Meryl Streep finally reveals inspiration behind Devil Wears Prada character Miranda Priestly - and it's not who you might think

It’s become something of a 'worst kept secret' that Miranda Priestly - the icy, accomplished editor-in-chief of fashion magazine Runway in the world of The Devil Wears Prada - is seemingly based on Anna Wintour - the icy, accomplished (former) editor-in-chief of fashion magazine Vogue.

However, Meryl Streep - who debuted in the role in the 2006 film and will return for the sequel releasing in May - has revealed she was actually imitating two of her previous male film directors.

Meryl shared the essence of Miranda comes from "if Mike Nichols and Clint Eastwood had a baby".

The three-time Oscar winner made the revelation while appearing on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. She told the host, "I was basically imitating Mike Nichols that whole time. If Mike Nichols and Clint Eastwood had a baby, it would be Miranda Priestly."

Adding more detail, she alluded to Mike Nichols’s "command on the set. And [he] would do it sort of with a sly humour. And Miranda, she knows that what she’s saying is sort of snide, but she knows it’s kind of funny too.

"And that little way of doing things, people take as mean, but it’s funny. I think it’s funny."

As for Clint Eastwood, Meryl turned to his quiet authority to form parts of her character.

"Clint would never raise his voice," she said. "He would direct and people had to lean forward to hear what he was saying… He’d often shoot the rehearsal and then move on. So his crew was like on the balls of their feet. No one was sitting down except me."

Mike Nichols, who died in 2014, was one of the rarefied elite to join the EGOT club - winning an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and a Tony. Some of his most famous productions include directing Working Girl, The Graduate and Closer. He worked with Meryl on films including Silkwood and Heartburn.

Meryl revealed that she actually told Mike of how he inspired her character in the 2006 movie. "I told Mike, and he was thrilled," she said.

While Meryl might be basing her characterisations on the two directors, it’s still largely thought that the basis for Miranda has roots inspired by Anna Wintour.

The movie was adapted from Lauren Weisberger’s novel of the same name, and Lauren had worked as an assistant to Anna before publishing her book.

Anna, who no longer serves as editor-in-chief of Vogue after stepping into a new role as the chief content officer for Conde Nast, has previously shared her thoughts on Miranda, and The Devil Wears Prada.

"I went to the premiere wearing Prada, completely having no idea what the film was going to be about," she once told David Remnick during an episode of The New Yorker Radio Hour podcast.

"And I think that the fashion industry were very sweetly concerned for me about the film, that it was going to paint me in some kind of difficult light."

However, she had a positive experience.

"First of all it was Meryl Streep, which, fantastic. And then I went to see the film, and I found it highly enjoyable.

"It was very funny. Miuccia [Prada] and I talk about it a lot, and I say to her, 'Well it was really good for you.'"