Woman Who Says She’s The Real Emily Calls The Devil Wears Prada A Betrayal

Here’s a plot twist for anyone who still obsessively re-watches ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ or quotes ‘a million girls would kill for this job’ at every mildly stressful situation: Apparently, “Emily” from the book and movie was based on a real person—and she’s just come out and said so, in a pretty candid way.

So, who is this real Emily?

Meet Leslie Fremar, a celebrity stylist who, back in her earlier career days, worked at Vogue. Fremar recently went on Vogue’s ‘The Run-Through’ podcast and dropped a mini bombshell: She claims she’s the actual inspiration behind the character Emily, played by Emily Blunt in the 2006 movie. According to Fremar, not only did Lauren Weisberger—who wrote the original novel—work under her at Vogue, but Fremar was also the one who hired her in the first place. Small world, or just classic fashion industry drama?

She said what?

Fremar actually takes credit for one of the film’s most famous lines, saying: 'That was definitely my line because I actually really believed that, and I knew that she didn’t necessarily wanna be there.' The line in question? The legendary 'A million girls would kill for this job.' Apparently, Fremar said that to Weisberger directly, and it made its way from real life all the way to the big screen.

The moment she realized...

If you’ve ever wondered how people at Vogue reacted when ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ novel dropped, Fremar has the inside scoop. She found out about the book right after she quit her job at Vogue—Anna Wintour herself called Fremar up and asked to meet. A little intimidating, no? During the meeting, Wintour told her point-blank that their former junior assistant (aka Lauren Weisberger) had written a book. The kicker: Fremar claims Wintour told her, 'Your character seems way worse than mine.' That’s some high-level shade, from the queen of shade herself.

How’s the friendship now?

If you guessed that Fremar and Weisberger didn’t stay friends—you’re right. Fremar says she never spoke to Weisberger after leaving Vogue. She also says the release of the book—thinly disguised as ‘fiction’—felt, in her words, 'like a betrayal.' Fremar wasn’t exactly delighted to see a version of herself show up in a novel about cutthroat bosses and beleaguered assistants. She admits she wanted to ask more questions at the time but couldn’t, and that things between her and Weisberger now would just be 'awkward.'

The ‘mean’ edit

As for Anna Wintour, Fremar says she got an early 'mean' version of the manuscript (as opposed to the slightly softened final version the public eventually read), calling the experience 'exposure.' Fremar points out that even though the book was technically fiction, it was basically the truth about day-to-day life at Vogue—at least, as she and Weisberger lived it.

• Leslie Fremar: Former Vogue staffer, now celebrity stylist, claims she’s the real-life Emily.
• Lauren Weisberger: Hired by Fremar at Vogue, later wrote ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ based on those years.
• Anna Wintour: Aware of the book before release, supposedly told Fremar her character came off worse.

The backstory behind one of the most iconic fashion films ever seems just as dramatic as the movie itself. In the end, it’s a perfect example of how thinly veiled ‘fiction’ can hit uncomfortably close to home—especially in the world of high fashion, high stress, and, apparently, even higher stakes for former coworkers.