The actress — who turns 40 today — has come a long way

01
The Princess Diaries
THE PRINCESS DIARIES
PHOTO12/POLARIS

The Princess Diaries (2001) was Anne Hathaway’s feature-film debut. According to director Garry Marshall on the film’s DVD commentary, his daughters saw Hathaway’s audition tape and said the actress had the best “princess hair” of any of the girls in the running for the part.

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Ella Enchanted
ELLA ENCHANTED
MIRAMAX/COURTESY EVERETT COLLECTION

Hathaway originally read the book the 2004 film is based on when she was 16. The actress, who did her own singing in the film, cited the self-aware humor of the film as a draw for her: “Ella makes fun of itself,” she said in 2004.

03
Havoc – Anne Hathaway – 2005
KOBAL/SHUTTERSTOCK

“In terms of the princess role, there is only so long that you can play those as a young lady before you start feeling really ridiculous,” Hathaway said in 2004, which may explain why she took such a hard left with her next starring role in 2005’s Havoc. She appeared nude as part of her role as a spoiled socialite who gets caught up gangland violence, a role in which Mandy Moore was originally intended for.

04
The Devil Wears Prada
THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA
20TH CENTURY FOX FILM

For her role as a fashion magazine assistant in 2006’s The Devil Wears Prada, Hathaway stuck to a strict diet that had her and costar Emily Blunt leaning on each other (literally) for moral support: “[We] would clutch at each other and cry because we were so hungry,” she said in 2008.

05
Rachel Getting Married
RACHEL GETTING MARRIED
COURTESY SONY PICTURES CLASSICS

Hathaway’s portrayal of the drug-and-alcohol-addled little sister Kym in Rachel Getting Married (2007) wound up snagging her an Academy Award and Golden Globe nomination.

06
The Simpsons
THE SIMPSONS
FOX

Hathaway resumed her princess role (sort of) for a 2010 episode of The Simpsons, playing a children’s show entertainer name Princess Penelope. She won a Primetime Emmy Award for her role.

07
The Academy Awards

THE ACADEMY AWARDS
A.M.P.A.S./ABC VIA GETTY

In 2011, Hathaway co-hosted the Academy Awards with James Franco. The pair’s mismatched chemistry largely failed to win over viewers, and many critics panned their turn as hosts.

08
The Dark Knight Rises
The Dark Knight Rises – Anne Hathaway – 2012
WARNER BROS PICTURES/KOBAL/SHUTTERSTOCK

Hathaway underwent extensive martial-arts training for her role as Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises (2012), her first action film.

09
Les Miserables – Anne Hathaway – 2012
WORKING TITLE FILMS/KOBAL/SHUTTERSTOCK

Hathaway picked up her first Oscar for her role in 2012’s Les Misérables, for which she did all her own singing. She also collected a Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild Award and a BAFTA Award.

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Hathaway got engaged to actor Adam Shulman, whom she’d been dating since November 2008, in November 2011. They married just under a year later, in September 2012, in Big Sur, California.

11
GROUNDED
BRYAN BEDDER/GETTY

Hathaway’s theatrical turn in the Off-Broadway play Grounded was directed by Julie Taymor. A 70-minute monologue, the play was written by George Brant and called “gripping” by The New York Times.

12
THE PREGNANT DIARIES
AMANDA EDWARDS/WIREIMAGE

News of Hathaway’s first pregnancy emerged in November 2015. She and Shulman kept much of the pregnancy under wraps, but in April 2016, PEOPLE confirmed the pair welcomed son Jonathan Rosebanks Shulman that March.

13
Modern Love
Anne Hathaway’s colorful ensemble
BAUER-GRIFFIN

After taking a bit of a break from the spotlight, Hathaway returned to the screen in 2018’s all-female Ocean’s Eight, following that up with the movie Serenity and a role on the acclaimed new series Modern Love.

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Anne Hathaway
THEO WARGO/GETTY

In July 2019, Hathaway confirmed she was pregnant again, hinting that she struggled with infertility in an Instagram post.

“For everyone going through infertility and conception hell, please know it was not a straight line to either of my pregnancies,” she said. “Sending you extra love 💕”

15
THE WITCHES
COURTESY WARNER BROS. PICTURES

While pregnant with son Jack — whom she welcomed at the end of 2019 — Hathaway filmed The Witches, in which (ha, ha) she reprised Anjelica Huston’s role from the 1990 original film, adapted from the Roald Dahl children’s book.

16

Pandemic Project
Anne Hathaway and Chiwetel Ejiofor in Locked Down.
Chiwetel Ejiofor and Anne Hathaway in Locked Down. SUSIE ALLNUTT / HBO MAX

Despite the stellar pairing of Hathaway and Chiwetel Ejiofor, 2021’s Locked Down, — which saw the actors playing a couple who has just decided to separate when the COVID-19 pandemic hits (forcing them to continue living together) — was simply too soon for audiences, who gave the movie a 27 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.

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Back to Work
Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway seen on the set of “WeCrashed” in Gramercy Park on September 08, 2021 in New York City.
JAMES DEVANEY/GC IMAGES

Hathaway, seen on the set of her TV series WeCrashed, in which she starred opposite Jared Leto, has a slew of projects in the pipeline, including the film Armageddon Time, out now.