The Devil Wears Prada: 20 Miranda Priestly Quotes That Are Almost Too Savage

Summary

• Miranda Priestly’s savage one-liners make her one of the most entertaining movie villains ever.
• Fans love using Miranda’s cold quotes in day-to-day life because of her uncompromising attitude.
• Miranda expects perfection from her staff and treats them as objects, showing her lack of self-awareness.

The Miranda Priestly quotes in The Devil Wears Prada cement her as one of the most entertaining movie villains ever. As the Editor-in-Chief of the fictional Runway magazine, Priestly (Meryl Streep) is ruthless and merciless as she dishes out her savage one-liners. She treats the people who work for her like objects with no feelings and expects every one of her demands to be met, no questions asked. When Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway), comes to fill the role of her assistant, she learns firsthand how fierce Miranda can be.

The Devil Wears Prada will never go out of fashion, and it’s all thanks to Miranda Priestly’s verbal gems. Streep’s pitch-perfect performance will see Priestly go down as one of the all-time great bad bosses of movie history, especially because Streep gives her an important degree of humanity. Fans of the movie love to use even the coldest Miranda Priestly quotes in day-to-day life because there’s something undeniably compelling about her uncompromising attitude, even when it’s unreasonable. With The Devil Wears Prada 2 moving forward, many fans are revisiting these memorable quotes.

20 “I Asked For Clear, Athletic, Smiley. She Sent Me Dirty, Tired And Paunchy.”

On Disappointing Models

There is a nice buildup early in the movie about how difficult Miranda is as a boss. Before she’s even introduced, her employees scurry in fear and make a mad dash to ensure everything is as close to perfect as can be for her much-dreaded arrival at the office. From the first moment Meryl Streep is on-screen, she nails the character as Miranda enters the movie spewing impossible demands and complaining about everything around her.

Speaking about a model who was chosen for a new campaign proves that Miranda is not only hard to please but can also be quite cruel as well. Yet these opening moments show why Miranda has become such an icon in The Devil Wears Prada movie and the musical that followed. Streep delivers the line as if someone else’s appearance is a hardship she is forced to endure.

US
Vogue
editor Anna Wintour is thought to be the inspiration for Miranda Priestly.

19 “I Had Hope. Anyway, You Ended Up Disappointing Me More Than Any Of The Other Silly Girls.”

On Taking A Chance With Andy

There is something special in Andy that Miranda sees when she hires her for the assistant job, even if so much about Andy suggests she is the wrong person to work in the fashion industry. However, despite taking a chance on her, Miranda doesn’t go any easier on Andy and she makes her disappointment with her new employee crystal lear.

After explaining what she first saw in Andy that made her choose her, Miranda delivers a scathing and brutal takedown of the young woman, taking away any sense of kindness or compassion she might have shown in hiring her in the first place. Streep’s villainous turn in The Devil Wears Prada works because of how grounded she makes Miranda. She creates an aura around her that causes the audience to want her to be impressed with Andy as much as Andy herself does. However, that makes her cruelty all the more impactful.

18 “Find Me That Piece Of Paper I Had In My Hand Yesterday Morning.”

On A Strange Request

Miranda Priestly expects a lot, often the impossible, from her staff, especially her assistants. Her assistants should be able to read her mind and anticipate her every need, like finding some random piece of paper she was holding the day before. It’s not a normal request in any other world, only in Miranda’s, and she’ll be upset with her assistants if they can’t figure out what she’s asking for on the first try.

Never for a moment does she feel unreasonable about her behavior. While there is a lot of excitement about The Devil Wears Prada sequel, it would be just as exciting to see a prequel to show how a person can become as detached from reality and impossible as Miranda has. The problem would be finding someone who can nail the coldness and humor of Miranda the way Streep does.

17 “There You Are, Emily. How Many Times Do I Have To Scream Your Name?”

On Andy’s Other Name

When Andy starts working as Miranda’s assistant, Miranda only refers to her as Emily, which Andy obviously doesn’t answer to on her first day. Miranda screams the name Emily from her office until the main assistant called Emily (Emily Blunt), tells Andy that it’s actually her she’s asking for. Andy runs into the room to try as Miranda wonders why calling the wrong name doesn’t get an immediate reaction.

It is the simplest way Miranda shows how little she cares for her employees and there is a sense that she may actually know that it is not the right name but can’t be bothered to learn the right one. Meryl Streep’s most iconic movies feature some heavy and intense dramas, but her performance in The Devil Wears Prada was a wonderful reminder that she is also a gifted comedic actor, delivering these lines in a perfect deadpan way.

16 “The Tales Of Your Incompetence Do Not Interest Me.”

On Emily’s Excuses

Another one of the standout members of The Devil Wears Prada cast is Emily Blunt who shines in the role of Emily. While she is immediately an abrasive and hostile person when it comes to greeting Andy at the new job, it is also not hard to feel sorry for her as soon as the audience sees how she is treated by Miranda. When an appointment needs to be rescheduled due to a medical emergency, Miranda unfathomably suggests that it is Emily’s fault.

The moment Emily tries to defend herself, Miranda makes it clear that she only wants to complain about the issue; she doesn’t want to hear the rational reasons behind it. This line is a great look at how Miranda keeps herself in a bubble in which she is always right and everyone else is always wrong. While she spends the day bemoaning about every aspect of her life, she refuses to listen to the problems of others or consider for a moment that she is wrong.

15 “And This Layout For The Winter Wonderland Spread. Not Wonderful Yet.”

On Her Team’s Disappointing Work

Miranda isn’t afraid to let her opinions be known in a typically harsh and mocking way, and she rarely gives any positive feedback to offset her typical negative responses to other people’s work. Though it certainly isn’t the harshest response, the way she delivers it with a condescending tone adds to the coldness. Every Runway employee works extremely hard at their job, and putting together a spread for Miranda’s approval, only to be shot down by her within seconds, must hurt.

It is a simple line that might not seem like it has much bite, but that is a testament to Meryl Streep’s performance in the role. She is able to deliver these lines with such a cold and dismissive tone that they become some of the meanest things ever said. There is another great detail in her performance when she is insulting like this. She rarely ever looks at the person she is talking to as if they don’t deserve to be acknowledged by her.

14 “Did You Fall Down And Smack Your Little Head On The Pavement?”

On Andy’s Simply Misunderstanding

Miranda Priestly’s lack of humanity toward those around her might be a persona she adopts to some degree, but there is a sense she only cares about whether they’re getting their job done. If they can’t do their job absolutely perfectly, then they’re deemed incompetent and will be fired immediately without any remorse. However, there are also moments in which she goes out of her way to be malicious and cruel because of the power she has over people.

When Andy attempts to apologize to Miranda for a small breach of etiquette, Miranda interrupts her and demands she go get the new Harry Potter book. When Andy tells her she’ll go down to the bookstore, Miranda asks this question as if that was the most foolish response Andy could have given. She then explains that she meant “new” as in the one that has not been published yet. Miranda clearly knows Andy will not make that assumption but still uses it as an excuse to insult her because she wants to feel her own power.

13 “Is There Some Reason That My Coffee Isn’t Here? Has She Died Or Something?”

On Her Missing Coffee

This Miranda Priestly quote perfectly sums up what she expects of her staff. If a person has a job to do at Runway, even if it’s as trivial as getting coffee, they better do it. Miranda is basically saying that the only possible reason why someone wouldn’t meet her demands is if they died. On that note, the lack of emotion Miranda says it with makes it pretty clear how little she actually cares about her staff. She speaks as if it wouldn’t be a tragedy if her assistant were to die — it would be just an inconvenience.

Throughout the movie, Andy, Emily, and Miranda’s other employees go above and beyond to meet Miranda’s wild expectations. They sacrifice so much, even their health in some cases. Yet it is clear that Miranda will never be grateful and that she will always expect them to do more until they physically can’t, at which point she will have no use for them.

12 “Is It Impossible To Find A Lovely Slender Female Paratrooper?”

On Her Close-Minded View Of Beauty

There are so many great movies set in the fashion industry and most of them make it a point of showing that the world can be vain when it comes to looks and appearances. This is no secret to the general public either, but it makes for some memorable quotes from Miranda when she aims her mean-spirited gaze at people. When discussing a magazine article about female paratroopers, she complains that none of them meet her definition of beauty and acts as if she is being reasonable to insist that they do.

It is a look into her strange mind as she feels it is the world’s job to be beautiful for her. Miranda sees herself as a genius and an unparalleled mind in the fashion world. However, it is a quote like this that makes it hard to really take her seriously, as she cannot even accept the world as it is without it being brought up to a standard with which she is satisfied.

11 “You Have No Sense Of Fashion.”

On Andy’s Style

Miranda Priestly doesn’t sugarcoat anything. She’s not afraid of being honest, so when Andy walks into her office with a far less put-together outfit than what the usual Runway staff members wear, Miranda takes the time to point out all of Andy’s flaws, and why she is wrong for the job. One point she lists is Andy’s lack of fashion. When Andy begins to protest, Miranda calmly and coldly says, “No, no. That wasn’t a question.”

There are a lot of actors who would have portrayed Miranda’s harsher qualities in a more over-the-top way, having her screaming at her employees and delivering these lines with a cruel menace. Meryl Streep has the brilliant instinct to downplay the delivery, making Miranda seem uninterested in the people around her, even when she is insulting them to their faces.

The
Devil Wears Prada
producers were met with pushback at Streep’s casting because many didn’t believe she could be funny (via

Variety

).

10 “By All Means, Move At A Glacial Pace. You Know How That Thrills Me.”

On Andy’s Slowness

Miranda Priestly would be a terrible boss to work for, but as a viewer watching from afar, it is hard to deny that she’s entertaining. When she makes comments like this, the audience has to admire her wit and boldness. When Miranda says this to Andy, her character is actually going through quite an emotional time, having just found out that her romantic relationship is coming to an end. Even in the face of the breakdown of Andy’s love life, Miranda still has the ability to be totally savage.

Once again, it is Meryl Streep’s delivery that elevates the quote, bringing a dry sense of humor to the harsh role. She loves to exaggerate every slight inconvenience or hint of an inconvenience that she comes across, not because it actually stalls her work but because she enjoys putting people down.

9 “The Girls Need New Surfboards Or Boogie Boards Or Something For Spring Break.”

On Gifts For Her Daughters

While Rachel McAdams turned down The Devil Wears Prada role, Anne Hathaway makes for a pitch-perfect Andy Sachs, a protagonist whose rational and reasonable view of the world is refreshing and worth rooting for, even as the stress of working for Miranda Priestly gets to her. The audience sympathizes with her mission as she is put through endless hoops of delusional tasks she doesn’t have a hope of completing.

Miranda’s almost absent-minded demand that Andy gets some spring break gear for her daughters without really knowing the specifics suggests that she expects her assistant to know her daughters better than Miranda herself does. It is also a hint of Miranda’s troubled life at home as there is a sense that she wants to please her daughters but that she thinks the only way to do so is by buying them things.

8 “We Have All The Published Harry Potter Books. The Twins Want To Know What Happens Next.”

On Andy’s Latest Task

Miranda’s impossible demands might be humorous for Andy if the consequences for not achieving them were not so brutal. In this instance, it is the equivalent of modern-day Herculean tasks as she’s effectively asking Andy to secure the unpublished Harry Potter manuscript (at a time before the series was complete). Miranda gives Andy this seemingly impossible task because she thinks it will give her a reason to fire her when she can’t complete it, but Andy comes through in the end, defying the odds to get the manuscript.

This could be seen as another example of Miranda attempting to win her daughters over through material possessions. However, it is more about her holding power over Andy. She knows that this is an impossible task and that it is not reasonable to ask for it. However, Miranda does it because she wants to show that Andy will do anything she demands of her.

7 “And R.S.V.P. Yes To Michael Kors’ Party, I Want The Driver To Drop Me Off At 9:30 And Pick Me Up At 9:45 Sharp.”

On Her Social Calendar

The Devil Wears Prada is the kind of rewatchable comedy that will have fans finding new jokes the more they watch it. Miranda delivers this line quickly in between a whole set of other instructions, so it’s kind of easy to miss. However, it is a hilarious look at the social life of these iconic figuresand the lack of interest Miranda has for anything. Asking her assistant to ask her driver to drop her off at a party at 9:30 and pick her up at 9:45 means Miranda only plans to stay for 15 minutes.

It shows how she fulfills social obligations when they’re expected of her but really has no desire to socialize, even with the likes of Michael Kors’ people, unless she has to. While The Devil Wears Prada book gets deeper into the character of Miranda and shows other sides to her, sometimes it is simple lines like this that can say a lot about the character in such a quick amount of time.

6 “Florals? For Spring? Groundbreaking.”

On Her Employee’s Ideas

She has her moments of anger throughout the film, but mostly, Miranda Priestly is at her most brutal when she is quiet, calm, and sarcastic. Though she is the kind of creative type who would probably dismiss any idea as terrible unless she came up with it, she also seems to have fun brutally pointing out the flaws in other people’s work. When florals are mentioned as a potential theme during a meeting about a spring issue, Miranda points out how boring the idea is.

There is no pleasing a boss like this. Even when Andy or anybody else does something right, Miranda doesn’t actually acknowledge it. It makes for an entertaining film but would be totally frustrating in real life. The moment has become a popular meme as well, used to sarcastically comment on any uninspired idea.

5 “Only When The First Assistant Hasn’t Decided To Become An Incubus of Viral Plague.”

On Emily’s Illness

Part of the reason The Devil Wears Prada is one of Meryl Streep’s funniest movies is because of how straight she plays the part. Miranda is someone who takes herself very seriously and creates an environment where she is taken seriously by everyone around her. That has allowed her to get to a place where she doesn’t recognize how ridiculous some of the things she says are and Streep’s performance sells them even more.

When Emily becomes sick on the night of a big benefit, Miranda obviously shows no sympathy, even going so far as to blame Emily for her own illness. The fact that she suggests Emily “decided” to become sick is a hilarious and cold-hearted example of her detachment from reality. The people around her can only watch in shock as Miranda spews such out-of-touch things, but it is all the funnier because she doesn’t seem to have any remorse for it in the slightest.

4 “Please Bore Someone Else With Your Questions.”

On Andy’s Desire For Clarification

When someone works at Runway, they don’t get the privilege of asking questions. If an employee doesn’t understand their task, they’d better figure it out without bothering anyone, especially Miranda. Andy doesn’t know this at first, so Miranda has to put her in her place. Miranda tells Andy to bore someone else with her questions after telling her that she wants 10 or 15 skirts from Calvin Klein. Andy never gets clarification on which skirts — she just has to work it out for herself.

This is another example of how Miranda isn’t simply unaware that she is being unreasonable, but in fact going out of her way to be unreasonable. She does not care about the work getting done in the most efficient way; she wants her employees to have to work hardest to get it done. Of course, it would be easier for Miranda to give more information in her demands but she is training Andy to be the kind of person who doesn’t ask questions and just goes about it the hard way.

3 “Oh, Don’t Be Ridiculous, Andrea. Everybody Wants This. Everybody Wants To Be Us.”

On Her Enviable Life

Miranda Priestly remains an icy character for most of the film, but she and Andy do have a few moments together in Paris where she opens up and shows a hint of a vulnerable side. Andy finally feels comfortable enough to tell her that she’s questioning whether this fast-paced life is for her, to which Miranda replies that it must be. It is a gesture of her inviting Andy into this world, but there is a darkness to this view.

This is one of the most insightful quotes that speaks to Miranda as a person. All of her poor treatment towards her employees, her dismissive and insulting way of speaking to people, and her generally cold demeanor come from the fact that she thinks she is better than everyone. She has built a life that she wants everyone to want to have and is convinced that she has achieved that. However, as Andy discovers by the end of The Devil Wears Prada, she doesn’t want to have that life if it means she has to be like Miranda.

The Devil Wears Prada
marked Streep’s 14th Oscar nomination.

2 “Truth Is, There’s No One Who Can Do What I Do.”

On Her Achievements

Miranda Priestly is a deeply flawed person with more than a few issues. However, as the Editor-in-Chief of Runway, she does a brilliant job of keeping the magazine afloat. She’s demanding and unreasonable, but she also makes a lot of sacrifices that have a lasting impact on her personal life. Ultimately, she puts the magazine before anything else, which makes her the perfect person for the job.

After betraying Nigel (Stanley Tucci), Miranda justifies her actions by telling Andy that she had to manipulate the situation to prevent Jacqueline from taking her job because “There’s no one who can do what I do.” This is another line that really speaks to Miranda as a character. She is justifiably proud of what she has accomplished and built, understandably wanting to keep it for herself. However, it is also the suggestion that it is her mean and cold approach that makes it impossible to replicable what she has done.

1 “That’s All.”

On Dismissing People

Miranda says this a few times throughout the film, to the point where these two words almost come to represent her character. By finishing interactions with a simple “That’s all,” Miranda reinforces that she doesn’t personally care about any of the people she speaks to. She sees everyone as small pieces of the huge machine that is Runway. Once she tells them what she needs from them, she’s not interested in any further interaction.

Few actors could deliver this line in a cold, ruthless way like Meryl Streep. The Devil Wears Prada‘s Miranda is perfect for Runway, and Streep is perfect for the role of Miranda. She holds sway over everyone, and she wants to show it by dimissively letting people know when she is done with them. It is also notable that this is never accompanied by a “Thank you“.