Anne Jacqueline Hathaway (born November 12, 1982) is an American actress and singer. Hathaway made her acting debut in the 1999 television series Get Real, but her first prominent role was in Disney’s family comedy The Princess Diaries (2001), which established her career. She continued to appear in family films over the next three years, and she had the lead roles in Ella Enchanted and The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (both 2004). Hathaway wanted to break the “G-rated” image, and consequently, in 2005 she co-starred in the adult-themed Havoc and Brokeback Mountain, both requiring nude scenes, as well as The Devil Wears Prada (2006), in which she starred opposite Meryl Streep. That film has become the highest-grossing film of her career. Becoming Jane, in which she stars as Jane Austen, was released in 2007.
Hathaway’s acting style has been compared to that of Judy Garland and Audrey Hepburn, and she cites Hepburn as her favorite actress and Streep as her idol. People magazine named her one of 2001’s breakthrough stars and in 2006 she was listed as one of the world’s 50 Most Beautiful People.
Biography
Hathaway was born in Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of Gerald Hathaway, a lawyer, and Kate McCauley, an actress who inspired Hathaway to follow in her footsteps. She was named after the wife of playwright William Shakespeare. She has an older brother, Michael, and a younger brother, Thomas. Hathaway has mainly Irish and French ancestry, with more distant German and Native American roots. She was raised in the Catholic religion with what she considers “really strong values,” and wanted to be a nun during her childhood. However, at fifteen, she decided not to become a nun after learning that her brother Michael was gay. Although she was raised as a Catholic, she felt that she could not be part of a religion that disapproved of her brother’s sexual orientation. She has stated that she is a non-denominational Christian.
Hathaway was raised in Millburn, New Jersey, and graduated from Millburn High School where she was in many school plays. She spent several semesters studying at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York before transferring to New York University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study. She referred to her college enrollment as one of her best decisions because she enjoyed being with others who were trying to “grow up.” Hathaway was a member of the Barrow Group Theater Company’s acting program and the first teenager admitted. She is a trained stage actress and has stated that she prefers appearing on stage to film roles.
Hathaway, a soprano, performed twice in 1998 with the All Eastern U.S. High School Honors Chorus at Carnegie Hall and has performed in plays at Seton Hall Prep in West Orange. Three days after performing at Carnegie Hall, she was cast in the short-lived 1999 television series Get Real.
2001-2004 career development
Hathaway starred in Get Real for one season, after which it was cancelled. Her first major role was in The Other Side of Heaven (2001) opposite Christopher Gorham, but before production began in New Zealand, she auditioned for the lead role of Mia Thermopolis in the Garry Marshall-directed The Princess Diaries (2001). Marshall loved her immediately because she fell off her chair during the audition and his granddaughters thought that she had nice hair. Hathaway enjoyed filming The Princess Diaries and called it “really fun”. It was released before Heaven because of its comedic-oriented plot, which critics said was effective because of her casting; a reviewer for BBC wrote that “Hathaway shines in the title role, and generates great chemistry”. Across the world, the film was a commercial success and a sequel was planned shortly after. The Other Side of Heaven was received weakly by critics, but it performed well for a religious-themed film.
In February 2002, Hathaway made her Broadway debut opposite Brian Stokes Mitchell in the City Center Encores! production of Carnival. She received positive reviews for her portrayal of Lili; the role demanded both acting and singing, and was a continuation of her success as a comic actress.
Hathaway continued appearing in comedy films and was known in the media as a children’s role model. The following year, she appeared in Nicholas Nickleby (2002) opposite Charlie Hunnam and Jamie Bell, which opened to positive reviews; the Northwest Herald referred to it as “an unbelievably fun film” and the Deseret News said that the cast was “Oscar-worthy”. Despite critical acclaim, the film never entered wide release and failed at the North American box office (totaling less than US$4 million). Hathaway’s next role was in Ella Enchanted (2004), the film adaptation of the award-winning novel. It received indifferent reviews: the Chicago Tribune called it “shiny candy that tastes oddly familiar yet lacks sugary punch”, and the New York Times felt that it was “clichéd and forgetful”. However, the Dallas Morning News cited Tommy O’Haver’s directing-style as “a Flintstones-like humor to the setting by melding modern with medieval culture”.
In 2004 Hathaway was to star opposite Gerard Butler in The Phantom of the Opera, but she rejected the role because of her conflicting contract with Disney.[11] Disney began production on The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement in early 2004 and it was initially going to be filmed in Prague, but the location was changed to Los Angeles, where the “kingdom” of Genovia was built. The film opened to negative reviews and peaked higher at the box office than its predecessor, but ended with lower ticket sales.
2005-present career transition
Hathaway began appearing in less comedic-oriented films after The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement. She said that “anybody who was a role model for children needs a reprieve”, although she also noted that “it’s lovely to think that my audience is growing up with me”, a reference to her previous status as a children’s actress. She voiced a version of Little Red Riding Hood in Hoodwinked! (2005), which received generally mixed reviews. That same year, Hathaway was cast in the mature-rated Havoc (2005), in which she played a spoiled socialite. In a surprise move, Hathaway was featured in several nude and sexual scenes throughout the film . She also appeared in the drama Brokeback Mountain (2005), opposite Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, appearing nude in the film as well. Havoc was not released in theatres in the United States (but was later released in other countries) because of its weak critical reception, but Brokeback Mountain won rave reviews for its depiction of a homosexual relationship in the 1960s, and received several Academy Award nominations, including “Best Picture”. Hathaway asserted that its content was more important than its award count.
Hathaway’s next film was The Devil Wears Prada (2006), in which she starred as an assistant to a powerful fashion magazine editor (Meryl Streep, whom she described as being “just divine”). Hathaway said that working on the film earned her respect in the fashion industry, but she claims that her personal style is something she “can’t get right” and instead prefers “doing the things she loves”.
In an interview with Us Weekly, Hathaway spoke about her weight loss for the film. “I basically stuck with fruit, vegetables and fish (to slim down for the movie). I wouldn’t recommend that. Emily Blunt and I would clutch at each other and cry because we were so hungry.”
Hathaway was initially cast in the 2007 comedy Knocked Up but dropped out before filming began. Writer/director Judd Apatow stated in a May 2007 issue of The New York Times Magazine that Hathaway dropped out “because she didn’t want to allow us to use real footage of a woman giving birth to create the illusion that she is giving birth.” Katherine Heigl replaced Hathaway. In an August 2007 interview with Marie Claire magazine, Hathaway commented on an unnamed film “I turned [it] down … because it was going to show a vagina — not mine, but somebody else’s. And I didn’t believe that it was actually necessary to the story.”
Hathaway was then seen in Becoming Jane, in which she stars as English writer Jane Austen, released in mid-2007. She will also star as Agent 99 in the screen adaptation of the TV series Get Smart, which will premiere in 2008.
She also dropped out of playing the part of Johanna in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, resulting in being replaced by Jayne Wisener, a then unknown actress. She has a number of film roles coming up in the next few years. Her first film of 2008 will be Get Smart a comedy in which she will star opposite Steve Carell, The Rock, and Alan Arkin. Following in September she will star in thriller/drama film Passengers, alongside Patrick Wilson, though she will be headlining the feature. She also recently completed filming on the drama feature entitled Dancing with Shiva opposite Debra Winger. She is now getting set to begin filming the comedy Bride Wars, in which she will star with Kate Hudson. The two will play friends whose weddings fall on the same day. The film is likely going to be ready for an early-2009 release. Other possible films include the remake of the 1967 film Valley of the Dolls, which is going into production in late 2008 and is going to be ready for 2009.
It was announced in January 2008 that Hathaway would be joining beauty giant, Lancôme, as the face of their newest fragrance to be launched in September 2008.
Personal life
Hathaway enjoys interior design and reading as pastimes, and has stated that she is a non-denominational Christian. She has cited Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead (1943) as her favorite novel. Since 2004, Hathaway has been in a relationship with real estate developer Raffaello Follieri.
In regards to personal strife and subsequent media attention, Hathaway’s self-subscribed mantra is a quote by Oscar Wilde: “the less said about life’s sores the better.
