Cathleen McGuigan was named senior editor for The Arts in July 1992. In 1998 she became National Arts Correspondent, covering books, theater, design and culture. She recently interviewed Annie Leibovitz for the cover story "My Life in Pictures" about the famous photographer's new book of photos. McGuigan is also the magazine's architecture critic and has written extensively about the designs for the World Trade Center development project. McGuigan previously served as a senior writer.

She has written about Havana, Cuba's historical city-center and government plans to restore it to its former glory. She has edited and contributed to Newsweek's special sections on design, as well as reviewing everything from novels to new Broadway shows and museum exhibits.  She has reviewed everything from novels to new Broadway shows and museum exhibits.  McGuigan was a major contributor to Newsweek's special issue devoted to 100 years of movies.  And in 1992, she was a Loeb Fellow at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard.

She began her Newsweek career in 1977 as an editorial assistant for art and architecture stories.  She was made a writer in 1979, promoted to assistant editor in 1980 and to general editor in 1983. 

In addition to Newsweek, McGuigan's articles have appeared in The New York Times Magazine,  Smithsonian, Harper's Bazaar, Rolling Stone and Art News. She is also an adjunct professor at the Graduate School of Journalism, Columbia University.

McGuigan received a B.A. from Brown University.  She lives in New York with her husband, David Berridge, and their daughter.