The Devil Wears Prada 2 hits theaters soon, but how much do you know about one of its stars, Anne Hathaway? Here are some facts you might not know.
One of 2026’s most anticipated sequels is The Devil Wears Prada 2. It has been 20 years since the original film, set in the high-stakes and bitchy world of fashion journalism, but now we get to revisit Runway magazine and see what has happened in the intervening 20 years.
Miranda Priestley (Meryl Streep) is still editor-in-chief at Runway, but is nearing retirement. But before that she has to navigate a changing media landscape and Runway’s position within that.
Andy (Anne Hathaway), now a successful writer, returns to Runway as features editor, and also reconnects with Emily (Emily Blunt), now an executive at a rival brand, who has funding that could give Runway the boost it needs.
The original movie helped to catapult Anne Hathaway into the A-list in Hollywood, and since then she has appeared in a range of big movies that have grossed billions in total. But how much do you know about her? Here are some facts you might not know.
Anne is named after Shakespeare’s wife
Any Google search for ‘Anne Hathaway’ will instantly come back with results for the actress, but also William Shakespeare’s wife, who shared the same name.
It turns out that the actress was named after the playwright’s spouse. Apparently, she was almost named Catherine, but her parents plumped for Anne instead after the famous wife.
Her mother inspired her love of acting
As with many in showbiz, the acting bug bit early for Anne. In her case, it was watching her mother play Fantine in the first national tour of Les Miserables when she was eight. From then, she was fascinated by the stage. Although her mother quit acting after that success, focusing instead on raising Anne and her brothers. Indeed, initially her parents weren’t keen on Anne pursuing acting as a career.
Anne made her TV debut alongside Jesse Eisenberg
One of Anne’s early acting breaks came in 1999 when she was cast in Fox teen comedy-drama Get Real. Anne played Meghan Green, the eldest of the children, who is nominated for class valedictorian and accepted into UC Berkeley, until she decided she didn’t want to go to college.
The series was short-lived – only 20 of the 22 episodes aired – but is notable not only for Anne’s screen debut, but also that of Jesse Eisenberg, who played her younger brother Kenny.
Anne’s hair got her her breakthrough role
Anne’s breakthrough role was as Mia Thermopolis in 2001 Disney comedy The Princess Diaries, about a teenager who discovers she is the heir to the Kingdom of Genovia.
The movie’s director, Garry Marshall, had been considering Liv Tyler for the role, but his granddaughters recommended Anne, saying that she had the best ‘princess hair’. Garry went with his granddaughters, and the rest is history.
She prefers to be called Annie
While Anne is known professionally by her given name, away from the camera, everyone calls her Annie. Apparently, only her mother calls her Anne, and that is only when she is in big trouble. As a result, she has said she finds it jarring when fans call her ‘Anne’.
Anne’s Devil Wears Prada rival became a firm friend
In the original 2006 film, Anne’s character Andy was a rival to Emily, played by Emily Blunt. But while the characters fought in the movie, off-screen Anne and Emily bonded and have been firm friends ever since. Indeed, Emily has referred to Anne as ‘her rock’.
