Edward Graydon Carter, CM (born July 14, 1949) is a Canadian journalist who was the editor of '' Vanity Fair'' from 1992 until 2017. He also co-founded, with

Kurt Andersen Kurt B. Andersen (born August 22, 1954) is an American writer, the author of novels and nonfiction as well as a writer for television and the theater. He was also a co-founder of '' Spy'' magazine, as well as co-creator and for its 20-year run ...

and Tom Phillips, the

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...

monthly magazine ''

Spy Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence). A person who commits espionage on a mission-specific contract is called an ''e ...

'' in 1986. In 2019, he co-launched a weekly newsletter with

Alessandra Stanley Alessandra Stanley (born October 3, 1955) is an American journalist. As of 2019, she is the co-founder of a weekly newsletter "for worldly cosmopolitans" called ''Air Mail'', alongside former ''Vanity Fair'' editor-in-chief Graydon Carter. Biog ...

called ''

Air Mail Airmail (or air mail) is a mail transport service branded and sold on the basis of at least one leg of its journey being by air. Airmail items typically arrive more quickly than surface mail, and usually cost more to send. Airmail may be the ...

'', for "worldly cosmopolitans".

Early life

Carter was born in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. After high school in

Trenton, Ontario Trenton (2001 population 16,770) is a large community in Central Ontario in the municipality of Quinte West, Ontario, Canada. Located on the Bay of Quinte, it is the starting point for the Trent-Severn Waterway, which continues northwest to Pe ...

and a six-month stint as a lineman for

Canadian National Railways The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue an ...

, Carter attended the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a Official bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ot ...

followed by

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public university, public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to se ...

, but never graduated from either school.

Career

Magazines and authorship

In 1973, Carter co-founded ''The Canadian Review'', a monthly general interest magazine. By 1977, ''The Canadian Review'' had become award-winning and the third-largest circulating magazine in Canada. Despite its critical success, ''The Canadian Review'' was bankrupt by 1978. In 1978, Carter moved to the United States and began working for ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' as a writer-trainee, where he met Kurt Andersen. Carter spent five years writing for ''Time'' on the topics of business, law, and entertainment before moving to ''

Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

'' in 1983. In 1986, Carter and Andersen founded ''Spy'', which ran for 12 years before it ultimately ceased publication in 1998. Carter was then editor at ''

The New York Observer ''The New York Observer'' was a weekly newspaper established in 1987. In 2016, it ceased print publication and became the online-only newspaper ''Observer''. The media site focuses on culture, real estate, media, politics and the entertainment ...

'' before being invited by ''Vanity Fair'' to take over for

Tina Brown Christina Hambley Brown, Lady Evans (born in England on 21 November 1953), is a journalist, magazine editor, columnist, broadcaster, and author, with dual British/United States citizenship. She is the former editor in chief of '' Tatler'' (197 ...

, who left for ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

''. He became editor of ''Vanity Fair'' in July 1992. Graydon Carter 1

Carter's ''Vanity Fair'' combined high-profile celebrity cover stories with serious journalism. His often idiosyncratic personal style was depicted in '' How to Lose Friends & Alienate People'', a book by former ''Vanity Fair'' contributing editor

Toby Young Toby Daniel Moorsom Young, Baron Young of Acton (born 17 October 1963), is a British social commentator and life peer. He is the founder and director of the Free Speech Union, an associate editor of ''The Spectator'', creator of '' The Daily S ...

Jeff Bridges Jeffrey Leon Bridges (born December 4, 1949) is an American actor. He is known for his Leading actor, leading man roles in film and television. In a career spanning over seven decades, he has received List of awards and nominations received by ...

played a character based on Carter in the 2008 film adaptation. Carter is the author of ''What We've Lost'' (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, September 2004), a comprehensive critical examination of the Bush administration. In a 2015 ''

The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. Founded in 2008, the website is owned by IAC Inc. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief ...

'' article, former ''Vanity Fair'' journalist

Vicky Ward Victoria Penelope Jane Ward (born 3 July 1969) is a British-born American author, investigative journalist, editor-at-large, and television commentator. She was a Senior Reporter at CNN and a former magazine and newspaper editor who has featured ...

wrote that she had interviewed the family of two young sisters (later identified as Annie and

Maria Farmer Maria K. Farmer (born 1969 or 1970) is an American visual artist known for providing the first criminal complaint to law enforcement, to the New York City Police Department and to the FBI, in 1996 about the conduct of financier and convicted sex ...

) and discovered credible reports of molestation amidst a 2003 profile assignment on financier

Jeffrey Epstein Jeffrey Edward Epstein ( , ; January 20, 1953August 10, 2019) was an American financier and child sex offender. Born and raised in New York City, Epstein began his professional career as a teacher at the Dalton School, despite lacking a col ...

. The allegations were removed from the profile as they did not meet the magazine's legal threshold for publication at the time. In 2017, he was appointed a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

Governor General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

David Johnston David Johnston or Dave Johnston may refer to: Politics *David Johnston (governor general) David Lloyd Johnston (born June 28, 1941) is a Canadian academic, author, and statesman who served as the 28th governor general of Canada from 2010 to ...

for "contributions to popular culture and current affairs as a skilled editor and publisher". On September 7, 2017, Carter announced his departure from the editorship of ''Vanity Fair''. He was on

gardening leave Garden leave (also known as gardening leave) is the practice whereby an employee leaving a job – having resigned or otherwise had their employment terminated – is instructed to stay away from work during the notice period, while still remaini ...

until the end of 2017. Accolades during his tenure include his having won 14

National Magazine Awards The National Magazine Awards, also known as the Ellie Awards, honor print and digital publications that consistently demonstrate superior execution of editorial objectives, innovative techniques, noteworthy enterprise and imaginative design. Or ...

and being named to the Magazine Editors' Hall of Fame. In 2019, Carter co-launched a weekly newsletter with

called ''

''.

Producer

Carter was a producer of ''I'll Eat You Last'', a one-woman play starring

Bette Midler Bette Midler ( ;''Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American actress, comedian, singer, and author. Throughout her five-decade career Midler has received List of awards and nominations received by Bette Midler, numero ...

, about legendary Hollywood talent agent

Sue Mengers Susi Mengers (September 2, 1932 – October 15, 2011) was a talent agent for many filmmakers and actors of the New Hollywood generation of the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s. Early life Mengers was born to a German Jews, Jewish family in Hamburg, ...

. The show, directed by Tony Award-winner Joe Mantello, opened at the

Booth Theatre The Booth Theatre is a Broadway theater at 222 West 45th Street ( George Abbott Way) in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Opened in 1913, the theater was designed by Henry Beaumont Herts in the It ...

in New York City in April 2013, and at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles on December 3. Carter has co-produced two documentaries for

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

, ''

Public Speaking Public speaking, is the practice of delivering speeches to a live audience. Throughout history, public speaking has held significant cultural, religious, and political importance, emphasizing the necessity of effective rhetorical skills. It all ...

'' (2010), directed by

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November17, 1942) is an American filmmaker. One of the major figures of the New Hollywood era, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Martin Scorsese, many accolades, including an Academ ...

, which spotlights writer

Fran Lebowitz Frances Ann Lebowitz (; born October 27, 1950) is an American author, public speaker, and actor. She is known for her sardonic social commentary on American life as filtered through her New York City sensibilities and her association with many p ...

, and ''His Way'' (2011), about Hollywood producer

Jerry Weintraub Jerome Charles Weintraub (September 26, 1937 – July 6, 2015) was an American film producer, talent manager and actor whose television films won him three Emmys. He began his career as a talent agent, having managed known singer John Denver in ...

, which was nominated for a Primetime Emmy. He also was a producer of '' Chicago 10'', a documentary which premiered on the opening night of the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

in early 2007. He was also a producer of ''Surfwise'', which premiered at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...

in September 2007, and ''

Gonzo Gonzo may refer to: People * Gonzo (nickname), a list of people with the nickname * Radislav Jovanov Gonzo (born 1964), Croatian music video director Radislav Jovanov, also known as Gonzo * Matthias Röhr (born 1962), German musician whose stage ...

'', a biographical documentary of

Hunter S. Thompson Hunter Stockton Thompson (July 18, 1937 – February 20, 2005) was an American journalist and author, regarded as a pioneer of New Journalism along with Gay Talese, Truman Capote, Norman Mailer, Joan Didion, and Tom Wolfe. He rose to prom ...

directed by

Alex Gibney Philip Alexander Gibney (; born October 23, 1953) is an American documentary film director and producer. In 2010, ''Esquire'' magazine said Gibney "is becoming the most important documentarian of our time." Gibney's works as director include ''T ...

. Carter was an executive producer of ''

9/11 The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

'', a film by Jules and Gedeon Naudet about the

September 11 terrorist attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

, which aired on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

. Carter received an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

for ''9/11'', as well as a

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...

. He also produced the documentary adaptation of the book ''

The Kid Stays in the Picture ''The Kid Stays in the Picture'' is a 1994 print autobiography by film producer Robert Evans. A film adaptation of the book was released in 2002. The title comes from a line attributed to studio head Darryl F. Zanuck, who was defending Evans a ...

'', about the legendary Hollywood producer

Robert Evans Robert Evans (born Robert J. Shapera; June 29, 1930 – October 26, 2019) was an American film producer who worked on ''Rosemary's Baby (film), Rosemary's Baby'' (1968), ''Love Story (1970 film), Love Story'' (1970), ''The Godfather'' (1972), ...

. It premiered at the 2002

, screened at the 2002

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

and opened in theaters in July of that year. In 2012, Carter had a minor role in ''

Arbitrage Arbitrage (, ) is the practice of taking advantage of a difference in prices in two or more marketsstriking a combination of matching deals to capitalize on the difference, the profit being the difference between the market prices at which th ...

''.

Personal life

Anna Scott Graydon Carter 2010 Shankbone

Carter has been married three times. His first wife was Canadian; the marriage was dissolved before Carter moved to the United States at the age of 28. His second marriage to Cynthia Williamson lasted 18 years and they had four children. The couple divorced in 2000. Carter married Anna Scott in 2005. They have a daughter. Carter splits his time between

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...

and

Roxbury, Connecticut Roxbury is a New England town, town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 2,260 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The town is located northeast of New York City, and is p ...

. He is a co-owner of The Waverly Inn at 16 Bank Street in the West Village. In 2009 Carter and

Jeff Klein Jeffrey Lawrence Klein is an American singer-songwriter of the band My Jerusalem from Newburgh (city), New York, Newburgh, New York, who plays keyboards and guitar. He has released three solo albums and another three albums with My Jerusalem. ...

became partners in the Monkey Bar, a New York City bar and restaurant eatery with a history dating to 1936. Both men sold their interest in the property in 2020. In a 2003 interview, Carter described himself as a

libertarian Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...

. He published his memoir, ''When the Going was Good: An Editor's Adventures During the Last Golden Age of Magazines'', in March 2025.

Bibliography

* ''"Vanity Fair's" Hollywood'' (2000), (editor) * ''What We've Lost'' (2004), * ''Tom Ford: Ten Years'' (2004), (with

Tom Ford Thomas Carlyle Ford (born August 27, 1961) is an American fashion designer and filmmaker. He launched Tom Ford (brand), his eponymous brand in 2005, having previously been the creative director at Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent (brand), Yves Sai ...

Anna Wintour Dame Anna Wintour ( ; born 3 November 1949) is a British-American media executive, who has been serving as editor-in-chief of '' Vogue'' since 1988. Wintour has also served as global chief content officer of Condé Nast since 2020, where she o ...

and Bridget Foley) * ''Oscar Night: 75 Years of Hollywood Parties'' (2004), (editor) * ''Spy: The Funny Years'' (2006), (co-author, editor) * ''When the Going Was Good: An Editor’s Adventures During the Last Golden Age of Magazines'' (2025),

Notes

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, Graydon American libertarians Canadian libertarians Living people Canadian magazine editors Canadian magazine founders Writers from Ottawa Journalists from Ottawa Time (magazine) people Vanity Fair (magazine) editors University of Ottawa alumni Carleton University alumni Writers from Toronto Canadian emigrants to the United States Canadian expatriate journalists in the United States Canadian political writers American political writers Members of the Order of Canada People from Greenwich Village People from Roxbury, Connecticut 1949 births 20th-century Canadian journalists 21st-century Canadian journalists