Hathaway was born on November 12, 1982, in Brooklyn, New York to Gerard Hathaway, a lawyer, and Kate McCauley, an actress who inspired Hathaway to follow in her footsteps. She was named after the wife of playwright William Shakespeare. She has an older brother, Michael, and a younger brother, Thomas, who is a student at Sarah Lawrence College. Hathaway was raised a Catholic with what she considers "really strong values", and wanted to be a nun during her childhood. However, at fifteen, she decided not to become a nun after learning that Michael was gay. Although she was raised as a Catholic, she felt that she could not be part of a religion that disapproved of her brother's sexual orientation.
Hathaway was raised in New Jersey and graduated from Millburn High School. She spent several semesters studying at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York before transferring to New York University's Gallatin School of Individualized Study. She referred to her college enrollment as one of her best decisions because she enjoys being with others trying to successfully "grow up". Hathaway was a member of the Barrow Group Theater Company's acting program and the first teenager admitted. She is a trained stage actress and has stated that she prefers appearing on stage to film roles.
Hathaway is a soprano and in 1998 performed twice with the All Eastern U.S. High School Honors Chorus at Carnegie Hall. Three days later, she was cast in the short-lived 1999 television series Get Real.
EARLY CAREER WORK
Hathaway starred in Get Real for one season, after which it was cancelled. Her first major film role was in The Other Side of Heaven (2001) opposite Christopher Gorham, but before production began in New Zealand, she auditioned for the lead role of Mia Thermopolis in the Garry Marshall-directed The Princess Diaries (2001). Marshall cast her immediately because she fell off her chair during the audition and his granddaughters thought that she had nice hair. Hathaway enjoyed filming The Princess Diaries and called it "really fun". It was released before Heaven, which critics said was effective because of her casting; a reviewer for BBC wrote that "Hathaway shines in the title role, and generates great chemistry." Across the world, the film was a commercial success and a sequel was planned shortly after. Hathaway was named one of 2001's breakthrough stars by People magazine. The Other Side of Heaven was received weakly by critics, but performed well for a Christian-themed film.
Hathaway continued appearing in comedies and became known in the media as a children's role model. The following year, she starred in Nicholas Nickleby (2002) opposite Charlie Hunnam and Jamie Bell, which opened to positive reviews; the Northwest Herald referred to it as "an unbelievably fun film" and the Deseret News said that the cast was "Oscar-worthy". Despite critical acclamation, the film was never given a wide release and failed at the North American box office (totalling less than US$4 million), but was screened until mid-2003. Hathaway's next role was in Ella Enchanted (2004), the screen adaptation of the award-winning novel. It received indifferent reviews: the Chicago Tribune called it "shiny candy that tastes oddly familiar yet lacks sugary punch", and the New York Times felt that it was "clichéd and forgetful". However, the Dallas Morning News cited Tommy O'Haver's directing-style as "a Flintstones-like humor to the setting by melding modern with medieval culture".
Hathaway was prepared to star opposite Gerard Butler in The Phantom of the Opera, but declined the role because of her conflicting contract with Disney, which she was unhappy about. Disney began production on The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004) later that year and it was initially going to be filmed in Prague, but the location was changed to Los Angeles, where the "kingdom" of Genovia was built. The film opened to moderate reviews and peaked higher at the box office than its predecessor, but generated lower ticket sales.
CAREER TRANSITION
Hathaway began appearing in less comedic-oriented films following the worldwide success of The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement. She said that "anybody who was a role model for children needs a reprieve", although she also noted that "it's lovely to think that my audience is growing up with me", a reference to her previous status as a children's actress. She voiced a version of Little Red Riding Hood in Hoodwinked (2005), which received mixed reviews; The Hollywood Reporter said that it "gets hopelessly lost in the woods" and is "too one-note to sustain a feature-length format". That same year, Hathaway was cast in the mature-rated Havoc (2005) and the drama Brokeback Mountain (2005), opposite Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal; she appeared topless in both films. Havoc was released direct-to-video because of its weak critical reception, but Brokeback Mountain won rave reviews for its depiction of a homosexual relationship in the early 1960s ("it's a deeply felt, emotional love story", said the Los Angeles Times) and received several Academy Award nominations, including "Best Picture", though it lost to Crash (2004). While Hathaway said that it would have been an honour for the film to have won "Best Picture", she asserted that its content was more important than its award count.
Hathaway's most recent film role was in the dark comedy The Devil Wears Prada (2006), in which she stars as an assistant to a powerful fashion magazine editor (Meryl Streep, whom she described as being "just divine"). Hathaway said that working on the film earned her respect in the fashion industry, but claims her personal style is something she "can't get right" and that she prefers "doing the things she loves" instead of looking in the mirror.
Hathaway's next film Becoming Jane, in which she stars as English writer Jane Austen, is slated for release in early 2007.
PERSONAL LIFE
Since 2004, Hathaway has been in a relationship with Italian real estate developer Raffaello Follieri. She enjoys interior design and reading as pastimes, and has stated that she is a non-denominational Christian. Follieri started the Follieri Foundation, a charity that provides medical assistance for children living in third world nations. Hathaway began doing charity work with her boyfriend after realizing that she used to feel sorry for herself whilst "having everything". Follieri and Hathaway have helped vaccinate children across Africa, including more than 1000 in Nicaragua. Hathaway hopes to continue their charity work. [source]
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