Meryl Streep: Miranda Priestly Was Inspired by 2 Directors

Two decades after Miranda Priestly swept into pop culture, Meryl Streep says fans have been guessing the wrong muse. On the Late Show, Streep revealed that her famously frosty Devil Wears Prada editor was modeled not on Vogue's Anna Wintour, as long assumed, but on director Mike Nichols "with a little bit of Clint Eastwood." "If Mike Nichols and Clint Eastwood had a baby… it would be Miranda Priestly," she said, crediting Nichols' wry authority and Eastwood's quiet control for the character's edge. Nichols knew about the homage and "was thrilled," she added; she hasn't gotten around to mentioning it to Eastwood, notes People.

Streep marked the film's 20th anniversary with a wink to fans, wearing a custom cerulean sweater (Elite Daily notes that you can get your own version from Old Navy) that nodded to the movie's color-monologue moment, as anticipation builds for the sequel due out May 1. She also revisited how the original 2006 film was dismissed as a "chick-flick," a label she says aged poorly given the box-office muscle of women-led hits like Barbie and Mamma Mia! While the first Prada had to "scramble" for funding, Streep said the new installment reflects changing studio attitudes: "This one, honey, they spent the money."