Grace Mirabella, the editor-in-chief at the helm of American Vogue throughout the 1970s and much of the 1980s, died this morning at 91 years old. Mirabella, who had worked as Diana Vreeland’s assistant at Vogue in the 1960s, succeeded Vreeland as editor-in-chief in 1971 and remained in the role until 1988. 

Mirabella was raised in suburban Maplewood, New Jersey, to parents of Italian descent—and nothing about her background, she later said, prepared her for a career at Vogue. She graduated from Skidmore College, majoring in economics, and earned a place on the Macy’s executive training course. She soon moved to the publicity department at Saks Fifth Avenue.