Samantha Barry steps down as editor of Glamour magazine after ‘phenomenal’ eight years

She has been working at Glamour since 2018, becoming its first editorial director in 2024 after previosly working at RTÉ, BBC and CNN

The native of Ballincollig revealed her decision in an Instagram post yesterday in which she said she felt it was “the right moment to leave” and try new things.

She has been working at Glamour since 2018, becoming its first editorial director in 2024 after previosly working at RTÉ, BBC and CNN.

Addressing her 270,000 followers, Ms Barry thanked the magazine for “eight phenomenal years”.

“Sharing some personal news. After eight phenomenal years at Glamour, I’m stepping away,” she said.

“As the title’s business model evolved, I made clear to Anna and leadership at Conde that this was the right moment to leave and pursue new projects.”

She said the move has been in the pipeline “for a while” due to “changes to our global operations”.

“I’m enormously proud of what we built together and the amazing people that make up the Glamour teams around the world,” she added.

Reflecting on her track record at the magazine, Ms Barry listed her proudest achievements since taking up the role of editor-in-chief at Glamour.

“We took the brand to new digital heights, diversified our audience and revenue, and launched campaigns that genuinely moved the needle for women,” she said.

“Working alongside Anna Wintour, who championed me at every turn, has been one of my great professional privileges. Storytelling has always been at the heart of my career and ambitions, and I’m excited by what comes next.”

Glamour is owned by global media company Conde Nast which this week took to closing down its health and wellness magazine Self after half a century, with company chief Roger Lynch telling workers that changes were being made “for continued growth”.

Mr Lynch penned an open letter to employees which revealed the organisation has “exceeded” expectations of revenue and profitability in the first quarter of 2026, but that magazines Self, Glamour as well as Wired together account for 1pc of Conde Nast’s overall revenue, and that they are “unprofitable” in their current state.

Mr Lynch added that Glamour magazine’s operations in Germany, Spain and Mexico will be wound down as part of the business’ repositioning in the market.

With regard to Self specifically, the chief put the decision down to a “shift” in audience taste while Wired’s Italian publishing operations will ceased, but will remain active in consulting and events across Europe.