#Netflix taps Allure editor in chief Michelle Lee for new gig

Netflix has poached Allure editor in chief Michelle Lee from Condé Nast to oversee new social-media initiatives at the streaming giant.

Lee, who served as Allure’s top editor for the last five and a half years, broke the news on Instagram Monday, noting that she will join Netflix’s marketing team as its new vice president of editorial & publishing in late July.

Lee will lead and oversee Netflix’s team focused on social media channels, podcasts and other initiatives, including the streamer’s entertainment-focused Queue magazine. The editor said she will report to chief marketing officer Bozoma Saint John, the marketing veteran who previously worked at companies including Apple, Uber and Endeavor. 

Netflix confirmed the news. Condé Nast did not immediately return requests for comment on its succession plan at Allure.

“This is an exciting but bittersweet moment because I’ll miss everyone at Allure so much,” wrote Lee, who joined the Condé Nast beauty publication in November 2015. “I’m so proud of my brilliant, creative colleagues and everything we’ve accomplished together. I think we’ve truly shifted the way people look at and talk about beauty. We sparked change on topics like race and aging and sustainability and equality. We helped to move culture — and that’s no small feat.”

Under Lee, Allure has emphasized a more inclusive, progressive approach to beauty coverage. In 2017, two years after joining Condé Nast, Lee put Halima Aden, a Muslim model wearing a hijab, on Allure’s July 2017 cover with the cover line: “This is American Beauty.” Lee also banned the term “anti-aging” from Allure’s copy beginning in September 2017.

Prior to Allure, Lee served as chief marketing officer and editor in chief of Nylon Media, overseeing pop culture-focused publications, Nylon, Nylon Guys, nylon.com and in-house content studio Nylon Studio.

Although Netflix isn’t known for its editorial output, it has been quietly pushing into the space with social media channels, podcasts and its magazine, Queue, which includes interviews from stars of its hit shows.

And Lee also isn’t the first Condé Nast editor whom the streaming giant has recruited. In 2019, the Los Gatos, California-based company hired longtime Vanity Fair executive West Coast editor Krista Smith to serve as a consultant on various content projects, including overseeing Queue. Netflix said Smith will now report to Lee.