Radhika Jones

Radhika Jones is an American magazine editor and writer recognized for her tenure as editor-in-chief of Vanity Fair. She became the second woman and the first woman of color to lead the publication since its modern revival. Jones graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard and holds a doctorate in English and comparative literature from Columbia University. Her academic background in literature and storytelling has informed her editorial approach, contributing to her reputation in magazine journalism.

Jones began her career in Moscow as the arts editor of the English-language Moscow Times. Before joining Time, she served as managing editor of The Paris Review, where she commissioned and edited fiction and nonfiction. She also held editorial roles at Grand Street and Artforum. As deputy editor at Time, Jones led the editorial and visual direction of the magazine and oversaw the Time 100 and Person of the Year franchises. She later joined Vanity Fair from The New York Times, where she was editorial director of books, overseeing reviews and expanding digital coverage at the intersection of books, news, and ideas.

At Vanity Fair, Jones worked to reshape the magazine’s identity, featuring figures such as Lena Waithe, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Viola Davis on the cover. Under her leadership, Vanity Fair achieved record-breaking digital traffic and growth in subscriptions and social media engagement. Jones also curated the anthology "Women on Women," a collection of essays about women by women, drawn from Vanity Fair’s archives.

Following her time at Vanity Fair, Jones continued her involvement with nonprofit organizations, serving as vice chair of the board of directors for CARE, a global humanitarian agency focused on poverty and women’s empowerment. Her career reflects a commitment to editorial leadership, cultural journalism, and advancing conversations around gender inequality and international development.