Anne Hathaway first rose to fame with the role of Mia Thermopolis in The Princess Diaries, starring alongside the great Julie Andrews, but it wasn't the only time she was around acting royalty. Her first adult role, the one that made her the actress that she is today, was Andy, Meryl Streep's fashion assistant.
Since then, however, Anne has worked hard to become a star of her own right. She has portrayed incredibly moving characters, experimented in action movies, and dazzled the world with her singing talent. Here are ten projects Anne Hathaway has done since The Devil Wears Prada.
10 She Starred In 'Becoming Jane'
One of Anne Hathaway's all-time favorite authors is the one and only Jane Austen, so naturally, when the opportunity to star in the writer's biographical drama aroused, she took it without thinking twice. She took the role very seriously.
"I started reading the books as soon as I was cast and I moved to England a month before I actually started filming to work on the accent and do some historical research on the period - specifically about what it would have been like to live in the countryside at that time. I also read her letters and had to learn to play the piano, sign language, calligraphy and become an all-round accomplished person. The skills portion of my résumé greatly improved after this role!"
9 She Played A Spy In 'Get Smart'
After playing the elegant and innocent Jane Austen, Anne went on to become Agent 99 in the movie Get Smart. She had to learn a lot of new skills very quickly and she pulled it off perfectly. Well, almost. The movie had a lot more action than she was used to, so when trying to do some of her own stunts she took a few bruises. She accidentally hit a bar, which resulted in 15 stitches in her legs, and had difficulties walking for the following weeks. Nevertheless, as soon as she recovered, she was ready to try again.
8 She Challenged Herself In 'Rachel Getting Married'
Her character in the movie Rachel Getting Married was nothing like any of Anne's previous roles. She was used to playing the nice girl everybody roots for, but in this case, she plays a very dislikeable young woman.
"I wanted the part because I thought, 'What would it be like to have a manipulative streak a mile wide that you’re completely not aware of?' " she explained. "Yes, she is narcissistic, downright selfish in fact, but she is actually being the best version of herself she can in every situation, and it’s not for me to judge her for it."
7 She Took The Stage In 'Twelfth Night'
Anne Hathaway doesn't only star blockbusters and popular chick flicks, she can also handle Shakespeare and the stage of the Delacorte Theater in New York City. She played the heroine of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, Viola, in the 2009 production, and blew away not only her audience but also her crew and the critics. In fact, in The New York Times, movie critic Charles Isherwood said that she "possesses the unmistakable glow of a natural star, but she dives smoothly and with obvious pleasure into the embrace of a cohesive ensemble cast."
6 She Was A Guest Star In 'The Simpsons'
The Simpsons is, without a doubt, one of the greatest and most popular animated series in the world, and it has been for decades. Anne had the opportunity to prove herself as a voiceover actress in this great show, and did so splendidly. The episode she was a part of was Once Upon a Time in Springfield, the tenth of The Simpsons' twenty-first season. She provided the voice for Princess Penelope, Krusty the Clown's love interest in the episode, and she won a Primetime Emmy Award for her great work.
5 She Was The White Queen
Anne got a lead role in Tim Burton's production of Alice in Wonderland, alongside the invincible duo that consists of Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter. She loved her character, but her routine to prepare herself to play the White Queen was a little unusual.
She described the Queen as "a punk-rock, vegan pacifist," so to get into the character she listened to a lot of Blondie, watched Greta Garbo movies, and generally immersed herself into forms of art that fit that aesthetic. It might have been unorthodox, but no one can argue the results.
4 Her Work In The Movie 'Love & Other Drugs'
Love & Other Drugs is a very interesting and intense romantic drama that follows the life of an artist who suffers from Parkinson's disease. At the time she didn't know much about the disease, but she wanted to do the role justice, so she researched and prepared herself until she was confident she could play her part perfectly.
"The most important thing was to make Maggie honest," she said, "and when I got the script she wasn't completely there yet but she had amazing potential to be angry, funny, smart and incredibly wounded. The thought of combining all of those aspects into a character was a challenge but very exciting."
3 She Played Catwoman
In 2012, Anne was cast as Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises, Christopher Nolan's final installment in The Dark Knight trilogy. Although she enjoyed doing the movie very much, it was a very tiring and physically demanding process.
"I’d always thought I was pretty healthy and I always thought I had worked hard in the gym and it turns out that what I thought was hard, in Catwoman’s world, is actually light to moderate. I’ve had to ratchet everything up. I have the most incredible stuntwoman in the world and she’s got me and the character to another level."
2 Her Brilliant Work In 'Les Misérables'
Anne Hathaway's breathtaking performance in Les Misérables proved once and for all what an incredibly talented and multifaceted artist she is. It was not only her moving acting skills but also her voice, especially her rendition of the iconic song I Dreamed a Dream. She also sacrificed a lot for this role, some might even say too much, but of course, the staggering perfection of the results make it worth it. She put herself on a very strict diet, since her character was supposed to be dying of tuberculosis, and researched about prostitution at the time the story was set.
1 She Sang With Barbra Streisand
If it wasn't clear from her work in Les Misérables, Anne's work in Barbra Streisand's album Encore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway shows that she sings as well as she acts. She and Daisy Ridley performed the song At the Ballet from A Chorus Line with Barbra, mixing acting with music, and it turned out amazing.
"Anne Hathaway was perfect casting for the role of Maggie," Barbra said. "When Anne came into the studio, I was so happy to see her looking radiant and glowing -- no makeup, with the beauty of a woman about to give birth to a child." Anne was pregnant with her first son at the time.