Anne Jacqueline Hathaway (born November 12, 1982) is an American actress. The recipient of
various accolades, including an
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
, a
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...
, and a
Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...
, she was among the world's highest-paid actresses in 2015. Her films have grossed over $6.8 billion worldwide, and she appeared on the
''Forbes'' Celebrity 100 list in 2009.
Hathaway graduated from
Millburn High School
Millburn High School is a four-year public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from Millburn (including its Short Hills neighborhood), in Essex County, New Jersey, United States, operating as the lone secondary school ...
in
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
, where she performed in several plays. As a teenager, she was cast in the television series ''
Get Real'' (1999–2000) and made her breakthrough by playing the lead role in the
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
comedy ''
The Princess Diaries
''The Princess Diaries'' is a series of epistolary young adult novels written by Meg Cabot, and is also the title of the first volume, published in 2000. The series revolves around Amelia 'Mia' Thermopolis, a teenager in New York who discovers ...
'' (2001). After starring in a string of family films, including ''
Ella Enchanted
''Ella Enchanted'' is a Newbery Honor[Brokeback Mountain
''Brokeback Mountain'' is a 2005 American neo-Western romantic drama film directed by Ang Lee and produced by Diana Ossana and James Schamus. Adapted from the 1997 short story of the same name by Annie Proulx, the screenplay was written by O ...](_blank)
''. The comedy-drama ''
The Devil Wears Prada'' (2006), in which she played an assistant to a fashion magazine editor, was her biggest commercial success to that point. She played a recovering addict in the drama ''
Rachel Getting Married
''Rachel Getting Married'' is a 2008 American drama film directed by Jonathan Demme, and starring Anne Hathaway, Rosemarie DeWitt, Bill Irwin, and Debra Winger. The film premiered at the 65th Venice International Film Festival on September 3, 200 ...
'' (2008), which earned her a nomination for the
Academy Award for Best Actress
The Academy Award for Best Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role in a film released that year. ...
.
Hathaway went on to star in several commercially successful films, including the comedy ''
Get Smart
''Get Smart'' is an American comedy television series parodying the secret agent genre that had become widely popular in the first half of the 1960s, with the release of the ''James Bond'' films. It was created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, an ...
'' (2008), the romances ''
Bride Wars
''Bride Wars'' is a 2009 American romantic comedy film directed by Gary Winick and written by Greg DePaul, June Diane Raphael, and Casey Wilson. The film stars Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway with Kristen Johnston, Bryan Greenberg and Candice Berg ...
'' (2009), ''
Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, throu ...
'' (2010), and ''
Love & Other Drugs
''Love & Other Drugs'' is a 2010 American romantic comedy-drama film directed, produced and co-written by Edward Zwick and based on Jamie Reidy's 2005 non-fiction book ''Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman''.
Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, ...
'' (2010), and the fantasy film ''
Alice in Wonderland
''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatur ...
'' (2010). In 2012, she starred as
Selina Kyle / Catwoman in her highest-grossing film, ''
The Dark Knight Rises
''The Dark Knight Rises'' is a 2012 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan, who co-wrote the screenplay with his brother Jonathan Nolan, and the story with David S. Goyer. The film is based on the DC Comics character Batman, it is th ...
''. Also that year, she played
Fantine
Fantine (French pronunciation: ) is a fictional character in Victor Hugo's 1862 novel ''Les Misérables''. She is a young '' grisette'' in Paris who becomes pregnant by a rich student. After he abandons her, she is forced to look after their chil ...
, a prostitute dying of
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
, in the musical ''
Les Misérables
''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century.
In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its original ...
'', for which she won the
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She has since played a scientist in the science fiction film ''
Interstellar'' (2014), the owner of an online fashion site in the comedy ''
The Intern'' (2015), a haughty actress in the heist film ''
Ocean's 8
''Ocean's Eight'' (stylized onscreen as ''Ocean's 8'') is a 2018 American heist action thriller comedy film directed by Gary Ross and written by Ross and Olivia Milch. The film is both a continuation of and a spin-off from Steven Soderbergh's ...
'' (2018), a con artist in the comedy
''The Hustle'' (2019), and
Rebekah Neumann
Rebekah Victoria Neumann (née Paltrow; born February 26, 1978) is an American businesswoman. Until September 22, 2019, she served as chief brand and impact officer at WeWork, a company founded by her husband, Adam Neumann, and oversaw its educat ...
in the miniseries ''
WeCrashed
''WeCrashed'' is an American drama streaming television miniseries that premiered on Apple TV+ on March 18, 2022. The series stars Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway as Adam and Rebekah Neumann, the real-life married couple at the heart of WeWork, ...
'' (2022).
Hathaway has won a
Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...
for her voice role in the sitcom ''
The Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...
'', sung for soundtracks, appeared on stage, and hosted events. She supports several charitable causes. She is a board member of the Lollipop Theatre Network, an organization that brings films to children in hospitals, and advocates for
gender equality
Gender equality, also known as sexual equality or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making; and the state of valuing d ...
as a
UN Women
The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, also known as UN Women, is a United Nations entity working for gender equality and the empowerment of women. UN Women advocates for the rights of women and girls, and focu ...
goodwill ambassador
Goodwill ambassador is a post-nominal honorific title, a professional occupation and/or authoritative designation that is assigned to a person who advocates for a specific cause or global issue on the basis of their notability such as a public ...
. Hathaway is married to actor and businessman Adam Shulman and has two sons with him.
Early life and background
Anne Jacqueline "Annie" Hathaway was born on November 12, 1982, in the
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
borough of New York City. Her father, Gerald, is a labor attorney, and her mother, Kate (née McCauley), is a former actress. Hathaway's maternal grandfather was
WIP (AM)
WTEL (610 Hertz, kHz) — branded "Philadelphia's BIN 610" — is a commercial All-news radio, all-news AM radio, AM radio station licensed to serve Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. While owned by the Beasley Broadcast Group, the statio ...
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
radio personality Joe McCauley. Her mother is of Irish descent, and her father has Irish, French, English, and German ancestry. Hathaway was named after
Shakespeare's wife.
She is the second of three children, following brother Michael and preceding brother Thomas. When she was six, her family moved to the
Short Hills area of
Millburn, New Jersey
Millburn is a suburban Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the township's population was 20,149, reflecting an increase of 384 (+1.9%) from t ...
, where she was raised.
![Paper Mill Playhouse entrance](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/Paper_Mill_Playhouse_entrance.jpg)
At age six, when Hathaway watched her mother perform in ''
Les Misérables
''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century.
In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its original ...
'' as
Fantine
Fantine (French pronunciation: ) is a fictional character in Victor Hugo's 1862 novel ''Les Misérables''. She is a young '' grisette'' in Paris who becomes pregnant by a rich student. After he abandons her, she is forced to look after their chil ...
, she instantly became fascinated with the stage, but her parents were not keen on allowing her to pursue an acting career. After this, Kate quit acting to raise Hathaway and her brothers.
Hathaway was raised as
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
with what she considers to be "really strong values" and stated that she wished to be a nun during her childhood, but acting was always a high priority for her.
Her relationship with the Catholic Church changed at age 15, after learning that her older brother, Michael, was gay.
Her family left the church, converting to
Episcopalianism because of its acceptance of homosexuality, but eventually left that too. In 2009, Hathaway described her religious beliefs as "a work in progress".
Hathaway attended Brooklyn Heights
Montessori
The Montessori method of education involves children's natural interests and activities rather than formal teaching methods. A Montessori classroom places an emphasis on hands-on learning and developing real-world skills. It emphasizes indepen ...
School and Wyoming Elementary School in Millburn.
She graduated from
Millburn High School
Millburn High School is a four-year public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from Millburn (including its Short Hills neighborhood), in Essex County, New Jersey, United States, operating as the lone secondary school ...
, where she played soccer and took part in many plays, including ''
Once Upon a Mattress
''Once Upon a Mattress'' is a musical comedy with music by Mary Rodgers, lyrics by Marshall Barer, and book by Jay Thompson, Dean Fuller, and Marshall Barer. It opened off-Broadway in May 1959, and then moved to Broadway. The play was written ...
'', in which she portrayed Winnifred. Later, she appeared in other plays like ''
Jane Eyre
''Jane Eyre'' ( ; originally published as ''Jane Eyre: An Autobiography'') is a novel by the English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published under her pen name "Currer Bell" on 19 October 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. of London. The first ...
'' and ''
Gigi'', at New Jersey's
Paper Mill Playhouse
Paper Mill Playhouse is a regional theater with approximately 1200 seats, located in Millburn, New Jersey on the Rahway River. Due to its relatively close location to Manhattan, it draws from the pool of actors (and audience members) who live in ...
.
She studied at the
American Academy of Dramatic Arts
The American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA) is a private performing arts conservatory with two locations, one in Manhattan and one in Los Angeles. The academy offers an associate degree in occupational studies and teaches drama and related art ...
in 1993 and became the first teenager admitted into
the Barrow Group The Barrow Group is a non-profit performing arts group located in New York City focused on empowering actors, writers, and directors through simple, clear, spontaneous storytelling. The company prioritizes accessibility, diversity, and excellence, ...
Theater Company's acting program.
She spent several semesters studying as an English major and
political science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
minor at
Vassar College
Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely follo ...
in
Poughkeepsie, New York
Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsi ...
, before transferring to
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, the ...
's
Gallatin School of Individualized Study
The Gallatin School of Individualized Study (commonly referred to as Gallatin) is a small interdisciplinary college within New York University (NYU). Students at Gallatin design an interdisciplinary program that meets their specific interests a ...
.
Between 1998 and 1999, Hathaway sang
soprano
A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...
with the All-Eastern U.S. High School Honors Chorus at
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...
and in plays at
Seton Hall Preparatory School
Seton Hall Preparatory School, generally called Seton Hall Prep or "The Prep", is a Roman Catholic all boys' high school located in the suburban community of West Orange in Essex County, New Jersey, operating under the supervision of the Arch ...
in
West Orange, New Jersey. At the start of her film career, her acting style and appearance were compared to
Judy Garland
Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The ...
—whom she cites as one of her favorite actresses
—and
Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn (born Audrey Kathleen Ruston; 4 May 1929 – 20 January 1993) was a British actress and humanitarian. Recognised as both a film and fashion icon, she was ranked by the American Film Institute as the AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars, t ...
.
Three days after her performance at Carnegie Hall, Hathaway was cast in the short-lived Fox television series ''
Get Real''.
She played the teenager Meghan Green alongside
Jon Tenney
Jonathan Frederick Tenney (born December 16, 1961) is an American actor. He played Special Agent Fritz Howard in TNT's ''The Closer'' and continued in its spinoff '' Major Crimes''.
Early life
Tenney was born in Princeton, New Jersey. His mother, ...
,
Debrah Farentino
Debrah Farentino (born September 30, 1959) is an American actress, producer and journalist. She began her career starring in the CBS daytime soap opera ''Capitol'' from 1982 to 1987, before moving to prime time with a female leading role in the ...
and
Jesse Eisenberg
Jesse Adam Eisenberg (; born October 5, 1983) is an American actor, writer, and director. He has received various accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards, a Golden Globe Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awar ...
. Despite her early success, Hathaway suffered from depression and anxiety as a teenager; she said in 2008 she had since grown from it.
She missed her first college semester for the filming of her cinematic debut ''
The Princess Diaries
''The Princess Diaries'' is a series of epistolary young adult novels written by Meg Cabot, and is also the title of the first volume, published in 2000. The series revolves around Amelia 'Mia' Thermopolis, a teenager in New York who discovers ...
'' (2001).
She says she never regretted not finishing her degree, as she enjoyed being with others who "were trying to grow up".
Career
2001–2004: Early roles and breakthrough
The comedy ''The Princess Diaries'' and the adventure drama ''
The Other Side of Heaven
''The Other Side of Heaven'' is a 2001 American adventure drama film written and directed by Mitch Davis, based on John H. Groberg's autobiography ''In the Eye of the Storm''. The film stars Christopher Gorham as John Groberg and Anne Hathaway ...
'', both 2001
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
films, featured Hathaway in lead roles. Based on
Meg Cabot
Meggin Patricia Cabot (born February 1, 1967) is an American novelist. She has written and published over 50 novels of young adult and adult fiction and is best known for her young adult series ''Princess Diaries'', which was later adapted by W ...
's 2000 novel of the
same name, the former follows teenage
Mia Thermopolis
''The Princess Diaries'' is a series of epistolary young adult novels written by Meg Cabot, and is also the title of the first volume, published in 2000. The series revolves around Amelia 'Mia' Thermopolis, a teenager in New York who discover ...
(Hathaway) who discovers that she is the heiress to the throne of the fictional Kingdom of Genovia. Hathaway auditioned for the role during a flight layover on the way to New Zealand.
Garry Marshall
Garry Kent Marshall (November 13, 1934 – July 19, 2016) was an American filmmaker and actor. He started his career in the 1960s writing for ''The Lucy Show'' and ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' before he developed Neil Simon's 1965 play ''The Odd Co ...
, the film's director, initially considered
Liv Tyler
Liv Rundgren Tyler (born Liv Rundgren; July 1, 1977) is an American actress, producer, singer and former model. She began a modeling career at age 14. She later decided to focus on acting and made her film debut in ''Silent Fall'' (1994); she ...
for the role, but cast Hathaway after his granddaughters suggested that she had the best "princess" hair. The film became a major commercial success, grossing $165 million worldwide. Many critics praised Hathaway's performance; a
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
critic noted that "Hathaway shines in the title role and generates great chemistry" and ''
found her to be "royalty in the making, a young comic talent with a scramble of features". She earned an
nomination for the role. Hathaway starred with
's ''The Other Side of Heaven''. Inspired by
's memoir ''In the Eye of the Storm'', the film met with mostly negative reviews and was a box-office failure.
Owing to the success of ''The Princess Diaries'', ''
'' magazine named Hathaway one of its breakthrough stars of 2001.
In February 2002, Hathaway starred in the City Center Encores! concert production of ''
'' in her New York City stage debut. She played Lili, an optimistic orphan who falls in love with a magician. Before rehearsing with the full cast, Hathaway trained with a vocal coach for two weeks. She memorized almost all her lines and songs at the first read-through.
Critics generally praised her for holding her own against well-known actors and heralded her as a new star.
'' called Hathaway the highlight of the show and "remarkably unaffected and winning", praising her convincing performance. She won a
for Most Promising Female.
Later, Hathaway voiced the audiobook release of the first three books in ''The Princess Diaries'' novels.
Hathaway portrayed princesses and appeared in family-oriented films over the next three years, subsequently becoming known in mainstream media as a children's role model.
'' (2002), which opened to positive reviews. However, the film did not enter wide release and failed at the North American box office, totaling less than $4 million in ticket sales. The fantasy romantic comedy film ''