Lauren Weisberger | |
|---|---|
 Weisberger in 2013 | |
| Born | (1977-03-28)March 28, 1977 (age 48) Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Occupation | Author |
| Education | Cornell University (BA) |
| Period | 2003–present |
| Genre | Fiction |
| Notable works | The Devil Wears Prada |
| Spouse | [1] |
| Children | 2 |
| Website | |
| laurenweisberger | |
Lauren Weisberger (born March 28, 1977) is an American writer. She is author of the 2003 bestsellerThe Devil Wears Prada, aroman à clef of her experience as an assistant toVogue editor-in-chiefAnna Wintour. Weisberger worked as a writer and editor forVogue andDepartures magazines prior to writingThe Devil Wears Prada, which was adapted into afilm of the same name in 2006. She has since published seven other novels.
Weisberger was born inScranton, Pennsylvania, to aschool teacher mother and adepartment store president turnedmortgage broker father. Her family isJewish, and she was raised inConservative Judaism and laterReform Judaism.[2] She spent her early youth inClarks Summit, Pennsylvania, a small town outside Scranton. At age eleven, her parents divorced and she and her younger sister moved toAllentown, Pennsylvania, in theLehigh Valley region of the state, with their mother.
She attendedParkland High School inSouth Whitehall Township near Allentown, where she was involved in intramural sports, some competitive sports, extra projects, and organizations. She graduated from Parkland High School in 1995[3] and attendedCornell University inIthaca, New York, where she was an English major, a sorority member ofAlpha Epsilon Phi, and graduated in 1999.[4]
After graduating from Cornell University, Weisberger backpacked through much of Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, includingEgypt,Hong Kong,India,Israel,Jordan,Nepal, andThailand.[citation needed]
After returning to the United States following her backpacking expedition, Weisberger settled inManhattan, where she was hired as assistant toVogue editorAnna Wintour. After ten months, she andVogue features editor Richard Story left the magazine. Weisberger said she felt out of place at the magazine, thoughVogue managing editor Laurie Jones later said, "She seemed to be a perfectly happy, lovely woman".[5]
Weisberger and Story began working forDepartures, anAmerican Express publication, where she wrote 100-word reviews and became an assistant editor. She also published a 2004 article inPlayboy magazine.[6]
After mentioning her interest in writing classes to Story, he referred her to his friendCharles Salzberg. She started writing a story about her time atVogue, and completed it by trying to write 15 pages every couple of weeks. After repeated urgings, she showed the finished work to agents; it sold within two weeks.[citation needed]
Weisberger's first book,The Devil Wears Prada, was published byBroadway Books in 2003; it spent six months onThe New York Times Best Seller List. By July 2006,The Devil Wears Prada was the best-selling mass-market softcover book in the nation, according toPublishers Weekly.[citation needed]
The Devil Wears Prada is a semi-fictional but highly critical book on theManhattan elite, and is largely based on Weisberger's experience atVogue magazine. The book's primary character Miranda Priestly is believed to represent Wintour and the fictional Elias-Clark publishing company in the book is believed to be modeled onCondé Nast. The book focuses on many comical aspects of a first job in the world of elite fashion.[citation needed]
While commercially successful, the book was not well received atVogue.Kate Betts, aVogue editor, criticized Weisberger and the book inThe New York Times, writing that Weisberger and Wintour are actually the direct counterparts of their fictional characters. "Andrea is just as much a snob as the snobs she is thrown in with," Betts wrote in April 2003.[7][8]
Film rights toThe Devil Wears Prada were acquired by20th Century Fox, which releaseda movie of the same name in June 2006, starringMeryl Streep (as Miranda Priestly) andAnne Hathaway (as Andrea Sachs).[9] The film grossed $27.5 million in its opening weekend,[10] and amassed U.S. sales of nearly $125 million and worldwide sales of $326 million,[11] making it one of the top-grossing films of summer 2006.[citation needed]
Weisberger made a brief cameo in the film as the twins' nanny.
In October 2006,Fox acquired the television rights to the book, though the series was ultimately never developed.[12]
Weisberger secured a $1 million advance fromSimon & Schuster for her second novel,Everyone Worth Knowing, which was based on the trials and tribulations of the New York City public relations world; the book was published in fall 2005. It received generally unfavorable reviews.The New York Times Book Review described it as "fatuous, clunky."USA Today called it "lackluster imitation" andEntertainment Weekly said it was a "ho-hum rehash" ofThe Devil Wears Prada.[13] It debuted onThe New York Times Best Sellers List at No. 10, but dropped off the list in two weeks and was ultimately noted for disappointing sales.[13] The audio book was read by actressEliza Dushku. In some European countries, the novel was released under the separate titleGossip and Gucci.[citation needed]
Chasing Harry Winston, Weisberger's third novel, was released May 27, 2008 and on May 19, 2008 in the United Kingdom. The book's main characters are three best friends in New York City, Emmy, Adriana, and Leigh, who are facing fears with turning 30. Recently dumped Emmy promises to make a drastic change and find guys from every continent for casual affairs. Beautiful Brazilian Adriana tries to leave her old lifestyle of sleeping around and living off her father to get aHarry Winston ring on her finger before her first wrinkles begin showing. Leigh, the one with the perfect life, does not know what she needs in order to be happy and relax..[citation needed]
In September 2008,Universal Pictures secured rights to the book, and it was translated into French, Dutch, and Italian. In some European countries, the novel was released under the separate titleChanel Chic. In Italy, the title isUn anello da Tiffany & Co (A ring from Tiffany & Co). In France, the title isSexe, diamants et plus si affinités (Sex, Diamonds, and maybe more...)[citation needed]
The book was panned by critics and was voted "#1 Worst Book of 2008" byEntertainment Weekly.[14]
Last Night at Chateau Marmont was released in August 2010.[15] It debuted at No. 9 onThe New York Times Bestseller List on September 5, 2010.[16]
Revenge Wears Prada, a sequel toThe Devil Wears Prada, was released on June 4, 2013 and debuted at No. 3 onThe New York Times Bestseller List.[citation needed]
The Singles Game was released in 2016.[citation needed]
When Life Gives You Lululemons, a second sequel toThe Devil Wears Prada, was released in 2018. It follows the character of Emily Charlton, Miranda's Priestly's assistant played byEmily Blunt in the movie adaptation. This book has also been published under the titleThe Wives.[citation needed]
Where the Grass Is Green and the Girls Are Pretty was released in May 2021. This book has also been published as a paperback in the United Kingdom and Ireland under the titleOne Little Lie.[citation needed]
Her short story "The Bamboo Confessions" is included in theanthologyAmerican Girls About Town. It is about a New York Citybackpacker who travels around the world and, in so doing, begins to view her love life back home in a different light.[17]
