Anne Hathaway Gets Emotional As She Recalls ‘Princess Diaries’ Premiere

When talking about her recent movie, 'The Idea Of You,' Anne Hathaway recalled what it was like to attend the premiere of 'The Princess Diaries,' leaving her to hold back tears.

The 41-year-old actress, who recently revealed she is over five years sober, stars in the 2024 romantic comedy. The film tells the story of a 40-year-old single mom who begins an unexpected romance with a 24-year-old boy band singer.

Whenever someone says Anne Hathaway, chances are people automatically think of 'The Princess Diaries.'

The Disney film was released in 2001, when Hathaway was just 18 years of age. It follows the life of teenager Mia Thermopolis (Anne Hathaway), who is living in New York City when she discovers that she is actually the Princess of Genovia. Mia is an ordinary high school student dealing with typical school and popularity issues until her grandmother, Queen Clarisse Renaldi (Julie Andrews), reveals who Mia really is.

Now, 23 years later, Hathaway is comparing her experience with the romantic comedy, 'The Idea Of You,' to the premiere of 'The Princess Diaries.'

When talking about 'The Idea Of You,' Hathway told The Hollywood Reporter, "I was in a film when I was 17 years old called 'The Princess Diaries.' It came out when I was 18, and the premiere of the movie felt so much like the premiere for this one."

She then had to take a breath as she said, "Oh God, don't cry again. Don't do it!"

After composing herself, she added, "And when I was 18 years old it was my first premiere, so I just thought that was the way it works, and it can go so well, but that level of instant audience love and embracing of it, and feeling that audience satisfaction, you don't get that every single time."

The 41-year-old actress added, "Sometimes movies are darker, sometimes movies are more challenging, this one is, we really made it for everyone and to just feel everyone love it. I hadn't had that feeling quite in that same way since 'The Princess Diaries.'"

"And now I'm 41, and I know how to appreciate it," Hathaway concluded.

While it's been 20 years since the second 'The Princess Diaries' movie debuted, fans still want to see the franchise release another movie. Lucky for them, in 2022, Disney confirmed that 'The Princess Diaries 3' was in the works, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

While Anne Hathaway’s participation is not yet confirmed, “the hope is she would return should the potential new film move forward beyond the script stage,” per THR.

The outlet reported that Aadrita Mukerji is writing a script for the new installment, which sources say will continue the franchise's story rather than be a reboot.

Hathaway herself has previously said she would be open to a third movie. "We're in a good place. That's all I can say. There's nothing to announce yet. But we're in a good place," she told Variety before Disney confirmed the third movie.

The actress recently spoke with The New York Times, revealing that one of her biggest milestones is being five years sober.

"There are so many other things I identify as milestones. I don't normally talk about it, but I am over five years sober," Hathaway told The New York Times. "That feels like a milestone to me."

A few years ago, she said her decision to stop drinking was not because she had a problem but because she always dealt with bad hangovers. "I didn't put [a drink] down because my drinking was a problem; I put it down because the way I drink leads me to have hangovers and those were the problem," she told Modern Luxury. "My last hangover lasted for five days."

She added, "When I'm at a stage in my life where there is enough space for me to have a hangover, I'll start drinking again, but that won't be until my kid is out of the house."