Vanessa Williams makes everyone ‘forget’ Meryl Streep’s ‘Devil Wears Prada’ Miranda Priestly

The actress was never going to be a copy of Meryl Streep’s Miranda Priestly—she was going to be her own Miranda Priestly.

Now starring in the West End’s The Devil Wears Prada musical, the 62-year-old actress is fully embracing the iconic role, making it clear that comparisons to Meryl Streep’s version were never a concern.

“I’ve heard this question over and over again, and I knew that I was going to make it my own … that’s been the feedback from everyone who’s seen it,” she shared in a recent conversation with HuffPost UK.

“After they sit down in their seat, they say, ‘I completely forgot who was playing it before and I love the journey that you took me on.’”

“And that’s what you have to do as an actor,” Williams added.

The Desperate Housewives alum brings her own brand of power and poise to Miranda in the musical, which features music by Elton John and lyrics by Shaina Taub and Mark Sonnenblick.

The stage adaptation originally debuted in Chicago in 2022, with Tony winner Beth Leavel taking on the role of the formidable Runway editor-in-chief.

Williams stepped into Miranda’s designer heels in 2024 when the show made its way to the U.K., first opening in Plymouth before making a grand entrance at London’s Dominion Theatre.

Of course, The Devil Wears Prada has long been a fan favorite, first as Lauren Weisberger’s best-selling novel and later as the 2006 film that cemented Miranda as one of pop culture’s most memorable (and terrifyingly stylish) bosses.

Now, Williams gets to put her own spin on the character, starring opposite Georgie Buckland as Andy Sachs, a young aspiring journalist who quickly learns that working for Miranda is no ordinary job.

And if anyone thought Williams wasn’t going to bring her own flair to the role, she made her stance clear when she first landed the part.

“Bringing Miranda Priestly to life in the West End is an absolute dream come true,” she previously stated, per Variety. “Gird your loins, folks.”

One thing’s for sure, this Miranda is commanding the stage, and she’s doing it in style.