Anna Wintour

Five years of vacuuming up every detail of the fashion business from inside.

Building relationships, developing her aesthetic, proving results.

When the system failed to reward merit, she didn't try to fix the system.

She rejected it.

With passport in hand, she aimed for New York, where talent mattered more than tenure, where hunger beat hierarchy, and where results spoke louder than words.

The girl who couldn't type was about to teach Manhattan how power really works.

New York, 1975.

25, no job, just confidence in herself.

I felt quite isolated growing up in England, with it being such a class-driven culture, Anna explained.

Everyone in New York is from somewhere else, and that creates a very positive force.

America promised meritocracy.

Anna would test that promise.

Harper's hired her as junior editor.

Day one, she broke every rule of the American fashion authority.

The industry equation was simple.

Drama equals competence.

Polly Mellon at Vogue cried over photos she loved.

Gloria Monker at Bazaar threw shoes at assistants.

Emotion was currency.

Anna stayed quiet.