What happened to Anne Hathaway after the princess roles, fashion makeovers, and Oscar win?
For many viewers, she is still Mia Thermopolis discovering she belongs to a royal family. Others remember Andy Sachs trying to survive Miranda Priestly’s office in The Devil Wears Prada.
Her career has carried on well beyond those characters. Along the way, she faced a wave of public criticism that became part of her story.
As of September 2026, Hathaway remains active in major films. She has returned to The Devil Wears Prada and worked with Christopher Nolan again. Understanding how she reached this point means looking beyond the headlines about a “comeback.”
Anne Hathaway: Then & Now
- The Roles You Remember
- Mia in The Princess Diaries, Andy in The Devil Wears Prada, and her Oscar-winning performance in Les Misérables.
- What Changed
- Hathaway said online backlash affected casting opportunities. She credited Christopher Nolan’s support with helping sustain her career.
- The Work Continued
- She kept acting in projects including The Intern, Ocean’s 8, and The Idea of You. She also starred in and executive-produced WeCrashed.
- Where She Is Now
- As of September 2026, her recent films include The Devil Wears Prada 2 and The Odyssey. She is also attached to the Days of Thunder sequel, planned for 2028.
How Anne Hathaway Became Such a Familiar Face
The Princess Diaries introduced Hathaway to a wide audience in 2001. As Mia, she played an awkward teenager learning to navigate royal expectations, with Julie Andrews as her grandmother.
The appeal went beyond the makeover. Mia struggled with fitting in, speaking up, and deciding who she wanted to become. Those worries gave the fairy tale a familiar foundation.
Five years later, The Devil Wears Prada placed Hathaway in another intimidating world. This time, the challenge involved a demanding boss and a fashion magazine.
She also took on more troubled characters. In 2008’s Rachel Getting Married, she played Kym, whose return for a family wedding brings old conflicts to the surface.
Then came Fantine in Les Misérables. Hathaway won the supporting actress Oscar in February 2013. By then, her work stretched from family comedy to an emotionally demanding musical.
Why Did the Backlash Become Part of Her Story?
During the 2013 awards season, criticism of Hathaway’s public manner gathered force. The label “Hathahate” turned that hostility into a catchphrase.
In an October 2014 interview with Harper’s Bazaar, she recalled feeling “punched in the gut” after encountering an article questioning why people disliked her.
The coverage focused on how she came across during speeches and appearances. Her account showed how painful that judgment felt.
Winning an Oscar had placed her work at the center of the industry’s attention. At the same time, her public personality had become a target.
Why Christopher Nolan’s Support Mattered
Hathaway told Vanity Fair in 2024 that concern about her online reputation had cost her roles.
She credited Christopher Nolan with helping her maintain career momentum by casting her in Interstellar, released in 2014. They had already worked together on The Dark Knight Rises.
Her account explains why that role mattered beyond its screen time: a major filmmaker continued to trust her while others hesitated.
What Did She Do After That Period?
The films that followed show a career continuing across different kinds of stories.
In The Intern in 2015, Hathaway starred opposite Robert De Niro. She played a business founder whose much older intern becomes an unexpected source of support.
The premise gave her a different place in the workplace comedy. The actress remembered for playing Miranda Priestly’s overwhelmed assistant now played the person running the company.
She also joined the ensemble of Ocean’s 8 in 2018. That role kept her in a major studio production alongside Sandra Bullock and Cate Blanchett.
By 2022, her work included streaming television. Hathaway starred in WeCrashed, Apple’s series about WeWork, and served as an executive producer.
These projects matter when looking back at her career. Someone who mainly followed her early films could have missed parts of this period. Yet she continued appearing in comedies, an ensemble heist movie, and television drama.
In 2024, The Idea of You gave her another romantic lead. She played Solène, a 40-year-old single mother who becomes involved with a younger boy-band singer, played by Nicholas Galitzine.
Adapted from Robinne Lee’s novel, the film put an adult woman’s romantic life at the center. It also gave viewers who remembered Hathaway’s early romances a very different character to follow.
Where Is Anne Hathaway Now?
Hathaway’s recent work brings together familiar characters and ongoing creative relationships.
The Devil Wears Prada 2 arrived in May 2026, with Hathaway returning as Andy Sachs alongside Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, and Stanley Tucci.
That return came 20 years after the original film. For viewers who grew up with Andy’s first job at Runway, it offered a chance to revisit a character they already knew.
Hathaway also reunited with Nolan for The Odyssey, released in 2026. Their professional relationship now spans several films, reaching back to her Batman-era work.
There is more ahead. On September 2, 2026, The Associated Press reported that she would star with Tom Cruise in the Days of Thunder sequel, planned for 2028. That remains a future project.
Her latest roles give a concrete answer to anyone wondering where her career went. She is still making films, including a return to one of her best-known parts.
Andy Sachs once helped define Hathaway for a generation of viewers. Two decades later, Hathaway has returned to Andy with years of other work behind her.
Anne Hathaway: Common Questions
No. Her credits include The Intern, Ocean’s 8, WeCrashed, and The Idea of You, followed by major films in 2026.
She won supporting actress at the 2013 Academy Awards for playing Fantine in Les Misérables.
Yes. She returned as Andy Sachs in the sequel, which was released in May 2026.