We have compiled for you the life of Anne Hathaway, who managed to become one of the leading actresses of Hollywood by acting in various film and TV genres on her dream of becoming an actress and is also known for her philanthropy.
Her full name is Anne Jacqueline Hathaway, she was born on November 12, 1982 in Brooklyn, New York City. She was born to her father, lawyer Gerald Hathaway, and mother to former actress Kate McCauley. Her mother is Irish and her father is of Irish, French, English and German descent. Hathaway has an older brother named Michael and a younger brother named Thomas. She moved with her family to Millburn, New Jersey, when she was six years old.
When Hathaway was eight years old, she was instantly fascinated by the stage when she watched her mother perform. However, her family was not in favor of her continuing her acting career. She later quit acting to take care of her mother Kate, Hathaway and her brothers. Raised as a Roman Catholic, Hathaway wanted to be a nun as a child. But being an actor was always a priority for her. Later, when she learned that her brother was gay, her relationship with the Catholic Church changed.
Hathaway, who graduated from Millburn High School, played football and took part in games here. She later appeared in many plays at the Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey. Hathaway, who studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1993, became the first teenager to be accepted into the acting program of the Barrow Group Theater Company.
Between 1998 and 1999, she sang with the All-Eastern USA High School Honors Choir at Carnegie Hall and a soprano at Seton Hall Preparatory School in New Jersey. After her performance at Carnegie Hall, Hathaway appeared in the Fox comedy-drama television series "Get Real" as the young Meghan Green alongside Jon Tenney, Debrah Farentino and Jesse Eisenberg. Despite this early success, she suffered from depression and anxiety issues as a teenager.
In 2001, she starred as Mia Thermopolis in the first feature film comedy "The Princess Diaries", based on the novel of the same name directed by Garry Marshall. The film was a huge commercial success worldwide, and her performance was praised by many critics. She also earned an MTV Movie Award nomination for Best Breakthrough Female Performance for her performance. People magazine named her one of the 'breakthrough stars of 2001' thanks to her success. Also that year, she co-starred with Christopher Gorham in "The Other Side of Heaven," an adventure drama film directed by Mitch Davis and inspired by a memoir. While the film received mostly negative reviews, it also failed at the box office.
In February 2002, Hathaway made her New York City debut with "Carnival!" she made it by playing Lili, an optimistic orphan who falls in love with a magician in a musical. She trained with a voice coach for two weeks before rehearsing her cast. While critics generally praised her and the musical, they announced Hathaway as a new star. She won the Clarence Derwent Award for Most Promising Woman for her performance she.
Playing princesses over the next three years, Hathaway acted in family-oriented films and subsequently became known in the media as a child role model. In 2002, Hathaway starred in the comedy-drama film "Nicholas Nickleby" directed by Douglas McGrath. Not widely released, the film failed at the North American box office. The musical fantasy comedy film "Ella Enchanted" (2004), in which Hathaway plays the lead character, also failed at the box office and received mostly mixed reviews. Hathaway also sang three songs for the soundtrack, including a duet with singer Jesse McCartney.
In the same year, she appeared in the sequel, "The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement" (2004), a romantic comedy movie. While the movie entered the vision with negative reviews, it made a healthy income at the box office.
She started to take on adult roles to avoid child stereotypes. She subsequently appeared as a spoiled socialite in the crime drama film "Havoc" (2005), appearing nude in some scenes. The film was not released in theaters in the United States due to many negative reviews. Also that year, she appeared as Lureen in Ang Lee's romantic drama film "Brokeback Mountain" alongside Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal. She took riding lessons for the role. The film was critically acclaimed, earning several Academy Award nominations. Moreover, her performance also received acclaim from the critics.
In 2006, she starred in the comedy-drama film "The Devil Wears Prada", based on the novel of the same name directed by David Frankel. To prepare for the role, she volunteered for a while as an assistant at the auction house. The film garnered critical acclaim and was its biggest commercial success ever, grossing more than $326.5 million worldwide. In addition, her performance was also praised by the critics. In the same year, she was named among the "50 Most Beautiful People" by People magazine.
Her only feature film in 2007 was the biographical romantic drama film "Becoming Jane" directed by Julian Jarrold, starring British writer Jane Austen. A fan of Austen since childhood, Hathaway prepared for her role by rereading Austen's books and doing historical research, such as examining her letters. In addition, she learned sign language, calligraphy, dance choreography and piano. She received a British Independent Film Award nomination for Best Actress for the film, although some critics criticized her accent and performance negatively.
The following year, she hosted an episode of "Saturday Night Live", NBC's midnight sketch comedy show. Also that year, she played Agent 99 in the action spy comedy "Get Smart," a Peter Segal-directed film adaptation of the television series of the same name, and the film was a financial success. Her next film was the romantic mystery thriller "Passengers", in which she co-starred with Patrick Wilson. The film was both a critical and commercial failure. Hathaway next played Kym, a young woman, in the drama film "Rachel Getting Married" directed by Jonathan Demme. Premiering at the 2008 Venice and Toronto International Film Festivals, she received critical acclaim for her performance and earned Academy Award and Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Actress.
Hathaway co-starred with Kate Hudson in the romantic comedy film "Bride Wars" (2009), directed by Gary Winick. The film was a critical failure and was ranked by Time magazine as one of the "ten worst chickens" movies in history the following year. Despite this, the film was a commercial success, earning her an MTV Movie Award nomination for Best Performance by a Actress. In the summer of this year, she played the heroine Viola in the play "Twelfth Night" in New York City. She earned a Drama Desk Award nomination for Best Actress in a Play for her portrayal.
In 2010, she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-over Performance for her voice acting in the episode "Once Upon a Time in Springfield" in the animated sitcom "The Simpsons." That same year, she starred with a large cast in the romantic comedy "Valentine's Day" directed by Garry Marshall. The film was a worldwide commercial success. Hathaway portrayed the role of the White Queen alongside Helena Bonham Carter and Johnny Depp in the adventure fantasy film "Alice in Wonderland," adapted from the fantasy novels directed by Tim Burton. The film received mixed reviews from critically acclaimed critics and grossed over $1 billion commercially, making it the second highest-grossing film of 2010.
Hathaway teamed up with Jake Gyllenhaal in "Love & Other Drugs," an erotic romantic comedy-drama film directed by Edward Zwick and based on the nonfiction book "Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman" by Jamie Reidy. For her role, she spent time with a Parkinson's patient. Critics gave generally mixed reviews of the film. Hathaway's performance earned her a Satellite Award and a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actress - Comedy or Musical.
In December 2010, she hosted the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo, Norway with actor Denzel Washington, and later, the 83rd Academy Awards with James Franco. She earned an Outstanding Variety Special (Live) Award nomination at the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards.
The following year, she voiced the female macaw Jewel in the animated musical comedy "Rio", produced by 20th Century Fox and Blue Sky Studios. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise for its visuals, voice acting, and music. It was also a commercial success. Later, Hathaway co-starred with Jim Sturgess in the romantic drama film "One Day", based on the novel of the same name and directed by Lone Scherfig. Hathaway's accent in the movie was considered very bad. The film was also a moderate box office success, receiving polarizing reviews from critics.
In 2012, an audiobook recording of Hathaway's novel "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz"(1900) by L. Frank Baum was released. She was nominated for an Audie Award for Best Solo Narrative – Female with her performance. Later that year, she played Selina Kyle/Catwoman in the superhero film "The Dark Knight Rises", the final film in the series directed by Christopher Nolan. She trained extensively in martial arts for the role and doubled down on her gym workouts. The film was critically successful, grossing more than $1 billion worldwide, making it the third highest-grossing film of 2012. Additionally, she won the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance.
Later that year, she played the role of Fantine, a prostitute dying of tuberculosis, in the Tom Hooper directed musical "Les Misérables," a film adaptation of the musical of the same name. In preparation for the role, she cut her hair while consuming less than 500 calories a day to lose 11 pounds. She won the Academy Award, Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild and BAFTA Awards for Best Supporting Actress for her performance.
In January 2013, her rendition of the song "I Dreamed a Dream" peaked at number 69 on the Billboard Hot 100. Then, after briefly appearing in the romantic comedy-drama film "Don Jon" (2013), she starred and co-produced the romantic drama "Song One" with Ben Rosenfield, Johnny Flynn and Mary Steenburgen. She sang the single "Afraid of Heights" for the soundtrack of the film, and the film was released in theaters the following year to mixed reviews from critics. Commercially, it did not meet the production revenue.
Hathaway reprized her role in the animated sequel "Rio 2" in 2014. The film was a success, grossing almost five times more than the production budget. Later that year, she played Dr. Amelia Brand, a NASA scientist, in the epic science fiction movie "Interstellar" directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Matthew McConaughey and Jessica Chastain. The high-cost film was shot mostly using IMAX cameras. Hathaway's performance was critically acclaimed for "impressive" and for playing the role with "emotional nuance". The film was a worldwide success, earning Hathaway a Saturn Award nomination for Best Actress.
Hathaway kicked off 2015 when she appeared in the first season of the musical reality show "Lip Sync Battle". In the episode, she competed against Emily Blunt. Her only film in 2015 was the lead role with Robert De Niro in the comedy-drama "The Intern" directed by Nancy Meyers. Reviews for the film were generally positive, and it grossed a healthy amount worldwide.
The following year, she reprized the role of the White Queen in its sequel "Alice Through the Looking Glass" (2016). Hathaway was one of the actors featured on Barbra Streisand's album "Encore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway" (2016). Her final film that year was co-starring with Jason Sudeikis in the sci-fi black comedy film "Colossal" (2016), directed by Nacho Vigalondo. While the film received positive reviews from critics, it did not do well at the box office.
After two years off the screen, she appeared alongside Sandra Bullock and Cate Blanchett in the heist comedy "Ocean's 8", the all-female spin-off of the "Ocean's Eleven"(2018) franchise directed by Gary Ross. The film was a box office success, grossing worldwide against the production budget. Her first two roles the following year came with Matthew McConaughey in the mystery thriller "Serenity" (2019) and with Rebel Wilson in the comedy "The Hustle" (2019).
Hathaway kicked off the new year with the political thriller "The Last Thing He Wanted" (2020), based on the book of the same name, which received negative reviews from critics. She then appeared in "The Witches", based on the novel of the same name directed by Robert Zemeckis, in which she portrayed an evil witch. The film received mixed reviews from critics. Hathaway's performance in both films earned her a Worst Actress nomination at the 41st Golden Raspberry Awards. In 2021, she co-starred with Chiwetek Ejiofor in the romantic comedy heist movie "Locked Down" directed by Doug Liman. The movie was shot in 18 days with limited resources during the COVID-19 pandemic. She then appeared as part of a large cast in an episode of the Amazon Prime Video anthology TV series "Solos."
Hathaway co-starred with Jared Leto in the Apple TV+ miniseries "WeCrashed" (2022), and served as executive producer for the series. Her portrayal received positive reviews, with special accolades. In the same year, she appeared in the semi-autobiographical period drama film "Armageddon Time" directed by James Gray. Her performance was praised by critics as it was considered among her best performances.
The psychological thriller "Eileen", adapted from the novel of the same name and co-starring with Thomasin McKenzie, made its mark at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival with its release. Hathaway played the glamorous crime psychologist in the movie. That year, she had a supporting role in the romantic comedy "She Came to Me," directed by Rebecca Miller. Hathaway will be starring in the psychological thriller "Mothers' Instinct," which will be a remake of the Belgian film of the same name, with Jessica Chastain.
Private life
In 2004, she began a relationship with Italian real estate developer Raffaello Follieri. Follieri's Manhattan-based foundation, which strives to vaccinate children in poor countries, was put under investigation in June 2008, and Follieri was arrested for defrauding investors. Hathaway was not charged with any crime and cut off communication with Follieri.
On September 29, 2012, Hathaway married actor and businessman Adam Shulman in a traditional Jewish ceremony in Big Sur, California. The couple's first son was born in March 2016. In July 2019, Hathaway announced that they were expecting their second child, while they gave birth to their second son in November 2019.
Forbes magazine reported that Hathaway was one of the world's highest-paid actresses in 2015, and has been among the top-grossing actresses of the 21st century since 2017. In 2009, she was included in Forbes magazine's annual "Famous 100" list with her income and was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In January 2008, she collaborated with the French luxury perfume and cosmetics company Lancôme as the face for the promotion of their "Magnifique" fragrance. In 2011, she signed a contract to be the new face of the Italian company "Tod's".
Hathaway was noted for her beauty and sexual appeal by many media outlets including FHM, People, Maxim, Empire, and Entertainment Weekly, and they included her in their annual list of sexiest women. In 2011, she was listed by the Los Angeles Times Magazine as one of the "50 Most Beautiful Women in Film". In May 2019, she was awarded a movie star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contribution to the film industry.
Hathaway serves as a longtime advocate for the Nike Foundation to raise awareness of child marriage. She was honored at Elle magazine's 'Women in Hollywood' memorial service in 2008 and was crowned with an award from the Human Rights Campaign for her philanthropy. Later in 2010, she collaborated with the World Bank on a two-year development program 'The Girl Effect' to help empower girls in developing and developed countries. In 2016, she was appointed as the UN Women's Goodwill Ambassador for advocating gender equality. In 2018, she partnered with 300 women in Hollywood to found Time's Up to protect women from harassment and discrimination.