Teen Vogue’s first black editor-in-chief: Elaine Welteroth

Luther Vandross was outed as gay after his death.

You may or may not remember when Elaine Welteroth became the first African-American beauty director at Teen Vogue, but now, she has moved up as their new editor-in-chief. At 29, she is the youngest editor in the company’s 107-year history and only the second black woman to head a Conde Nast book ever.

Welteroth has worked at Glamour and Ebony magazines with great success and has been at Teen Vogue for almost four years. She went to Cal State in Sacramento and got her degree in Mass Communications/Media Studies with a minor in journalism.

Amy Astley, who is the current editor-in-chief at Teen Vogue, will be moving to Architectural Digest.

Anna Wintour, the Conde Nast artistic director who is famous in her own right, congratulated Welteroth and her team in a recent press release:

Elaine, Marie and Phil are fearlessly at the forefront, inspiring young trendsetters with their sophisticated take on emerging fashion, beauty and pop culture, and they will lead Teen Vogue to the next phase of its success. This team has thoroughly embraced the endless potential of social media and new platforms, and their understanding of the most effective way to use them to connect with audiences, embodies what it means to be an editor today.

Watch Welteroth’s touching Mother’s Day message:

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