Anna Wintour and Meryl Streep Discovered as Distant Cousins Amid Vogue’s May Cover Reveal

A genealogical study released this week confirmed that veteran Vogue editor‑in‑chief Anna Wintour and Oscar‑winning actress Meryl Streep share a pair of fifth‑great‑grandparents, making them sixth cousins. The finding, announced by a leading ancestry company, joins a long‑standing cultural shortcut: Streep’s razor‑sharp Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada was widely believed to be modeled on Wintour.

The revelation arrived just as the two women appear side‑by‑side on the May 2026 issue of Vogue, a cover billed as a celebration of their parallel legacies in fashion and film. In a joint interview, both reflected on their new roles as grandmothers and on the enduring influence of their careers.

Wintour, a Dame Commander of the British Empire since 2017, was recently spotted at the 2026 Vanity Fair Oscar Party in Los Angeles, where she discussed the “fun” of drawing on real‑life role models for her fictional counterpart. While speculation once linked her to a potential U.S. ambassadorship under a Hillary Clinton administration, she remains the global chief content officer of Condé Nast, steering the magazine’s editorial direction.

The family link adds a fresh layer to a partnership that has already shaped two decades of pop culture, from runway runways to silver‑screen power dynamics.