Graydon Carter is stepping down as editor of Vanity Fair at the end of the year after 25 years at the helm, according to a release Thursday.

Carter expressed gratitude toward colleagues and pride in his accomplishments as one of the longest-standing editors in media.

"I've loved every moment of my time here and I've pretty much accomplished everything I've ever wanted to do," Carter said in a statement. "I'm now eager to try out this 'third act' thing that my contemporaries have been telling me about, and I figure I'd better get a jump on it."

Carter oversaw some of Vanity Fair's most famed stories, including the unmasking of "Deep Throat," The Washington Post's anonymous source during the Watergate investigation, the "Call Me Caitlyn" cover, featuring Caitlyn Jenner after her transition, and the 2007 Africa Issue, featuring 20 different covers. He was elected to the American Society of Magazine Editors' Hall of Fame in 2014.

"We built a magazine with sophistication, wit, and an international outlook, on a bedrock of solid journalism," he said.