‘The Devil Wears Prada’ turns 20! 5 Fun facts you didn’t know

The cast we have weren’t entirely the first choices
Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep in “The Devil Wears Prada.” (Courtesy: 20th Century Studio)
Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep in “The Devil Wears Prada.” (Courtesy: 20th Century Studio)
It’s hard to picture anyone but Streep in the role of Miranda Priestly, but according to Entertainment Weekly, Michelle Pfeiffer, Glenn Close, and Catherine Zeta-Jones were all considered before the studio locked in Streep. Hathaway wasn’t the first choice either, though she campaigned for the role against stars like Rachel McAdams, Scarlett Johansson, Natalie Portman, Kirsten Dunst, and Kate Hudson. And Stanely Tucci told the outlet that he was cast “at the 11th hour” after director David Frankel considered 150 other actors for the role.

The costume budget was tight
Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep in “The Devil Wears Prada.” (Courtesy: 20th Century Studio)
Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep in “The Devil Wears Prada.” (Courtesy: 20th Century Studio)
You would think that the budget for a movie set in the world of high fashion would be sky high. But Patricia Field revealed to the New York Post in 2006 that the actual budget was just $100,000, but thanks to her connections, “We must have used at least $1 million worth of clothing.” She added, “but we could never have done it without my friends in the fashion industry helping us along. It would have been impossible. The level of fur coats, and designer bags – oh my God.”

There were off-camera quick changes
Anne Hathaway and Emily Blunt in “The Devil Wears Prada.” (Courtesy: 20th Century Studio)
Anne Hathaway and Emily Blunt in “The Devil Wears Prada.” (Courtesy: 20th Century Studio)
Most of the characters are wearing high heels as they race through the halls of Runway magazine and streets of New York, but behind-the-scenes, the stars ditched the stilettos when they could. Blunt told Entertainment Weekly, “Any chance Meryl and I had, I know we were in Uggs in most of the shots from the waist up, but Annie [was running] over cobblestone streets like a sure-footed little mountain goat.

Anna Wintour approved of the movie, at least publicly
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MAY 20: Anna Wintour attends The Gordon Parks Foundation Awards Dinner and Auction 2025 at Cipriani 42nd Street on May 20, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Arturo Holmes/Getty Images for Gordon Parks Foundation)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MAY 20: Anna Wintour attends The Gordon Parks Foundation Awards Dinner and Auction 2025 at Cipriani 42nd Street on May 20, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Arturo Holmes/Getty Images for Gordon Parks Foundation)
Author Lauren Weisberger wrote “The Devil Wears Prada” based on her experiences working at Vogue under its notoriously tough editor Anna Wintour, the top arbiter of all things fashion. Many wondered how Wintour would react to the movie adaptation, but she appeared to sign off when speaking about it in 2006 for ABC’s “Most Fascinating People,” Wintour said, “Anything that makes fashion entertaining and glamorous and interesting is wonderful for our industry. So I was 100 percent behind it.” And Wintour reportedly appeared at the premiere in, what else? Prada.