News The 15 best Anne Hathaway movies, from The Princess Diaries to Eileen Entertainment Weekly looks back on the acclaimed actress' best roles to date. By Chris Bellamy and Stephanie Kaloi Published on May 2, 2024 10:00AM EDT Photo: Buena Vista/courtesy Everett Collection; Sony Pictures Classics/courtesy Everett Collection; Jeong Park/Neon/Courtesy Everett Collection For some, Anne Hathaway will always be the Princess of Genovia, earnestly searching for meaning and truth as her life is turned upside down. For others, she’s forever remembered as the embattled Fantine, who fights for her daughter to have a better life until the lonely, bitter end. But of course, Hathaway has shined in dozens of other roles over the years. From her drunken manifestation as a kaiju in Colossal to her raw performance as a family pariah in Rachel Getting Married, she reliably delivers affecting turns no matter the material. Now that her buzzy new rom-com The Idea of You is officially streaming on Amazon Prime, Entertainment Weekly looks back on the 15 best Anne Hathaway movies. 01 of 15 The Princess Diaries (2001) Mary Evans/WALT DISNEY PICTURES/Ronald Grant/Everett Collection It’s impossible to talk about Anne Hathaway for any length of time without mentioning the movie that launched her into the cinematic stratosphere. What better way for a new actress to announce herself than as a charmingly awkward ingénue mentored by Julie Andrews? Perhaps Hathaway was such a perfect fit as the fledgling monarch because she was practically living out her own Hollywood coronation on-screen. No Princess Diaries fan was surprised by the illustrious career Hathaway went on to have; her star power was immediately apparent, and going toe-to-toe with Andrews is no small feat. Where to watch The Princess Diaries: Disney+ 02 of 15 Nicholas Nickleby (2002) United Artists/courtesy Everett Collection Madeline Bray isn’t one of the most prominent characters in Charles Dickens’ oeuvre, nor even within his novel Nicholas Nickleby or the 2002 Charlie Hunnam-led film. But, infrequent as her appearances may be, she’s still a pivotal player. The adaptation needed an actress who could make an instant impression, not just on the eponymous Nicholas (no spoilers, though you can guess...) but on the audience, too. Enter Hathaway, still an up-and-comer at the time who passes an early career test: Making a small role feel like a major one. Where to watch Nicholas Nickleby: Tubi 03 of 15 Ella Enchanted (2004) Miramax/courtesy Everett Collection A farcical modern riff on a beloved novel that was itself a riff on Cinderella, Ella Enchanted divided audiences by wildly diverging from Gail Carson Levine’s source material. What audiences could agree on was Hathaway, squarely in her princess era, being perfectly cast. Ella is a young woman cursed to obey all instructions whose quest for self-determination makes her a civil rights advocate for the elves and ogres in the kingdom’s surrounding forest. Hathaway’s full skill set is on display — drama, physical comedy, singing, dancing, the works — prompting EW’s critic to praise the film as the book’s “equally charming” counterpart. Where to watch Ella Enchanted: Pluto TV 04 of 15 Brokeback Mountain (2005) Focus Films/Everett Collection Though it concerns a doomed relationship between two men, Brokeback Mountain’s under-sung female performances help keep the film emotionally anchored. As Lureen — rodeo star, businesswoman, and unsuspecting wife of Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) — Hathaway has a tricky balance to strike: warm and mischievous early on, cold and ruthless later as Jack grows more distant. The actress was at a tipping point in her career, shifting from easily relatable protagonists to more complicated characters who didn’t require our affection or our pity. This is a formidable, self-possessed woman, and Hathaway nails Lureen’s every note over the film’s two-decade period. Where to watch Brokeback Mountain: Amazon Prime Video (to rent) 05 of 15 The Devil Wears Prada (2006) 20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection Pitting any young actress against Meryl Streep is a tall order that requires no explanation. That goes double for The Devil Wears Prada’s tyrannical Miranda Priestly, in which Streep turns an icy glare into a weapon tantamount to Leatherface’s chainsaw. So when bright-eyed, idealistic Andy Sachs becomes Miranda’s new assistant, she’s a sitting duck. Yet Hathaway holds her own against her legendary on-screen foe. She embodies a warm, unvarnished sincerity, and the ideal counterpoint to Miranda’s calculated, intimidating polish. A lesser talent would have been an afterthought next to Streep, but Hathaway makes the movie feel human. Where to watch The Devil Wears Prada: Max 06 of 15 Rachel Getting Married (2008) Sony Pictures Classics/Courtesy Everett Collection The second act of Hathaway’s career turned the first on its head, shedding her princess image and prioritizing grown-up roles aimed at mature audiences. That transition hit its peak with Jonathan Demme’s Rachel Getting Married. Hathaway stars as Kym, the titular bride’s (Rosemarie DeWitt) troubled younger sister. And by “troubled” we don’t even mean “had to get a weekend pass out of rehab just to attend the wedding;” we mean there's an “elephant in the room” tragedy (no spoilers) that has made her the family pariah. Hathaway is revelatory, allowing the character — and her first Oscar-nominated performance — to be messy, sour, prickly, and impossible to look away from. Where to watch Rachel Getting Married: Amazon Prime Video (to rent) 07 of 15 Get Smart (2008) Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection With Get Smart, Hathaway made yet another departure from the kinds of roles audiences had come to expect. Starring opposite Steve Carell in a big-screen reboot of the 1960s TV series, Hathaway plays Agent 99, a highly competent superspy paired with… well, the admittedly less competent but extraordinarily lucky Maxwell Smart (Carell). Hathaway makes the movie’s brand of comedy work because she never oversells the joke. She’s unflappable, letting the circumstances, the slapstick, and Maxwell’s bumbling spycraft work their magic on her. Why Hathaway didn’t get her own action-comedy franchise after this is anyone’s guess. Where to watch Get Smart: Max 08 of 15 One Day (2011) Giles Keyte/Focus Features/Courtesy Everett Collection Hathaway donned a British accent in the 2011 adaptation of David Nicholls’ novel over a decade before Netflix turned it into a hit miniseries. The premise is the same: Emma Morley (Hathaway) is one-half of a fated, poorly-timed friendship with Dexter Mayhew (Jim Sturgess), the man she’s probably supposed to end up with. They meet on July 15, 1988, and the film sees them reunite on that same date for the next 20 years as their connection ebbs and flows over time. Hathaway effortlessly carries the film's pathos, building a home in a very human (and painfully relatable) character. Where to watch One Day: Amazon Prime Video (to rent) 09 of 15 Les Misérables (2012) Laurie Sparham/Universal Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection Despite having only 15 minutes of screen time, Hathaway won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress as the embattled Fantine in Tom Hooper’s Les Misérables. To properly portray the tragic character — an unwed mother forced out of “polite” society and into sex work — Hathaway committed herself completely to the role. She opted to skip meals and, as she later told Chelsea Handler of E!, even sent her husband away. “I needed to go further into that negative place to play my character,” she said. "...I love him so much that I was like, ‘You’re making me happy. You’re keeping me up and I’m clawing to the sides of my life and I need to fall into a pit and you need to go, honey.’” Where to watch Les Misérables: Amazon Prime Video (to rent) 10 of 15 The Dark Knight Rises (2012) Ron Phillips/Warner Bros./courtesy Everett Collection Christopher Nolan’s Catwoman was never going to evoke the (intentional) camp of Michelle Pfeiffer or the (unintentional) camp of Halle Berry. His Catwoman, in the final installment of his trilogy, needed to exude intelligence, toughness, and street smarts. It’s no wonder he picked Hathaway, and no surprise that, even behind a mask, her Selina Kyle remains such a memorable blue-collar antihero. This was arguably her most physically demanding role to date, telling Variety in 2020 that she did rigorous training to perform her own stunts. That hard work clearly paid off, and Hathaway is dynamic as the feline frenemy of Batman. Where to watch The Dark Knight Rises: Max 11 of 15 Interstellar (2014) Melinda Sue Gordon/Paramount Pictures/courtesy Everett Collection Hathaway reunited with Nolan for the heady space drama Interstellar, and once again, the director wastes none of her talents. Hathaway exudes “smartest person in the room” energy, and here she’s in a room — well, a ship — full of geniuses. Her Dr. Amelia Brand is a chief scientist on a mission with mankind’s survival in mind. If the lead pilot, Matthew McConaughey’s Coop, is the emotional heart of the story, Amelia is the brains. Those contrasting personas work wonders here, as the two actors operate in concert with each other. And to hear Hathaway tell it, Nolan hiring her may have salvaged her career. Where to watch Interstellar: Paramount+ 12 of 15 Colossal (2017) Cate Cameron/Neon /Courtesy Everett Collection You could easily mistake Colossal for a redemptive drama about addiction, except it turns into something else. You could, then, assume it’s a romantic comedy because… well, it sort of is one… until suddenly it isn’t. Gloria (Hathaway) has returned to her hometown to quit drinking, only to discover that when she falls off the wagon, her inebriation manifests a kaiju on the opposite side of the planet. As grand metaphors for self-destructive behavior go, this is a pretty clever one. Hathaway plays a mean drunk opposite Jason Sudeikis' resident Nice Guy who turns out to be anything but. Sometimes it takes one monster to take down another. Where to watch Colossal: Tubi 13 of 15 Ocean’s 8 (2018) Barry Wetcher/Warner Bros. Pictures/courtesy Everett Collection Everyone loves a good heist movie — probably because everyone secretly wants to be part of one. The next-best thing is living vicariously through a crew of movie stars in cool outfits. This genre, however, has always been something of a boys’ club, which is why Ocean’s 8 is such a refreshing change of pace. Pivoting from Steven Soderbergh’s Ocean’s Eleven series, this spinoff stars the likes of Cate Blanchett, Sandra Bullock, and Rihanna, to name a few. Hathaway joins the fold as a vain and self-important actress who unwittingly becomes part of the crime ring’s attack on an upscale ball, simultaneously showing her detractors that she’s no fool. Where to watch Ocean’s 8: Hulu 14 of 15 Armageddon Time (2022) Anne Joyce/Focus Features/Courtesy Everett Collection How’s this for pressure? Hathaway was dealt the unenviable task of embodying director James Gray’s mother in Armageddon Time, an autobiographical drama based on his childhood. Her warts-and-all portrayal is a striking exercise in empathy and generosity. “She's a woman who's exhausted, overworked, underpaid — a dreamer who's watching her life come up short again and again, but a fierce and loyal matriarch,” Hathaway told EW in 2022. Gray’s closeness to the material wasn’t lost on her, and she mined him for intimate details that helped her performance feel authentic. “Being aware that the relationship a child has to a parent, in particular a male child has to his mother… a lot of my questions to James were about the atmosphere of his home… What was playing on the television? What sort of music did your mother dance to?” Where to watch Armageddon Time: Peacock 15 of 15 Eileen (2023) Neon / Courtesy Everett Collection Everything about Hathaway’s Rebecca Saint John commands your attention in Eileen. She’s one of the few women working in a prison staffed by men and populated by wayward boys. She dresses glamorously (red dress, red car), and walks into a room like she owns the place. This character seems sinister but is equally tantalizing, especially to Eileen (Thomasin McKenzie), a shy, low-level colleague who becomes Rebecca’s… confidant? Partner? Protégé? Patsy? If nothing else, Hathaway is having more fun with this irreverent, seductive, borderline unhinged character than any role in recent memory. It’s a delight to watch her work as Rebecca proves just how dangerous she can be. Where to watch Eileen: Amazon Prime Video (to rent) Related content: The Idea of You review: Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine smolder in age-gap romance Anne Hathaway reveals she had a miscarriage during run of one-woman show about motherhood Anne Hathaway says her 'toxic identity' online cost her roles after Oscar win, until Christopher Nolan stepped in