Andre Leon Talley Bio, Age, Family, Cause of Death, Wife, Children, Career, Books, Net worth

Andre Leon Talley Biography

Andre Leon Talley was an American fashion journalist, stylist, and the former creative director and American editor-at-large of Vogue magazine. He was the magazine’s fashion news director from 1983 to 1987, and then its first African-American male creative director from 1988 to 1995.

Andre  Leon Talley Age | Birthday

Born on October 16, 1948, Talley was 73 years old when he met his death. He celebrated his birthday on the 16th of October each year until 2021.

Andre Leon Talley Family | Parents

Talley was born in Washington, D.C to his parents Alma Ruth Davis (mother) and William C. Talley (father), a taxi driver.  The fashion icon was raised by his maternal grandmother Binnie Francis Davis, who worked as a cleaning lady at Duke University, in Durham, North Carolina.

Andre Leon Talley Cause of Death

Talley passed away on January 18, 2022, at the age of 73 years. He died at a hospital in White Plains, New York, and Andre’s death was confirmed to Rolling Stone by his literary agent, David Vigliano. The cause of  Talley’s death has not been disclosed.

Andre Leon Talley Height

Talley stood tall at a height measurement of 6 feet and 5 inches.

Andre Leon Talley Wife | Partner

The stylist and fashion journalist, Talley revealed that he was fluid when asked about his sexual orientation during a May 9, 2018 appearance on The Wendy Williams Show. He said: “No, I’m not heterosexual; I’m saying I’m fluid in my sexuality, darling.”

Talley led a very private life when it came to his romantic relationships and he had not publicly revealed whether he had a partner or not. His dating life was a secret he kept to himself.

Andre Leon Talley Children

Talley, the former creative director kept his personal life low-key. He had not disclosed publicly whether he has children or not. There are also no sources linking him to having children.

Andre Leon Talley Education

The fashion journalist, Talley attended North Carolina Central University where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in French Literature in 1970. For his Masters’s degree, he attended  Brown University and graduated in 1972 earning a Master of Arts degree in French Literature. Moreover, Talley went to Hillside High School.

Andere Leon Talley Career

Talley was a fashion journalist, and stylist. His love for fashion was cultivated at an early age by her and his discovery of Vogue magazine, which he first found in the local library at the age of nine or 10.

Talley worked at Women’s Wear Daily, becoming its Paris bureau chief, and W, from 1975 through 1980. He also worked for The New York Times and other publications before finally landing at Vogue, where he worked as the Fashion News Director from 1983 to 1987 and then as Creative Director from 1988 to 1995. Leon pushed top designers to have more African-American models in their shows. In 1984 he co-wrote with Richard Bernstein the book MegaStar, with an introduction by Paloma Picasso, which includes portraits of celebrities. He left Vogue and moved to Paris in 1995 to work for W, and served as contributing editor at Vogue. In 1998, he returned to Vogue as the editor-at-large until his departure in 2013 to pursue another editorial venture.

In 2003, he published an autobiography entitled A.L.T.: A Memoir, published by Villard in 2003. According to Publishers Weekly, the message delivered by the book is that “Style transcends race, class, and time.”Two years later he authored A.L.T. 365+, an art monograph designed by art director Sam Shahid. 365 features photos and captions from one year of Talley’s life (Source: Wikipedia).

Moreover, Talley served as a judge for America’s Top Model from Cycle 14 to Cycle 17.  He also served as a stylist for former USA president Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama.

The fashion icon was a subject of the documentary, The Gospel According to André and in  May 2020, he released The Chiffon Trenches: A Memoir.

Awards

Andre has won a number of awards which include:

• Eugenia Sheppard Award for Fashion Journalism, Council of Fashion Designers of America- 2003
• Honorary Doctor of Humanities, Savannah College of Art and Design- 2008
• The André Leon Talley Gallery opened in the SCAD Museum of Art- 2011
• Chevalier de l’ordre des Arts et des Lettres honor for arts and letters- 2021

Andre Leon Talley Net worth

Talley had an estimated net worth of $200k- $5 million. He accumulated his fortune through his career as a stylist and fashion journalist.