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Anne Jacqueline Hathaway (born
November 12, 1982) is an American actress who made her debut in the 1999
television series Get Real. After it was cancelled, she was cast as Mia
Thermopolis in the Disney family comedy The Princess Diaries (2001), from
which her career gained momentum. Over the next three years, Hathaway
continued to star in family films, reprising the role for its sequel, and
appearing as the titular character in Ella Enchanted (both 2004).
Interested in other projects, Hathaway began a career transition with
supporting roles in Havoc and Brokeback Mountain (both 2005). She
subsequently co-starred with Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
and appeared in Becoming Jane (2007) as author Jane Austen. In 2008, she
earned widespread critical acclaim for her lead role in the film Rachel
Getting Married, for which she won numerous industry awards, and was
nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. In 2010, she starred in
the box office hit Valentine's Day.
Hathaway's acting style has been compared to Judy Garland and Audrey
Hepburn. She cites Hepburn as one of her favorite actresses and Streep as
an icon. People magazine named her one of its breakthrough stars of 2001
and she first appeared on its list of the world's 50 Most Beautiful People
in 2006.
Hathaway was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Gerald Hathaway, a lawyer, and
Kate McCauley, an actress who inspired Hathaway to follow in her
footsteps. The family moved to Millburn, New Jersey, when she was six
years old. 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.
Hathaway was raised a Catholic with what she considered "really strong
values," and has stated she wanted to be a nun during her childhood.
However, at the age of fifteen, she decided not to become a nun after
learning that her brother, Michael, is gay. Despite her Catholic
upbringing, she felt that she could not be part of a religion that
disapproved of her brother's sexual orientation. In 2009, she stated that
she is a non-denominational Christian because she had not "found the
religion" for her. In early 2010, she stated her religious beliefs as
"nothing".
As a child, Hathaway was involved in a Montessori program at Brooklyn
Heights Montessori School as a preschooler and was then able to enter
first grade at the Wyoming Elementary School in Millburn, NJ while she was
technically still a kindergartner. Hathaway graduated from Millburn High
School where she participated in many school plays; her high school
performance as Winifred in Once Upon a Mattress garnered her a Paper Mill
Playhouse Rising Star Award nomination for Best Performance by a High
School Actress. During this time, Hathaway was also involved in plays such
as Jane Eyre and Gigi at New Jersey's Paper Mill Playhouse (which is
located in Millburn, across the street from Hathaway's middle school). She
spent several semesters studying as an English major and Women's Studies
minor at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, before transferring to
New York University's Gallatin School of Individualized Study, referring
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 was the
first teenager ever admitted into the program. She is a trained stage
actress and has stated that she prefers performing on stage to film roles.
A soprano, Hathaway performed in 1998 and 1999 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, NJ. Three days after her 1999 performance
at Carnegie Hall, she was cast in the short-lived Fox television series
Get Real, at the age of sixteen.
Hathaway's first role in a motion picture was as Jean Sabin in The Other
Side of Heaven, opposite Christopher Gorham. Before production of Heaven
began in New Zealand, she auditioned for the lead role of Mia Thermopolis
in The Princess Diaries, directed by Garry Marshall. Hathaway auditioned
for the role during a flight layover on the way to New Zealand and won the
role after only one audition. Marshall claimed that he loved her
immediately because she fell off her chair during the audition and
believed her clumsiness would make her perfect for the role. (However, in
a 2008 conversation with Steve Carell, Hathaway denied that she fell
during this audition, although she openly admits to being a "klutz".) The
Princess Diaries was released before The Other Side of Heaven in the hopes
that its success would increase interest in Heaven. Across the world, The
Princess Diaries was a commercial success, and a sequel was planned
shortly after. Many critics praised Hathaway's performance in Diaries; a
BBC critic noted that "Hathaway shines in the title role and generates
great chemistry." The Other Side of Heaven was received weakly by critics,
but it performed well for a religion-themed film.
In February 2002, Hathaway starred opposite Brian Stokes Mitchell in the
City Center Encores! concert production of Carnival! in New York City,
receiving positive reviews for her portrayal of Lili. Also in 2002,
Hathaway began voicing the audio book releases of The Princess Diaries and
has since voiced the first three books of the series. She also provided
the voice of the character Haru in the English version of Hiroyuki
Morita's The Cat Returns.
Hathaway continued to appear in family-oriented films over the next three
years, subsequently becoming known in mainstream media as a children's
role model. In 2002, she appeared in Nicholas Nickleby, 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 in ticket sales.
Hathaway's next film role was as the titular character in Ella Enchanted
(2004), the film adaptation of the novel, which opened to mostly
indifferent reviews. Hathaway sang two songs in the film as well as three
on the soundtrack.
In 2004, Hathaway was set to star opposite Gerard Butler in The Phantom of
the Opera, but was forced to turn down the role because the production
schedule of the film overlapped with that of The Princess Diaries 2: Royal
Engagement, which she was contractually obligated to make. Disney began
production on The Princess Diaries 2 in early 2004, and it was released in
August of that year. The film opened to negative reviews, but still
managed to peak higher at the box office than its predecessor,
commissioning $95.1-million against a $40-million budget.
Hathaway began appearing in more dramatic roles after The Princess Diaries
2. 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 Little Red Riding Hood in Hoodwinked!
(2005), which received generally positive reviews. That same year,
Hathaway starred in the R-rated Havoc, in which she played a spoiled
socialite. In a surprise move, Hathaway was featured in several nude and
sexual scenes throughout the film. Although the content of the movie was
radically different from her previous films, Hathaway denied that her role
in the film was a blatant attempt to be seen as a more mature actress,
citing her belief that doing nudity in certain movies is merely a part of
what her chosen form of art demands of her; and because of that belief she
does not consider appearing nude in appropriate films to be morally
objectionable.
After Havoc, Hathaway appeared opposite Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal
in the drama Brokeback Mountain, in a role that further displayed her
development as a dramatic actor. Havoc was not released in theaters 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. Hathaway would later assert that the content of
Brokeback Mountain was more important than its award count and that making
the film made her more aware of the kind of stories she wanted to tell as
an actress.
Hathaway's next film was the 2006 comedy The Devil Wears Prada, in which
she starred as an assistant to a powerful fashion magazine editor
portrayed by Meryl Streep, whom Hathaway described as being "just divine."
Hathaway said that working on the film made her respect the fashion
industry a great deal more than she had previously, though she also
claimed that her personal style is something she "still can't get right."
In an interview with Us Weekly, Hathaway discussed the weight loss regime
she and co-star Emily Blunt followed for the film, she stated, "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 and was replaced by Katherine Heigl. 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." In an August 2008 interview with Marie Claire magazine, Hathaway
commented that she "didn't believe that it was necessary to the story."
Hathaway was next seen in the 2007 drama Becoming Jane, in which she
portrayed English writer Jane Austen. Tim Burton considered Hathaway for
the part of Johanna in his 2007 film Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of
Fleet Street, but the role went to Jayne Wisener, a then-unknown actress,
reportedly because Burton decided he wanted an unknown, younger actress
for the part.
In January 2008, Hathaway joined beauty giant Lancôme as the face of their
fragrance Magnifique. In October of that year, Hathaway hosted Saturday
Night Live. Hathaway's first film of 2008 was a modern adaptation of the
1960s Mel Brooks television series Get Smart, in which she starred
opposite Steve Carell, Dwayne Johnson, and Alan Arkin. The film was a hit
at the box office and received mostly positive reviews, prompting talk of
a sequel. She also made a cameo appearance in the corresponding film Get
Smart's Bruce and Lloyd: Out of Control. In October 2008, she premiered
the drama Passengers, alongside Patrick Wilson, as well as the drama
Rachel Getting Married, opposite Debra Winger. Rachel Getting Married
premiered at the 2008 Venice and Toronto Film Festivals and garnered her
widespread critical acclaim for her performance as Kym, including
nominations for both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe. Hathaway stated
that the film appealed to her because of its real depiction of
relationships and because of the strong emotional connection she felt with
her character.
Hathaway appeared in the comedy Bride Wars, released on January 9, 2009,
in which she starred opposite Kate Hudson. Hathaway described the film as
being "hideously commercial – gloriously so." She appeared with Hudson on
the February/March 2009 cover of Modern Bride despite her admission that
she is "not the type of girl who dreams about her wedding." In addition to
providing her voice for episodes of The Simpsons and Family Guy in 2010,
Hathaway also appeared as Viola in the New York Shakespeare Festival's
summer 2009 production of Twelfth Night at the Delacorte Theater in New
York's Central Park, opposite Audra McDonald as Olivia, Raul Esparza as
Duke Orsino, and Julie White as Maria.
Hathaway's 2010 film projects include a Tim Burton-directed adaptation of
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass alongside
Helena Bonham Carter and Johnny Depp, the romantic comedy The Fiancé, an
adaptation of the Julie Buxbaum novel The Opposite of Love, the Garry
Marshall-directed ensemble comedy Valentine's Day alongside Julia Roberts,
Jessica Biel, Jessica Alba and Ashton Kutcher, and an adaptation of Gerald
Clarke's biography Get Happy: The Life of Judy Garland, in which she will
play the title role on the stage and screen. It was reported on December
8, 2009 that Hathaway was up for the role of Felicia Hardy in the upcoming
superhero film, Spider-Man 4. Hardy would not have transformed into the
Black Cat, as in the comics; instead, Raimi’s Felicia was expected to
become a brand-new superpowered figure called the Vulturess. On January 5,
2010, it was reported that Spider-Man 4 would be re-written and Hathaway
would not appear in the film, as she was "too expensive".
Hathaway is involved with various charities, including The Creative
Coalition, The Step Up Women's Network, St. Jude Children's Research
Hospital, The Human Rights Campaign, and The Lollipop Theatre Network, an
organization that screens films to critically ill children. In 2008, she
was honored at Elle magazine's "Women in Hollywood" tribute, and has also
been honored for her work with The Step Up Women's Network and The Human
Rights Campaign.
In early 2007, Hathaway spoke of her experiences with depression during
her teenage years, saying that she eventually overcame the disorder
without medication.
In a fall 2008 appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman, Hathaway
noted that she had once again stopped smoking. The actress, who had begun
smoking "heavily" while filming Rachel Getting Married, had "quit for a
while", but had started again in the wake of her stressful summer and the
end of her relationship with Raffaello Follieri. She credited quitting
smoking for the subsequent decline in her stress level, and also declared
her return to being a vegetarian.
As of November 2008, Hathaway is reportedly in a relationship with actor
Adam Shulman.
In regard to personal strife and subsequent media attention, Hathaway uses
a mantra which quotes Oscar Wilde: "The less said about life's sores the
better."
In 2004, Hathaway began a relationship with Italian real estate developer
Raffaello Follieri. During their relationship, Hathaway took part in the
development of the charitable Follieri Foundation, serving as a financial
donor as well as a member of the foundation's board of directors until
2007. A Manhattan-based charity founded in 2003 focusing on programs such
as providing vaccinations for children in Third World nations, the
organization had come under investigation in early June 2008 by the IRS,
reportedly for failing to file tax papers required from non-profit
organizations. Citing the fear that this and other ongoing legal issues
involving Follieri would become detrimental to her acting career, Hathaway
ended her relationship with Follieri in mid-June 2008.
Follieri was arrested in June 2008 on fraud charges for allegedly fleecing
investors out of millions of dollars in a scheme involving purchasing
Catholic Church properties in the U.S. for redevelopment. Court papers
state that Hathaway was an unwitting beneficiary of the stolen money,
which had in large part paid for Follieri's opulent lifestyle of
jet-setting, shopping sprees, and fine dining. It was reported that the
FBI had confiscated Hathaway's private journals from Follieri's New York
City apartment as part of their ongoing investigation into Follieri's
activities; however, Hathaway was never implicated in any wrongdoing from
the events.
In the October 2008 issue of W Magazine, Hathaway spoke for the first time
of the break-up and Follieri's subsequent arrest. She related that she
"spent a week in shock" after Follieri's arrest, and credited the kindness
of friends for her ability to keep working during such difficult times.
That same month, during her turn as host of Saturday Night Live, Hathaway
joked about the experience in her opening monologue. |
