Meet my imaginary sister. I grew up on Little Women. I always wanted to be Jo and have a Meg who could be yin to my yang. I yearn for a sister whose strengths complement mine, who could teach me things and with whom I could share. Alas, that is not what I got. So I adopt pretend sisters. The first was Nora Ephron, now it's Joanna Coles.
13 facts about Joanna Coles.
1. Joanna Coles has been in all manner of media for more than 40 years – newspapers (Britain's Daily Telegraph and The Guardian), radio (BBC Radio 4), TV (BB2, E! and Project Runway) and many, many glossy magazines.
2. She got her first story by kicking down a bathroom door. She was a newspaper reporter, covering the story of a woman in a high profile case who had just been freed from jail. The woman left the courtroom and fled into the ladies room. All the male reporters were patiently waiting but Joanna was propelled by adrenaline. Assuming the woman was hiding out from the press, she barrelled into the bathroom and kicked open the stall. The poor woman wasn't hiding, she was actually urinating. Joanna was mortified.
3. It was during this millennium, in magazines, and on this side of the pond that she really hit her stride. She went from editor at New York Magazine to editor-in-chief at both Marie Claire and Cosmo. Today she is all digital, which is where I found her. She is the Chief Content Editor of The Daily Beast (Substack, website and YouTube).
4. She is equally comfortable in the worlds of fashion and politics, which is why I find her so much fun. Her favorite interviews seems to have been with Barack Obama and Rep. Seth Moulton. She is also proud of getting OJ Simpson's first one-on-one interview post-acquittal.
5. Joanna advises us each to have "a big life," where we are engaged and giving back. This is key to satisfaction and fun "at any age and any stage." She is a fan of fun. She makes me laugh, sometimes intentionally, sometimes not. Example: Her Melania Trump imitation is very good and her Donald Trump is terrible, but she enjoys doing it so I've heard it a lot.
6. She warns that "it's easy to spend a lot of time online at the expense of the real world." According to Joanna, digital social skills and interpersonal social skills are different and it's not "a zero sum world." In today's world we need both to have a rewarding life. As one who has to make myself interact in real life, I appreciate this reminder.
7. I love her look. She's 64, with white blonde hair and pale eyebrows. She favors tailored blazers over bold graphic t-shirts, whether she's wearing a skirt, slacks or jeans. Joanna has mastered creating visual impact while remaining age appropriate. I want her to take me shopping and then to have my make up done. I really need help in this area.
8.
But there are areas of American life she is woefully unaware of. For
example, in the run up to the IndyCar race in Washington DC in late
August, she was shocked – shocked, I tell you! – that cars would ever
zoom through a busy metropolitan area! Um, Joanna? Chicago hosted a Nascar race
through the city streets in 2023, 2024 and 2025, and we have
approximately 2 million more people than Washington. She also seemed genuinely surprised by the outpouring of grief over Dolly Parton's death. I could help familiarize Joanna with a US beyond NYC and DC.
9. Joanna met Peter Godwin when they were both journalists in London. They moved together to New York in the 1990s, marrying in 2001. He has written books and served President of PEN America, "whose goal is to raise awareness for the protection of free expression in the United States and worldwide through the advancement of literature and human rights."
10. Husband and wife co-authored a book called The Three of Us, which detailed her first pregnancy and what it was like to be new parents together in a new country. I can't find it at my library but I haven't stopped looking.
11. Today both their sons are grown. Joanna says often that now she wishes she had more children. She and Peter divorced after 18 years of marriage. I believe her husband got their dogs, and I have seen her cat interrupt her podcasts (as cats will).
12. Her mother died earlier this year. She was very frank in sharing that final illness and passing with us, often broadcasting from her childhood room in West Yorkshire as she bid farewell to her mother and tended to her father. I appreciated her candor, because dealing with aging parents is something we will all face.
13. She is an imaginative business woman. I read that in 2024, The Daily Beast was not profitable, and I am watching how she tests different subscription models and endorsement deals as she fights to turn it around.
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