Vanity Fair (magazine)

**Vanity Fair (magazine)**

Vanity Fair is a monthly American magazine covering pop culture, fashion, and current events, published by Condé Nast. The title first appeared in 1913, when Condé Montrose Nast bought the men’s fashion magazine *Dress*, renamed it *Dress and Vanity Fair*, and later shortened it to *Vanity Fair*. It flourished in the 1920s, peaking at a circulation of 90,000, but fell victim to the Great Depression and shrinking ad revenue. In December 1935, Nast announced the magazine would merge into *Vogue* (circulation 156,000), starting with the March 1936 issue. *Vogue* carried the *Vanity Fair* name until February 1983. Condé Nast revived the title in 1983. The first issue of the new version appeared on February 21, 1983 (cover date March), edited by Richard Locke. After three issues, Locke was replaced by Leo Lerman, then by Tina Brown (1984–1992), Graydon Carter (1992–2017), and Radhika Jones (2017–2025). Jones, previously director of *The New York Times* book section, oversaw the magazine’s unionization in 2022. Mark Guiducci, formerly creative editorial director of *Vogue*, succeeded her in June 2025. International editions launched in the United Kingdom (1991), Italy (2003), Spain (2008), and France (2013). In 2008, the magazine marked 95 years since its Nast debut and the 25th anniversary of its relaunch with an exhibition, “Vanity Fair Portraits, 1913–2008,” at London’s National Portrait Gallery. The show traveled to the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra. A special jubilee issue and hardback book, *Vanity Fair: The Portraits*, appeared that fall. The name *Vanity Fair* comes from a fictional place ruled by Beelzebub in John Bunyan’s *Pilgrim’s Progress*, later popularized by William Makepeace Thackeray’s 1847–48 novel. The magazine’s content spans many topics. Regular writers and columnists have included Dominick Dunne, Sebastian Junger, Michael Wolff, Maureen Orth, and Christopher Hitchens. In 1996, Marie Brenner’s exposé on the tobacco industry, “The Man Who Knew Too Much,” was adapted into the 1999 film *The Insider*. The May 2005 issue identified Mark Felt as Watergate whistleblower “Deep Throat.” The magazine runs a monthly Proust Questionnaire and has published notable celebrity interviews: Teri Hatcher discussing childhood sexual abuse, Jennifer Aniston’s first interview after her divorce from Brad Pitt, Anderson Cooper on his brother’s death, and Martha Stewart’s first interview after prison. In 2015, *Vanity Fair* corrected an account by NBC’s Richard Engel about his 2012 kidnapping in Syria, noting he had misidentified his captors. In 2019, former contributing editor Vicky Ward said her 2003 profile of Jeffrey Epstein had included on-the-record accounts from Annie and Maria Farmer, the earliest known criminal complainants, but that those details were removed after Bill Clinton pressured editor Graydon Carter. The magazine appears in Toby Young’s 2001 book *How to Lose Friends and Alienate People*, about his time working for Carter; it was adapted into a 2008 film with Jeff Bridges playing Carter. Carter was known for encouraging lavish spending to project a classy image. In 2017, Tina Brown published *The Vanity Fair Diaries*. Famous contributing photographers include Bruce Weber, Annie Leibovitz, Mario Testino, and Herb Ritts, who produced lavish covers and celebrity portraits. One of the most famous covers was Leibovitz’s 1991 portrait of a naked, pregnant Demi Moore. The April 1999 issue featured Mike Myers dressed as a Hindu deity in a David LaChapelle photo spread, prompting apologies from both photographer and magazine after criticism. In 2008, *Entertainment Tonight* reported that 15-year-old Miley Cyrus had posed topless for a Leibovitz shoot. A Disney spokesperson accused the magazine of manipulating a minor to sell issues. The full photo, published in *The New York Times* on April 27, showed Cyrus wrapped in a bedsheet, not topless. Cyrus initially apologized, saying the photos were meant to be artistic.