Anna Wintour Steps Down From American Vogue Role After 37 Years—Will New Global Focus See Her Quit New York, Too?

Famed fashion editor Anna Wintour has announced to Vogue staffers that she is stepping down from her role as editor in chief of the U.S. publication after 37 years—revealing to employees that Condé Nast will be seeking a new head of editorial content for the magazine.

Wintour, 75, became editor in chief of the New York-based publication in 1988 and has since expanded her role at Condé Nast to take on a host of global responsibilities, serving as the company’s global chief content officer and global editorial director of the Vogue brand.

According to WWD, Wintour told staff on June 25 that she will continue to serve in her global positions, through which she oversees almost every Condé Nast franchise, including Wired, Vanity Fair, GQ, Architectural Digest, Condé Nast Traveler, Glamour, Bon Appetit, Tatler, World of Interiors, and Allure.

The outlet reports that the hiring of a new head of editorial content for the American version of the storied fashion publication is part of Condé Nast’s updated editorial structure, which was implemented in 2021 and saw the installation of a head of editorial content in each of its global markets.

Though Wintour will remain an integral part of Condé Nast and the Vogue brand on a global scale, her decision to step aside from American Vogue marks the end of an era in the publishing industry—and will undoubtedly raise questions about whether the fashion legend is slowly inching her way toward retirement.

Questions may also be raised about whether Wintour, who helms the iconic Met Gala in New York City every year, plans to spend more time away from the Big Apple, where she has owned a stunning townhouse since 1992.

Though Wintour is based in New York—and has been for many years now—she was born and raised in London, where her father, Charles Wintour, was a widely respected newspaper editor.

The mother of two began her Vogue career in the U.K. with a two-year stint at the British version of the fashion bible, before relocating to New York City in 1988, when she took over as editor in chief of American Vogue.

Just four years later, Wintour purchased her picturesque property in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village, which has served as her primary residence ever since—although she has since purchased a second dwelling on Long Island, where her daughter, Bee, got married in 2018.

Since 1992, Wintour’s Manhattan home has increased hugely in value; she bought the dwelling for $1.4 million, but Realtor.com® now estimates it to be worth upward of $10 million.

The historic property was originally built in 1899 and is located on one of the most sought-after streets in Greenwich Village, which has been home to a host of celebrities and high-profile residents over the years.

Wintour’s home itself has become a hive of A-list activity, thanks to the many intimate events she hosts at the dwelling for her celebrity pals.

Over the years, the fashion editor’s pre-Met Gala gatherings have become almost as anticipated as the glittering ball itself, with the likes of Rihanna, James Corden, Serena Williams, and Roger Federer all included on the guest list in recent years.

Her luxurious property in Mastic, NY, boasts a similarly glitzy history, having been used as the location for the wedding of Wintour’s daughter, Bee, and her husband, Francesco Carrozzini, who had a number of high-profile guests in attendance at their ceremony.

Wintour purchased the first portion of her Long Island property back in 1998; however, she then expanded the sprawling dwelling in 2010, when she snapped up an adjacent home—a four-bedroom Colonial that came complete with its own private water frontage.

In total, the Vogue boss’ home is now understood to span a staggering 42 acres, offering an expanse of land that runs alongside the Forge River.

Over the years, Wintour has been dogged by rumors that she was planning to resign from Vogue—particularly after speculation surrounding a so-called romance with British actor Bill Nighy gathered steam back in 2023, although the on-screen star later denied all suggestion that they were anything more than friends.

However, that didn’t stop reports from surfacing that Wintour had begun seeking out a home in London, with The Mail on Sunday claiming in September of that year that she was “seeking a permanent home” in the British capital, although it is unclear whether she ever settled on a dwelling.

“Anna spends a lot of time jetting across the Atlantic but she is now looking for a permanent base in London,” an unnamed source told the outlet.

“She’s been talking about looking for a house in London. Her only demand is that the new house either has a tennis court or is close to one. Tennis is her passion.”

Wintour is known to be an avid tennis fan and is a regular at many of the major Grand Slam tournaments—particularly the U.S. Open in New York and Wimbledon in London.

Though she is now a full-time New Yorker, the fashion star once admitted that her entry to the Big Apple did not get off to the most stylish of starts, revealing in a 1997 piece for The Guardian that she was fired from her first role at the U.S. version of Harper’s Bazaar for being “too European.”

“My first job in the States was as a junior fashion editor at Harper’s Bazaar, which I enjoyed but not for all that long because I was fired by the editor in chief, who told me that I was too ‘European,'” she shared.

“At the time I didn’t know what he meant, but in retrospect I think it meant that I was obstinate, that I wouldn’t take direction and that I totally ignored my editor’s need for credits.”