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Vanity Fair
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Ferdinand de Lesseps Bringing back Vanity Fair The magazines of Condé Nast Alexander II NRA Blue Eagle Charles Darwin cartoon in Vanity Fair Kelvin, William Thomson, Baron Ramsay, Sir William Sir William Huggins Smiles, Samuel
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Formerly (1913):
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Ferdinand de Lesseps
Ferdinand de Lesseps Ferdinand de Lesseps, illustration from Vanity Fair, November 1869.

Vanity Fair

American magazine
Also known as: “Dress and Vanity Fair”
Written and fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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Top Questions

What is Vanity Fair magazine known for?

When was Vanity Fair first introduced and by whom?

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Vanity Fair, American magazine that covers culture, fashion, and politics. The first version of the magazine appeared in Manhattan in 1859. It was reintroduced by Condé Nast Publications in 1914.

Three different versions of Vanity Fair magazine existed during the 1800s: a humorous Manhattan-based weekly (1859–1863), a British publication known for satirical prose and for Sir Leslie Ward’s brilliant caricatures (1868–1914), and an American theater magazine (1890). In 1913 CondĂ© Nast Publications purchased Vanity Fair and introduced an unsuccessful hybrid magazine called Dress and Vanity Fair. Reintroduced in 1914, Vanity Fair became a cultural force during the Jazz Age, publishing the work of modern artists, illustrators, and writers while also popularizing celebrity portraiture. Vanity Fair ceased publication in 1936 after merging with Vogue magazine and did not reappear until it was relaunched by CondĂ© Nast in 1983. Edited by Tina Brown, the magazine appealed to the extravagant consumerism of young professionals during the 1980s. The new Vanity Fair featured portraits of celebrities on its cover and discussed scandals, money, and popular culture.

Bringing back Vanity Fair
Bringing back Vanity FairIn 1983 S.I. Newhouse, Jr., resurrected Vanity Fair magazine, which had last been published by Condé Nast in 1936.

In 1991 Vanity Fair began publishing an international edition. The following year, the magazine improved the quality of its articles and increased its financial returns under a new editor, Graydon Carter. Carter introduced articles on national and world affairs and created special issues (including the Hollywood Issue) and the International Best-Dressed List. It was also under Carter that the now-legendary Vanity Fair Oscar Party was created, with the first one being held in 1994. Carter retired in 2017 and was succeeded by Radhika Jones, who resigned in 2025 and was succeeded by Mark Guiducci, formerly of Vogue.

Vanity Fair is best known for its celebrity portraits and the controversy that occasionally surrounds its more risquĂ© images. In addition, the magazine has earned a reputation for lively writing, in-depth reporting, and insightful social commentary. A predominately female readership fueled Vanity Fair’s circulation of more than one million in the first decade of the 21st century. But the Internet, social media, and influencers led many to wonder what Vanity Fair still had in setting trends for the 2020s.

And yet 2025 found Vanity Fair at the center of the conversation, sometimes to its detriment and sometimes to it benefit. The magazine found itself at the center of controversy when details of a romantic relationship between West Coast editor Olivia Nuzzi and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., became known. Nuzzi’s contract was not renewed. Later that year, Vanity Fair published one of the most discussed profiles when it featured an article on White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles entitled, “Susie Wiles, JD Vance, and the “Junkyard Dogs”: The White House Chief of Staff on Trump’s Second Term.” Based on taped, on-the-record interviews with Wiles and written by veteran journalist Chris Whipple. In the piece she was quoted as saying that Trump had “an alcoholic’s personality” and that he “operates [with] a view that there’s nothing he can’t do. Nothing, zero, nothing.”

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Tracy Grant.