Mirabella Explained

Image Alt:Mirabella cover, 1997
Editor:Roberta Myers (1997–2000) [1]
Editor Title:Editor-in-chief
Previous Editor:Amy Gross (1989–1993, 1995–1997), Gay Bryant (1993–1995)[2]
Category:Women's magazine
Frequency:Monthly (1989–1995), Bimonthly (1995–2000)
Publisher:Susan Blank (1999–2000)[3]
Founder:Grace Mirabella
Founded:1989
Finaldate:April 2000
Company:Hachette Filipacchi
Country:United States
Based:New York City
Language:English
Issn:1044-5153

Mirabella was a women's magazine published from June 1989[4] to April 2000.[5] [6] It was created by and named for Grace Mirabella, a former Vogue editor in chief, in partnership with Rupert Murdoch.[5]

It was originally published by News Corporation, and it became the property of Hachette Filipacchi in 1995.[5] [7] Known as a smart women's magazine, it suffered in comparison to Elle, a more lighthearted issue from the same publisher.[5] Declining ad revenue contributed to a reported $9 million loss in 1999, and the magazine folded immediately after the debut of Oprah Winfrey's magazine O in April 2000.[5]

Mirabellas circulation stood at 558,009 at the time of its demise.[5]

Editors

Cultural references

In the Family Guy episode "Fore, Father", Stewie Griffin picks up the December issue of Mirabella in the doctor's waiting room.

In a season 3 Sex and the City episode, Samantha (Kim Cattrall) says that she never should have signed up for a Mirabella trial subscription.

In season 4 of Scrubs, a goalie for the Philadelphia Flyers hockey club sees an issue of Mirabella and changes his last name to Mirabella. He goes on to be the number one goalie in the National Hockey League (NHL).

In the episode "The State Dinner" of The West Wing, Press Secretary C.J. Cregg is irritated that the reporter from Mirabella is asking about food & wine in her press briefings.

In Jeffrey Eugenides' short story "Baster", Tomasina learns of age-related fertility issues from an issue of Mirabella.

Terence Trent D'Arby mentions the magazine on "Castilian Blue", a track from his 1993 album, Symphony or Damn.

In the 1993 film Sister Act, a mock cover featuring Whoopi Goldberg as Deloris Van Cartier is made and used during the credit reel at the end of the film along with similar covers of Rolling Stone, TIME, and the National Enquirer.

Notes and References

  1. News: From Mirabella to U.S. Edition of Elle. May 19, 2000. The New York Times. January 27, 2013.
  2. Web site: Grace Mirabella. Vogue. January 27, 2013. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20121225201553/http://www.vogue.com/voguepedia/Grace_Mirabella. December 25, 2012.
  3. Web site: 'Mirabella' publisher moves to 'W', 'Mirabella names acting publisher. February 22, 2000. Advertising Age.
  4. Book: Mirabella Magazine. January 1989. October 19, 2015.
  5. Web site: Mirabella folds . Elder, Sean . April 28, 2000 . Salon . January 27, 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20091019145751/http://archive.salon.com/media/log/2000/04/28/mirabella_closes/index.html . October 19, 2009 .
  6. Book: John David Ebert. The New Media Invasion: Digital Technologies and the World They Unmake. October 31, 2015. September 2, 2011. McFarland. 978-0-7864-8818-6. 197.
  7. Web site: T'wasn't beauty killed Mirabella but beastly bungles. Bercovici, Jeff. May 2000. Media Life Magazine. January 27, 2013. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140810042938/http://www.medialifemagazine.com:8080/news2000/may00/news20502.html. August 10, 2014.