Everything You Need To Know About Anna Wintour's Daughter
If you've seen the 2006 movie The Devil Wears Prada, you know who Miranda Priestly is: the undisputed, reigning queen of both fashion and shade. But did you know that her character was (allegedly) based on a real person? Indeed, there would be no Miranda Priestly without Anna Wintour, the longtime editor of Vogue magazine. The world-famous businesswoman sports a stylish bob, big sunglasses, and of course, an impeccable taste in fashion. You simply can't run Vogue without that last part.
It might seem impossible that anyone could be as glam as the ice queen of fashion herself, but Wintour's daughter, Bee Shaffer, has definitely inherited her mother's pragmatic grace. She's been on more than a few red carpets over the years, always in flawless designer couture, and always at ease with a million flashbulbs going off around her.
Now that Shaffer is in her thirties, what are her big plans? Does she plan to follow in her mother's footsteps or has she blazed her own trail? Here's everything you need to know about Anna Wintour's daughter, Bee Shaffer.
She's engaged to an Italian stallion
Easily the biggest news about Shaffer is her engagement to film director and photographer Francesco Carrozzini, the son of Franca Sozzani, the late editor-in-chief of Vogue Italia. Can you conjure a more perfect match? And can you imagine well-dressed everyone at the wedding will be?
The couple met in October of 2016 in New York City at a screening of Franca: Chaos & Creation, a documentary that Carrozzini made about his mother. The event was co-hosted by Wintour, according to Us Weekly, which explains why Shaffer was there. Clearly sparks must have flown immediately, as six months later, their engagement was confirmed. Shortly after that, Shaffer debuted her engagement ring on the red carpet of the 2017 Met Gala, according to People magazine. It's a stunner!
The ceremony, which promises to be lavish and even star-studded, will be held at Wintour's estate in Mastic, Long Island, according to Page Six magazine.
Acting "wasn't in the cards" for her
When Shaffer was younger, one of her first career ambitions was to be an actress. "I asked my mom to sign me up for acting classes when I was, I think eight years old," she shared in an interview with Teen Vogue.
However, despite her early thespian tendencies, things didn't go according to plan for Shaffer — thanks in part to a little blunder on Wintour's behalf. "She accidentally signed me up for voice classes instead, and I can't sing," Shaffer said of her mother. Oops!
The turning point was her final performance for the class with her less-than-stellar performance of "Where Is Love?" from the musical Oliver. Shaffer noted, "I realized after that it wasn't in the cards." That's probably all for the best, as Shaffer's not fond of being on stage anyway. "I also have terrible stage fright and I don't like being in front of people," she confessed. Yeah, that definitely wouldn't have worked out.
"I don't understand people who are late!"
Are you chronically late for everything? Chances are Shaffer can't hang with you, then; she told Teen Vogue that she simply doesn't comprehend why people can't be punctual. "It's so easy to be on time! You just allot enough time for things!" she exclaimed. Feeling called out yet?
Additionally, just as Shaffer makes sure she's on time for everything, she's also not one to let the day slip away from her. "The one thing I inherited from my mom is I really like to go to bed early, and wake up early," she shared with Teen Vogue. She's not joking, either: she's in bed by 11:00 PM every night, given her druthers. And she gets up at 6:00 AM.
Shaffer's not afraid to be a little smug about it too."I feel people feel like, they're kind of superior if they get up early," she continued. "You just feel like you're a better person if you do."
Broadway is her favorite place
Shaffer might not be the actress she dreamed of as a child, but she is a die-hard theater nerd, according to the New York Post. She and Wintour attend Broadway shows on a regular basis. And, while she has celebrated a variety of shows on her Instagram page, one particular show is her obvious favorite: Hamilton.
Shaffer doesn't just like the show, nor does she simply love it. Rather, she's straight-up obsessed! For one, she's seen the show six times, at least. She's also transcribed full numbers from Hamilton in emoji, according to an article she wrote in Vogue magazine. On top of that, she and Wintour hosted a dinner honoring the 2016 Tony Award nominees, according to Vogue. Who wouldn't want to be a fly on that wall?
But that's still not the extent of Shaffer's obsession. In 2017, she had a Hamilton themed birthday party, which you can scope on this post on friend Nell Diamond's Instagram page. Finally, she met Leslie Odom Jr. (who originated the role of Aaron Burr) several times, as well as other cast members, according to her Instagram page. Talk about committed!
How did she stay up so late?
Despite her family's fashion legacy, Shaffer didn't feel called to the clothing industry. "I never thought I was going to work in fashion," she told Teen Vogue. "It never occurred to me." However, Shaffer did feel called to journalism. "My grandfather was an editor and my uncle is an editor. Obviously my mom is an editor." So becoming one herself wasn't an unreasonable idea at all.
Shaffer did explore a career in journalism briefly, but that's not where she landed. "I did a bunch of internships. Every time I'd worked at a magazine, it had been in entertainment," she continued. "And then I realized I loved that, and that's what I ended up doing."
Shaffer landed a dream job 2014 when she became a segment producer on Late Night with Seth Meyers, the New York Post reported. And she stayed there for a total of three and a half years, according to a post she made on Instagram.
So, as King George asks in Hamilton, what comes next? A source told Page Six that she has taken a job with Ambassador Theater Group, which sounds totally fitting for a theater nerd.
Los Angeles, she's just not that into you
Since Vogue magazine is headquartered in Manhattan, of course that's where Shaffer was born and raised. Well, New York must run deep in Shaffer's blood, because when she moved to Los Angeles in 2011 (to work for Glee creator Ryan Murphy) she had a hard time adjusting. "It was horrible," she revealed in an interview with Teen Vogue. "For the first six months I was very lonely." That's partially because she hated parking, and would eschew going out if parking was involved. She admits that it sounds silly, but parking in L.A. really can be challenging. Try it.
Southern California also didn't suit her disposition. "I'm not very, like, optimistic, or sunny, or L.A.," she continued. "I would never do yoga, and I hate it when people talk about energy or their psychics." So she moved back to the Big Apple just a few years later, according to the New York Post.
There's one thing Shaffer did enjoy on the west coast, though. "I did get into the green juice," she confessed, adding that her mother likes to make fun of her for it.
"I've never been very fashion forward..."
Despite being Anna Wintour's daughter and gracing the red carpet at the Met Gala every year, Shaffer's not a clotheshorse. "I've never been very fashion forward," she told Teen Vogue. "I'm not that interested in fashion." It sounds crazy given how many gorgeous dresses she's worn over the years.
On top of that, Shaffer admits that she's not physically built for the biz either — even though she's totally gorgeous. "I'm 5'5" and I have huge boobs," she continued. "Like, I'm not going to wear the same thing as Karlie Kloss." Look up Karlie Kloss, and you can see why she makes the comparison — they have very different body types.
Shaffer also doesn't obsess over clothes and accessories. "I kind of wear the same thing all the time, or, it's so cliche to say it, but like, jeans and t-shirts," she revealed. Fortunately, you don't need to be a runway model to slay, and Shaffer is living proof of that.
Her favorite sports team might surprise you!
Despite Shaffer being a New Yorker to the core, she's not a Giants fan, or even a Jets fan. She is, bewilderingly, a hardcore fan of the Cincinnati Bengals — a team not known for their winning record, to say the least. But that doesn't seem to bother Shaffer, who shows her devotion to the team quite often on Instagram.
So how did this come to be? "It's a fair question," she said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. "People are very confused by the whole thing." As it turns out, Shaffer got hooked via the HBO documentary series Hard Knocks, which chronicled the Bengals pre-season several years ago. "The show does a genius job," she added.
While there's a bar in New York City where Bengals fans congregate and commiserate, Shaffer prefers watching them at home alone, where she can focus on the game. She's that serious about the whole thing! She also has a customized Bengals jersey, a bowling ball in team colors, and a steady stream of Bengals merch her friends give her as gifts.
An amateur tennis aficionado
One of the things Anna Wintour is famous for, along with her iconic look and cool disposition, is her well-documented love of tennis. That applies both to playing it, which she does well, and to watching it, which she does at Wimbledon, according to The New York Times.
Shaffer might not be as starstruck with Roger Federer as her mother, but she has shown the world that she knows how to pick up a racket. Notably, she's posted several times on her Instagram page about the Mastic Tennis Tournament. It might not be Wimbledon, that's for sure, but chances are you have to know how to play to hang with that crowd. From the looks of it, Shaffer hasn't yet taken home the crown, though who knows what could happen in the future.
Shaffer also confirmed that she played badminton growing up in an interview with Teen Vogue. Which, when you think about it, is sort of, kind of tennis-esque!