Working at Entertainment Weekly Magazine + Remembering My Mentor, Mary Dunn

My very first internship, my first real job was at Entertainment Weekly magazine, and it quietly changed the entire trajectory of my life.

I was still in college, commuting every day from New Jersey into New York City, clutching my Metro-North ticket like it was a golden pass. Each morning felt cinematic. I was young, ambitious, slightly terrified, and absolutely convinced I was living my own Devil Wears Prada origin story, long before I ever stepped foot into the fashion world.

At Entertainment Weekly, I started as a photo researcher, eventually growing into the role of photo editor. It was my introduction to the inner machinery of publishing: deadlines, egos, instincts, and the quiet power of choosing the right image to tell a story. I learned quickly that photographs weren’t just visuals, they were narrative, authority, mood, and memory.

One of the most surreal parts of that time was being surrounded, sometimes casually, by photographic legends. I became familiar with the work and presence of photographers like Mary Ellen Mark (of Saturday Night Live fam), Norman Jean Roy, and so many others whose images had already shaped pop culture long before I arrived.

One day, I was tasked with picking up photos from Norman Jean Roy after a shoot he had done with Gwyneth Paltrow for the magazine. I remember walking into his studio, heart racing, only to realize he was already mid-shoot with another actor. I tried to play it cool, but inside I was buzzing. I was there. In the room. Doing the thing.

Moments like that stacked up quickly, and with them came a growing sense of confidence. I felt chic. Cool. Sophisticated. I was commuting into Manhattan every day to work at Entertainment Weekly, a job that felt impossibly glamorous to my younger self and I knew, even then, that this was just the beginning.

At the center of this formative chapter was Mary Dunn, my boss, mentor, and the first person in publishing who truly saw me.

Mary was not just a photo director, she was a force. She had a rich, foundational history in the publishing world, long before Entertainment Weekly even existed. She was one of the founding staff members of PEOPLE magazine, arriving “before there was a PEOPLE,” and played a crucial role in shaping its visual identity.

Mary is perhaps best known as the creator of PEOPLE’s “Sexiest Man Alive.” Legend has it that in the early 1980s, while standing in the photo layout room, she proclaimed a then-rising actor, Mel Gibson, the sexiest man alive. That offhand declaration became a cultural institution, debuting officially in 1985 and evolving into one of PEOPLE’s most enduring franchises.

Her career began even earlier, as an ad trafficker at NBC, followed by a role as a picture researcher at TIME magazine, before she helped build PEOPLE into what it became. Her colleagues often said her role as photo editor was crucial to the magazine’s success, she had fresh ideas even after fourteen shoots with Farrah Fawcett, and the patience and authority to pull a great cover out of even the most difficult subjects.

In 1994, Mary left PEOPLE to become Director of Photography at Entertainment Weekly, bringing with her not only unparalleled experience, but taste, toughness, and an unmistakable voice. Upon her retirement, EW’s editorial director Jess Cagle described her perfectly: “an elegant, Southern spitfire who spoke her mind freely.”

To me, she was my first real boss and my first mentor.

What was supposed to be a short internship turned into an extended one because Mary chose to keep me. That decision mattered more than she probably ever knew. When the time came for me to study abroad in London, it felt like the perfect moment. Mary was retiring, departments were shifting, positions were being cut, and the industry already felt uncertain. She helped me navigate that transition with grace and honesty.

The publishing world then was cutthroat. I learned quickly how ideas could be stolen, how words you carefully chose could be repeated moments later by someone else and suddenly credited as their own. Mary taught me how to survive that world without losing my integrity.

I even cat-sat for her at her apartment, a small, intimate detail that somehow says everything about the trust she placed in me.

Mary continued to guide me long after my time at Entertainment Weekly ended. She referred me to Harper’s Bazaar, where I would go on to work as a photo editor and researcher, officially beginning the next chapter of my Devil Wears Prada journey.

Mary suffered a brain aneurysm in 1999 and spent the later years of her life traveling and enjoying a slower pace. She died on July 5, 2023. She is survived by her husband, daughter, and two sisters. Her obituary described her best:

“With her colleagues in the photo department, she attracted the world’s best photographers and practically invented a unique style of storytelling… She was smart, tough, funny, creative, a good negotiator, worthy of respect and trust, and serious when she had to be.”

That is exactly how I remember her.

When I look back on my time at Entertainment Weekly, what stays with me most isn’t just the celebrities or the photographers or the prestige, it’s the feeling of becoming who I was meant to be. Riding the train into New York. Walking into the office. Learning how images shape stories and how mentors shape lives.

That internship didn’t just give me experience. It gave me direction.

#mentor #mentors #mentorship #internship #entertainmentweekly #nyc #newyorkcity #entertainmentweeklymagazine #entertainment #entertainmentindustry #photographer #photos #photoeditor #photoeditors #photoresearchers #photoresearcher #marydunn #newyork #legacy #filmindustry #music #musicindustry #career #careergoals #work #worklife