Stylist says she's the inspiration behind the character Emily in 'The Devil Wears Prada'
A New York City-based stylist says she believes she's the real-life inspiration behind the character Emily Charlton from the popular book "The Devil Wears Prada" by Lauren Weisberger.
The character was played by Emily Blunt in the 2006 film of the same name, the predecessor to the forthcoming sequel, "The Devil Wears Prada 2," out Friday.
Leslie Fremar, a former assistant at Vogue in the 1990s, appeared on a recent episode of "The Run-Through with Vogue" podcast and shared with host Chloe Malle -- Vogue's current head of editorial content -- how she learned of the character and Weisberger's 2004 book.
"I get a call from Anna [Wintour's] office saying that she wanted to see me. I was petrified, but she said, 'Who's Lauren Weisberger?' and I said, 'She was your junior assistant,' and she's like, 'Well, she wrote a book about us, and you're worse than me,'" Fremar recalled.
"I definitely told her a million girls would kill for the job," she added.
Weisberger's "The Devil Wears Prada" is a fictional novel about a young woman named Andrea Sachs who gets hired to be an assistant to a powerful fashion magazine's editor-in-chief and must learn to navigate the fashion industry. The book was published in 2004, published in 40 languages, according to publisher Random House, and became a New York Times bestseller.
The book was later adapted into a film, 2006's "The Devil Wears Prada," which starred Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway, and was adapted for the stage, as well.
Streep portrayed the fictional Runway magazine editor-in-chief Miranda Priestly in the original film, a character widely believed to be inspired by former Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour. Hathaway played Miranda's second assistant, Andrea Sachs, and Blunt played Miranda's first assistant Emily Charlton.
A sequel, "The Devil Wears Prada 2," from 20th Century Studios and with many of the original cast returning, is set to be released in theaters on May 1.
Fremar said after she learned about the book and what Weisberger had written, she felt "betrayed," but never spoke to Weisberger again after their time as co-workers ended and hasn't in the two decades since then.
"There's nothing to be said," Fremar added of what she might say if the two ever meet again.
ABC News has reached out to Weisberger through her publisher, Random House, for comment.
20th Century Studios is owned by The Walt Disney Co., the parent company of ABC News.
