Apparently, Meryl Streep and Anna Wintour are related beyond just Miranda Priestly being loosely based off of the former Vogue editor-in-chief!
A new report from NBC’s TODAY includes a claim from genealogy service Ancestry.com that the three-time Oscar winner, 76, and the fashion icon, also 76, are actually sixth cousins.
Per Ancestry’s report, the pair actually share fifth great-grandparents, Thomas Smith and Elizabeth Kinsey, who lived in Bucks County, Pennsylvania back in the 18th century, coincidentally just a few miles away from where The Devil Wears Prada author Lauren Weisberger grew up.
The news was first shared on the April 2 iteration of the morning talk show, during Carson Daly’s PopStart segment, to which host Craig Melvin reacted with guffaws of disbelief.
“Ancestry used billions of historical records and public family trees to find that connection,” Carson continued, and Laura Jarrett joked: “I want to be at that family reunion, I want to see!”
While neither Meryl nor Anna have actually commented on it themselves yet, it does put the upcoming promotion for The Devil Wears Prada 2, and their history with the franchise, in an exciting new perspective.
Lauren, a former assistant to Anna herself, released the best-selling novel in 2003, with many believing early on that the character of Miranda Priestly was indeed inspired by Anna. As a result, when the 2006 film was greenlit, many industry professionals and fashion figures declined to appear as themselves in fear of adversely affecting their relationships with Anna, one of the most influential figures in the world of fashion.
© Getty ImagesFor the longest time, the narrative remained that the front row staple didn’t enjoy the film, Meryl’s performance, or the idea of the source material portraying her in a potentially negative light. In recent years, however, she has openly expressed her admiration for the film, and particularly Meryl’s performance.
Speaking with The New Yorker’s David Remnick on his podcast, she explained: “I went to the premiere wearing Prada, completely having no idea what the film was going to be about. And I think that the fashion industry were very sweetly concerned for me about the film, that it was going to paint me in some kind of difficult light.”
© Getty ImagesWhile she did suggest she saw it as a “caricature,” she revealed that she had really come around to it. “I found it highly enjoyable. It was very funny. Miuccia [Prada] and I talk about it a lot, and I say to her: ‘Well, it was really good for you.'”
She noted it “had a lot of humour 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 earned Meryl another Best Actress Oscar nod.
© Getty ImagesThe sequel will arrive in theaters on May 1, with Anna joining Anne Hathaway at the 98th Academy Awards earlier in March to promote the film while presenting the Costume Design and Makeup and Hairstyling awards.
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