Anne Hathaway | Biography, Films, Plays, & Facts (2024)

Anne Hathaway (born November 12, 1982, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.) is an American actress known for her versatility, appearing in films that ranged from fairy tales to adult-oriented dramas and comedies. Her notable movies include The Princess Diaries (2001), Brokeback Mountain (2005), and The Devil Wears Prada (2006). Hathaway won an Academy Award for her performance in Les Misérables (2012).

Family and early roles

Hathaway’s family moved from Brooklyn, New York, to Millburn, a New Jersey suburb, when she was six years old. Her father, Gerald, was a lawyer, and her mother, Kate McCauley, was a stage actress. When she was young, Hathaway toured with her mother during a production of the musical Les Misérables, which spurred her to pursue a career in theater. She studied with New York’s prestigious Barrow Group, and at age 16 she landed her first television role, on the family drama Get Real (1999–2000).

The Princess Diaries, Brokeback Mountain, and The Devil Wears Prada

After graduating from high school in 2000, Hathaway began to pursue film work. Her big-screen debut came with The Princess Diaries (2001), in which she played Mia Thermopolis, a klutzy teenager who discovers that she is heir to a royal throne. In 2004 Hathaway starred in that movie’s sequel, The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, and played another fairy-tale role in Ella Enchanted. Afraid of being typecast, Hathaway sought out more adult fare, and her next major part was in Ang Lee’s critically acclaimed Brokeback Mountain (2005). The drama, in which Hathaway played the wife of a cowboy (Jake Gyllenhaal) who is secretly in love with another man (Heath Ledger), was nominated for an Academy Award for best picture.

In 2006 Hathaway starred alongside Meryl Streep and Emily Blunt in the critically and commercially successful The Devil Wears Prada. Other notable performances included the lead role in Becoming Jane (2007), a fictionalized account of the life of author Jane Austen, and her portrayal of Kym, a recovering drug addict, in Rachel Getting Married (2008)—for which she earned her first Academy Award nomination. Hathaway further expanded her range with the romantic comedies Bride Wars (2009) and Valentine’s Day (2010). In 2010 she returned to her fairy-tale roots as the White Queen in Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland and portrayed a free-spirited woman afflicted with Parkinson disease in the romance Love and Other Drugs. She starred in the romantic drama One Day the following year.

The Dark Knight Rises, Les Misérables, and Interstellar

For The Dark Knight Rises (2012), the final installment in Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy, Hathaway inhabited the role of the crafty Catwoman. She later appeared in a 2012 film adaptation of Les Misérables as the forlorn Fantine—the same role she had seen her mother play onstage when she was a child—and captured an Academy Award for best supporting actress. She provided the voice of a macaw in the animated Rio (2011) and its sequel, Rio 2 (2014). Hathaway then joined the ensemble cast of Nolan’s space drama Interstellar (2014), playing a scientist attempting to locate a habitable planet after Earth is rendered unlivable by war and famine. She returned to comedy with The Intern (2015), in which she was featured as a fashion entrepreneur who hires a retiree (Robert De Niro).

In 2016 Hathaway reprised her role as the White Queen in Alice Through the Looking Glass and portrayed a woman who discovers that she has a strange connection to a gigantic beast in the comedy Colossal. She garnered enthusiastic reviews for her performance as a self-absorbed actress in Ocean’s 8 (2018), a female-driven reboot of the Ocean’s Eleven franchise from the earlier 2000s. Her credits from 2019 included Serenity, a thriller in which her character solicits her ex-husband (Matthew McConaughey) to commit murder; the comedy The Hustle, about two rival con artists; Modern Love, an Amazon anthology series in which Hathaway appeared in an episode as a woman struggling with mental illness; and Dark Waters, a fact-based drama concerning a legal case about a chemical company’s alleged pollution of a community.

WeCrashed and The Idea of You

In 2020 Hathaway starred in both The Last Thing He Wanted, a crime drama based on a novel by Joan Didion, and the family comedy The Witches, an adaptation of aRoald Dahl children’s book. The following year Hathaway was cast in the heist film Locked Down and appeared in the sci-fi anthology TV series Solos. She later starred with Jared Leto in WeCrashed (2022), a TV miniseries about the rise and fall of WeWork, a company that promoted shared office space. Her other credits from 2022 include the family drama Armageddon Time, which centers on a six grader’s coming-of-age and addresses issues of privilege and racism.

In 2023 Hathaway had a supporting role in Eileen, an adaptation of Ottessa Moshfegh’s novel about a disturbed woman who becomes obsessed with a coworker. She turned to lighter fare with The Idea of You (2024), in which she played a single mother who embarks on a relationship with a much-younger pop star. Also in 2024 Hathaway starred with Jessica Chastain in the 1950s thriller Mother’s Instinct, about two women whose friendship unravels following a tragedy.

Other activities

In addition to her acting, Hathaway became known for her singing talent. In 1999 she performed at New York’s Carnegie Hall as part of an honours chorus. She made her New York stage debut in the musical Carnival in 2002. Hathaway’s nonsinging stage roles included Viola in a New York Shakespeare in the Park production of Twelfth Night in 2009 and a fighter pilot in director Julie Taymor’s 2015 production of Grounded at the Public Theater. In 2011 Hathaway and actor James Franco cohosted the Academy Awards ceremony.