Leslie Fremar, Real-Life Inspiration for Emily Blunt’s ‘Devil Wears Prada’ Character, Shares Her One Meeting with the Actress

Leslie Fremar, the Hollywood stylist and former Vogue assistant who inspired Emily Blunt’s character in The Devil Wears Prada, has shared the story of the one underwhelming time she met the actress in person.

Fremar appeared on this week’s episode of Vogue’s The Run-Through podcast to discuss her time working at Vogue and her relationship with Devil Wears Prada author Lauren Weisberger. Fremar was hired by Weisberger as a junior assistant to Vogue’s then editor-in-chief Anna Wintour. After being promoted to Wintour’s first assistant, Fremar worked closely with Weisberger for around eight months—a period that would later inspire Weisberger’s novel.

It was through this relationship and her experiences with Weisberger that Fremar eventually realized she was the inspiration for Emily Blunt’s character, Emily Charlton, in The Devil Wears Prada.

Fremar’s Confidence in Being the Real Emily Charlton

During Wednesday’s episode of The Run-Through, host Chloe Malle, Vogue U.S. head of editorial content, asked Fremar, “Do you feel confidently that you are the real Emily?”

“I know I am. Yes. Correct.”

Malle then asked Fremar if she had ever met Blunt in person.

The One Time Fremar Met Emily Blunt

Fremar replied, “I have met Emily Blunt.” She recounted the moment:

“I was always like, ‘If I meet Emily Blunt, what would I do?’ So one day I was getting a massage at the Greenwich Hotel and she was actually at the spa herself, and I wanted to say something and I didn’t. So I let that moment pass me and then a client of mine invited me over for dinner to her house and there was like seven people there and Emily was there.

“I was like, ‘This is so intimate and personal and we’re at a mutual friend’s house.’ So I said to her, I was like, ‘I just need to let you know I’m Emily,’” Fremar recalled, revealing, “She was not that interested, to be honest. I was like, ‘I thought I was gonna get this like huge reaction.’ No, it was like, ‘Oh, okay.’”

Fremar’s Career After Vogue

After leaving Vogue, Fremar went on to work at Prada before becoming a full-time Hollywood stylist for stars like Charlize Theron and Jennifer Connelly. Meanwhile, Blunt reprised her breakout role as Emily Charlton in this year’s The Devil Wears Prada 2, where the character now works as a senior executive at Dior.

You can watch Fremar tell the full story in the video above.