Beatrix Molineux Miller,

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(29 June 1923 – 21 February 2014) was a British fashion and cultural magazine editor. She was editor of ''

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

'' from 1958 to 1964, and editor of ''

British Vogue ''British Vogue'' (stylised in all caps) is the British edition of the American Fashion journalism, fashion magazine Vogue (magazine), Vogue. The magazine was launched in 1916 by Condé Nast, linking together fashion and high society.König A ...

'' from 1964 to 1985.

Early life

Miller was born on 29 June 1923. Her father was a doctor and her mother was a nurse; they had met on the Western Front during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. She was brought up in

Rudgwick Rudgwick is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Horsham (district), Horsham District of West Sussex, England. The village is west from Horsham on the north side of the A281 road. The parish's northern boundary forms pa ...

, Sussex, England. At the age of 15, she was evacuated to

Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

, Canada, where she lived with an uncle and aunt for the duration of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. She was educated to the age of 17 by tutors and later studied for six months at the

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

Career

Miller began her career as a secretary. After the war, she worked with

MI6 The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 ( Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intelligenc ...

in Germany, and at the

Nuremberg Trials #REDIRECT Nuremberg trials {{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from move ...

. She rarely spoke about those two years of her life. She began her journalistic career as a secretary for '' The Queen'', a British society magazine. She also wrote

features Feature may refer to: Computing * Feature recognition, could be a hole, pocket, or notch * Feature (computer vision), could be an edge, corner or blob * Feature (machine learning), in statistics: individual measurable properties of the phenome ...

for the magazine, and ended her period there as features editor. In 1956, she moved to New York City, where she joined the American edition of ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** '' Vogue Adria'', a fashion magazine for former Yugoslav countries ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ' ...

'' as a

copywriter Copywriting is the act or occupation of writing text for the purpose of advertising or other forms of marketing. Copywriting is aimed at selling products or services. The product, called copy or sales copy, is written content that aims to incre ...

. In 1958, ''The Queen'' was bought by Jocelyn Stevens and Miller was invited to return to the magazine as editor. She changed the renamed ''Queen'' into a magazine for young women rather than one aimed at the older, traditional socialite. In 1964, she became editor of the British edition of ''

''. Her final issue of the magazine was the largest ever at 470 pages. Under her editorship, the magazine had become "the glossy bible to high-fashion". She retired in 1984. In 1966, she chose Donyale Luna for the March 1966 cover of British vogue, the first African-American to be on the cover of Vogue.

Later life

After her retirement, Miller,

Terence Conran Sir Terence Orby Conran (4 October 1931 – 12 September 2020) was a British designer, restaurateur, retailer and writer. He founded the Design Museum in Shad Thames, London in 1989. The British designer Thomas Heatherwick said that Conran "m ...

and Jean Muir set up a

think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...

to serve as a link between the government and the fashion industry. She also served as a member of the council of the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public university, public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City, London, White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design uni ...

, a postgraduate institution in London specialising in art and design. In retirement she lived in a cottage in

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

. She had planned to write a memoir titled ''Life After a Fashion'' or ''Life to the Letter'' but never completed it. She died on 21 February 2014.

Personal life

Miller never married nor had any children. Any relationships she did have were kept secret. She was known as Miss Miller by members of staff at ''Queen'' and ''Vogue'', and as Bea by those close to her.

Honours

In the 1985

New Year Honours The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...

, Miller was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in recognition of her service as editor of British ''Vogue''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Beatrix 1923 births 2014 deaths British magazine editors Commanders of the Order of the British Empire People associated with the Royal College of Art People from Rudgwick MI6 personnel University of Paris alumni Vogue (magazine) editors