Anne Hathaway’s 13 Best Performances: From ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ to ‘The Odyssey’
Variety ranks Anne Hathaway's best performances including "Rachel Getting Married," "Brokeback Mountain," "The Dark Knight Rises" and "The Odyssey."
From mega-hit franchises to a destructive drug addict to a cowgirl whose husband is hiding a secret love affair, Anne Hathaway has been one of Hollywood’s most versatile leading women for more than 25 years.
With the Oscar winner reuniting with Christopher Nolan as Penelope in “The Odyssey,” the highest-profile stop in a landmark 2026 that also includes “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” Variety ranks her best film performances to date.
Born in Brooklyn and raised in New Jersey, Hathaway made a splash from the start. After a brief stint in the ensemble of the Fox family drama series “Get Real,” things took off in 2001 thanks to the verve she brought to Mia Thermopolis, heir to the throne of Genovia, in Garry Marshall’s “The Princess Diaries.” Hathaway burst off the screen like a breath of fresh air, holding her own against the legendary Julie Andrews. The film grossed more than $160 million worldwide and spawned the 2004 sequel “The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement,” again with Andrews and Marshall.
A star had indeed been born.
From that royal debut, Hathaway moved into a run of eclectic roles, playing Madeline Bray in the Charles Dickens adaptation “Nicholas Nickleby” (2002) and the title character in the fantasy feature “Ella Enchanted” (2004). When she was cast as Lureen Newsome in Ang Lee’s cowboy love story “Brokeback Mountain” (2005), she showed she had chops beyond rom-com cute, and the industry took notice.She followed with the box office and critical smash “The Devil Wears Prada” (2006) opposite Meryl Streep, then sharpened her comedy alongside Steve Carell in “Get Smart” (2008).
That same year, her profile among actors soared with a tour de force as a drug addict fresh out of rehab in “Rachel Getting Married” (2008). Her work in Jonathan Demme’s searing drama earned her first Oscar nomination, for best actress, and proved she was one of the industry’s most technically gifted performers. Four years later came her musically brilliant Fantine in Tom Hooper’s “Les Misérables” (2012). Playing opposite Hugh Jackman, she made the most of limited screen time and belted “I Dreamed a Dream” in a one-take sensation that won her the Oscar for best supporting actress.
In the years since, Hathaway has continued to stretch, from the blockbuster canvases of “Interstellar” (2014) and the heist spinoff “Ocean’s Eight” (2018) to the A24 thriller “Eileen” (2023) and the romance “The Idea of You” (2024), one of Amazon’s most-watched original films. Now she is in the middle of the busiest stretch of her career, a 2026 that reaches its highest-profile peak with her Nolan reunion in “The Odyssey.”
Here is Variety’s ranking of Hathaway’s 13 best film performances, along with the scenes that capture the essence of her talent.
Honorable mentions: “The Devil Wears Prada 2” (2026); “Interstellar” (2014); “The Intern” (2015); “Eileen” (2023); “The Idea of You” (2024)
‘Nicholas Nickleby’ (2002)
The scene that proves it: “Every good thing has been a trick until you.”
Sporting a British accent, Hathaway holds her own among an All-Star cast that includes Charlie Hunnam, Jim Broadbent and Jamie Bell in the adaptation of the Dickens classic. Coming one year after her breakout “The Princess Diaries” (2001), she inhales the oxygen in every scene as she exhales Douglas McGrath’s romantic dialogue. It is an early glimpse of how easily she can find a character’s depth of emotion.
