ANNE HATHAWAY

      The middle child of three, and only daughter, was born November 12, 1978 to lawyer Gerard Hathaway and his wife, singer/actress Kate McCauley in Brooklyn, NY. Anne was the first and only teenager admitted to the acting program of the famed Barrow Group and cast in the short-lived Fox series Get Real.
      Anne went on to portray a princess in her screen debut in the 2001 release The Princess Diaries. Director Garry Marshall cast her when he saw her fall out of her chair at the audition, and told Variety scribe, Army Archerd, that Hathaway was a combination of Julia Roberts, Audrey Hepburn and Judy Garland.
      One item not known to many, was that Anne had read for the role of The Princess Diaries while en route to New Zealand for her first film role, in another Disney release, as the wife of a Mormon missionary in Christopher Gorham's, The Other Side of Heaven. Gorham's film was released after the Marshall film. The Princess Diaries was a box office hit.
      The next year found Anne balancing school and career. She attended Vassar and later transferred to NYU; and portrayed the love interest of the title character in cinematic adaptation of Charles Dickens' Nicholas Nickleby, and appeared on Broadway in a brief run of Carnival!.
      In 2004, Anne portrayed the title role of Ella in Ella Enchanted, then later returned to the part which made her a star: Mia Thermopolis in The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement. While the sequel did well, many critics felt it was a bit lacking, but they and audiences found the presence of Hathaway to be its strength.
      Aware that to many she was the wholesome sweetheart of a Disney hit, and feeling that The Princess Diaries limited the public's perception of her as an actress, Anne sought roles that would prompt people to see her in a non-Disney light. First, as a rebelious teen in Havoc, however, her work wasn't seen by many as it went straight to DVD. Secondly, her role as a rodeo rider in Ang Lee's follow-up to The Hulk, which would present an image quite unlike the young royal she portrayed for Garry Marshall.
      The 2005 release of Brokeback Mountain was the film, which garnered an ample amount of industry buzz. As Lureen, she was a sweet but untamed spitfire who takes an interest in Jake Gyllenhaal, unaware he has a secret life. While it was a supporting role, the film drew praise, became a box office hit, and earned nominations in eight categories, winning in three.
      Anne also returned to the family friendly world of fairy tales, albeit one which was nothing like a Disney animated tale. The film was the wonderfully witty CGI animated tale Hoodwinked, where she voiced the character of Red.
      Her next project was as an assistant to Meryl Streep's malevolent editor in The Devil Wears Prada, which was another box office hit. This was followed by her portrayal of famed author Jane Austen, though it took the urging of director Ang Lee to change her mind as she was initially reluctant to play the title role in Becoming Jane.
      Anne's image has transformed from Disney star to glamourous star, gracing the covers of Harper's Bazaar and Marie Clarie. Her latest role to hit the screens, is as Agent 99 in Get Smart, the cinematic adaptation of the 1960s comedy series.
Photo © Unknown - Bio by Robert Baum ©2008