Vanity Fair opens the door to Hollywood. With a unique mix of grit and glamour, we track the latest scandals, the greatest achievements and the newest stars. Vanity Fair is a cultural catalyst. A provocative mix of culture, politics and high finance that generates more monthly media coverage than any other glossy magazine.With an outstanding combination of iconic photography, groundbreaking stories, in-depth reportage, and social commentary, Vanity Fair is the biography of our age, one month at a time.
Vanity Fair
Editor’s Letter
Contributors
Behind the Issue
ACCESS IS EVERYTHING
The 2024 VF GIFT GUIDE • 118 items for the stylish giver to surprise and delight everyone on your list
For the MAGNETIC • Tug at the heartstrings with In the Mood for Love, a visual feast of amorous highs and melancholic lows
Season’s GREENINGS
For the REBEL • Master the Force and channel a galaxy far, far away, as inspired by The Empire Strikes Back
Attention SEEKER • Whether your focus is presents or parties, it’s time to really turn heads
For the DAY-TRIPPER • Add a romantic adventure à la Roman Holiday to your wish list
Artistic LICENSE • Paint a portrait of yourself with chic outerwear, sass boots and ritzy jewellery
Good FORM
For the LOVERS • Borrow Cupid’s wings and indulge the heart’s most tender entreaties in a fashion befitting Romeo + Juliet
For the WONDERFUL • Ease on down the road! Follow in the silver-slippered steps of The Wiz
Let It GLOW
For the NATURALIST • Let Jurassic Park remind you that life, uh, finds a way—even as the laws of nature and hubris of man collide
Good on PAPER • From opulent imagery to entertaining tips, exquisite books worth festooning with gift wrap and bows
Read the ROOM • Ten illustrious bookworms share their recent favorites
London CALLING • Lashing rain didn’t keep the stars from opening their arms and hearts in support of film preservation at the British Film Institute’s annual Luminous Gala
The Art of THE DEAL • What it took to get my movie about Donald Trump and Roy Cohn in front of an audience
STAR STRUCK Hollywood 2025 • It’s the MOST AUDACIOUS ACTORS who POWER HOLLYWOOD and THRILL AUDIENCES. VF TOASTS 12 of the INDUSTRY’S BRIGHTEST LIGHTS
All the Pretty Little Horses • When he was 42, CORMAC McCARTHY fell in love with a 16-year-old girl he met by a motel pool. AUGUSTA BRITT would go on to become one of the most significant—and secret—inspirations in literary history, giving life to dozens of McCarthy’s characters across his celebrated novels and Hollywood films. For 47 years, Britt closely guarded her identity and her story. Until now
McQUEEN’S GAMBIT • IS STEVE McQUEEN A HOLLYWOOD DIRECTOR WITH A THRIVING FINE ARTS PRACTICE OR A THRIVING FINE ARTIST WITH AN IMPECCABLE HOLLYWOOD STREAK? HIS WORLD WAR II EPIC, BLITZ, IS ANOTHER VIRTUOSO WORK IN A CAREER FULL OF THEM
KAREN READ’S FIGHT • Prosecuted for her police officer boyfriend’s mysterious death in a wild case that ended in a mistrial, the former equity analyst has maintained her innocence. Moreover, she claims that law enforcement has conspired to frame her. As her retrial looms—calling into question the concept of double jeopardy—Karen Read speaks out
SIGNS OF LIFE • Like Victor Frankenstein, Hollywood gets flak for just reviving whatever’s lying around. But we’re bullish about next year. VF got a sneak peek at some of the most exciting movies on the horizon
ALL HER OWN • Joan Didion’s marriage was one of the most revered in American letters. But before there was John Gregory Dunne, there was Noel Parmentel Jr.—the man who broke her heart. As LILI ANOLIK reveals...