brilliant performance with The New York Times’ A.O Scott describing it as, “No longer simply the incarnation of evil, she is now a vision of aristocratic, purposeful and surprisingly human grace”. Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci’s performances were also highlighted by most film critics, as was Aline Brosh McKenna’s screenplay which many described was an improvement of the source material.
The fashion industry’s response to the effort was a mixed one, with some praising it whilst others lambasted it. Quite surprisingly Anna Wintour warmed up to the film after its release, initially writing it off the movie as a ‘straight-to-DVD’ type deal. During an interview in 2025 regarding The Devil Wears Prada, Wintour only had good things to say about the flick, “I went to see the film, and I found it highly enjoyable. It was very funny. It had a lot of humor to it. It had a lot of wit. It had Meryl Streep. I mean, it was Emily Blunt, [and] they were all amazing. In the end, I thought it was a fair shot”. The film even received some degree of success come awards season with it earning Academy Award nominations for Best Actress and Best Costume Design, multiple awards nominations at the following year’s BAFTAs and a Golden Globe Award win for Meryl Streep in the Best Actress category.
The movie’s resounding success completely changed the career trajectories of its three lead actresses. Although Meryl Streep was a household name, even at that point, the film proved that she was a major box-office draw and this invariably led to more mainstream efforts by her such as Mamma Mia! and Julie & Julia. In Hathaway’s case The Devil Wears Prada was her first lead role in an adult-centric movie and showcased her skill in acting alongside industry veterans like Streep. This led to the actress being hired in more serious roles in efforts such as Rachel Getting Married, Love & Other Drugs and Les Misérables. As detailed earlier The Devil Wears Prada was Emily Blunt’s breakout role and its success truly was a boon to her career as leading roles in multiple movies took place in quick succession.
20 years after the originals release The Devil Wears Prada 2 debuted on May 1, 2026, which saw many of the same cast and crew members return. The result being, a massive success both critically and commercially, which makes one wonder… will a threequel be a possibility? Only time will tell.
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Hasitha Fernando is a part-time medical practitioner and full-time cinephile. Follow him on Twitter via @DoctorCinephile for regular updates on the world of entertainment.
