Who

Robbie Myers is the editor-in-chief of Hachette's flagship women's title, Elle.

Backstory

The child of hippie parents in the Midwest, Myers attended Colorado State and moved to New York after graduation in the early '80s, convinced her career lay in magazines. Her first interview, at Condé Nast, didn't go very well: She failed the typing test. Before her next interview at Rolling Stone, she wisely invested in a typing book and ended up getting the job. Following stints at Interview, Seventeen, and In Style, Myers became the editor at Mirabella, the Hachette-owned title previously edited by Dominique Browning and her mentor, Amy Gross. After Mirabella was shuttered on Myers's watch in 2000, she moved over to sister mag Elle, replacing Elaina Richardson. Myers still sits in the same office, though: The two titles shared office space and Myers decided to stay since she liked the view.

The first cover under Myers' editorship, a cleavage-a-riffic shot of Britney Spears, was a risky choice, but definitely succeeded in creating buzz. (She went back to Britney in 2005 for a shot of her when she was pregnant, which also grabbed major attention.) Although several of the mag's spin-offs in recent years haven't been so successful—Elle Girl folded in 2006 and Elle Accessories folded in 2008—Elle soldiers on. 

Of note

Big changes arrived at Elle at the end of 2006 when Myers tapped former Vitals editor Joe Zee to serve as creative director, effectively replacing international creative director Gilles Bensimon. (He remains on staff in a reduced role.) After Zee came on board in February 2007, a number of staffers quit or were let go, and in April 2008 he finally managed to muscle out the only ego as big as his own, conspiring with Myers to strip Elle fashion director and Project Runway star Nina Garcia of her job. 

Despite the internal turmoil, Zee's arrival seems to have paid off. His redesign, which was unveiled in the September 2007 issue, earned raves, and the magazine got a fresh injection of reality TV exposure when Zee and Elle fashion news director Anne Slowey debuted on Stylista in fall '08. The Tyra Banks-produced companion show to America's Next Top Model featured contestants groveling to obtain a low-level editorial position at the magazine.

Personal

Myers is married to architect Frank Michielli; he's a partner alongside Max Bond at the firm Davis Brody Bond. They have a daughter, Francesca (born in 2000), and a son, Michael (born in 2002). The family lives on West End Avenue.