June 22, 2006 (Los Angeles)
June 30, 2006 (United States)
The Devil Wears Prada is a 2006 American comedy-drama film directed by David Frankel and produced by Wendy Finerman. The screenplay, written by Aline Brosh McKenna, is based on the 2003 novel by Lauren Weisberger. The film stars Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Stanley Tucci, and Emily Blunt. It follows Andy Sachs (Hathaway), an aspiring journalist who gets a job at a fashion magazine but finds herself at the mercy of her demanding editor, Miranda Priestly (Streep).
20th Century Fox bought the rights to a film adaptation of Weisberger's novel in 2003, before it was completed; the project was not greenlit until Streep was cast. Principal photography lasted 57 days across September to December 2005, primarily taking place in New York City. Additional filming took place in Paris.
The Devil Wears Prada premiered at the LA Film Festival on June 22, 2006, and was theatrically released in the United States on June 30. It received positive reviews, particularly for Streep's performance; she won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy and was nominated as Best Lead Actress for the Academy Award, BAFTA Award, SAG, and Critics' Choice. The film grossed over $326 million worldwide against a budget of $35–41 million. A sequel, The Devil Wears Prada 2, premiered on April 20, 2026 at Lincoln Center in Manhattan.
Most designers and other fashion figures avoided appearing as themselves for fear of displeasing the American Vogue editor Anna Wintour, who is widely believed to have been the inspiration for Priestly. Wintour eventually overcame her skepticism, saying she liked the film and Streep's performance in particular.
Storyline
Aspiring journalist Andrea "Andy" Sachs has recently graduated from Northwestern University. Despite her lack of knowledge of the fashion industry, she is hired as a junior personal assistant to Miranda Priestly, the notoriously cruel editor-in-chief of Runway magazine in New York City. Andy resolves to tolerate Miranda's abusive treatment until she can use her connections from Runway to find a journalism-focused job.
Andy fits in poorly with her superficial, fashion-forward co-workers, particularly Miranda's senior assistant, Emily Charlton, and struggles to meet Miranda's irrational demands. After Andy fails to arrange for Miranda to be flown back from Miami during a hurricane, she is berated. Andy approaches Runway's art director Nigel for advice, who helps her select stylish clothes to wear to work.
Noticing Andy's increased commitment to the job, Miranda begins to delegate more important tasks to her. As Andy absorbs the Runway philosophy, she outperforms Emily, who yearns to attend Paris Fashion Week as Miranda's assistant. In preparation for the event, Emily follows extreme diets that endanger her health.
When Emily arrives to work sick and forgets the names of important guests at a charity benefit, Andy steps in to save Miranda from embarrassment. Miranda subsequently selects Andy to accompany her to Paris Fashion Week instead of Emily. Just as Andy calls Emily to inform her of the change of plan, the latter is hit by a car.
While visiting her in the hospital, Andy tells Emily the news. Emily is horrified that Andy accepted Miranda's offer. After she snaps at him, Andy's boyfriend Nate breaks up with her, disappointed that she has become one of the shallow, egotistical women she once ridiculed.
In Paris, Andy learns that Miranda's husband has filed for divorce. Later that night, Nigel tells Andy that he has accepted a job as creative director for rising designer James Holt. Andy spends the night with an attractive writer, Christian Thompson, who tells her that Jacqueline Follet (Miranda's counterpart as editor-in-chief at French Runway) is being prepared to replace Miranda. Andy attempts to warn Miranda, but Miranda dismisses her.
At a later luncheon, Miranda announces Jacqueline as Holt's new creative director, much to Andy and Nigel's shock. While in a limousine, Miranda reveals that she already knew of the scheme to replace her, and sacrificed Nigel's ambitions to preserve her own job.
Andy is repulsed by Miranda's betrayal of her friend, but Miranda points out that Andy did the same thing to Emily by agreeing to accompany her to Paris. Afraid to become the type of person Miranda is, Andy storms off. When Miranda tries calling her, Andy tosses her phone into the Fontaines de la Concorde.
Back in New York, Andy meets up with Nate, who tells her he has a new job as a sous-chef in Boston, and they agree to keep in touch. The same day, Andy has an interview at the New York Mirror newspaper. The editor recounts that when he called Runway for a reference, Miranda told him that Andy was the biggest disappointment she had ever had as an assistant, and that he would be an idiot not to hire her.
After getting the job, Andy calls Emily and offers her the clothes she obtained in Paris. While walking past the Runway office building, Andy sees Miranda and waves at her. She does not acknowledge her, but smiles to herself once seated in her car.
Also See
- The Devil Wears Prada 2 (2026)
Movie Trailer
- The Devil Wears Prada (2006) (Trailers)