ANNE HATHAWAY

Date of Birth
12 November 1982, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Birth Name
Anne Jacqueline Hathaway

Nickname
Annie

Height
5' 7" (1.70 m)

Mini Biography
Anne Jacqueline Hathaway (born November 12, 1982) is an American actress. After several stage roles, she appeared in the 1999 television series Get Real. She played Mia Thermopolis in The Princess Diaries (2001). Over the next three years, Hathaway reprised that role for The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, and starred in family films, appearing as the title character in Ella Enchanted, both in 2004. Hathaway is also an Emmy winning actress for her voice-over performance in The Simpsons.
Hathaway had dramatic roles in Havoc and Brokeback Mountain, both in 2005. She starred in The Devil Wears Prada (2006) and in Becoming Jane (2007) as Jane Austen. In 2008, she was acclaimed for her lead role in Rachel Getting Married, for which she won awards and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. In 2010, she starred in the box office hits Valentine's Day and Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland, as well as Love and Other Drugs. In 2011, she had a voice role in the animated film Rio and starred in Lone Scherfig's adaptation of One Day. She is scheduled to play Selina Kyle (Catwoman) in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises.

People magazine named her one of its breakthrough stars of 2001, and she first appeared on its list of the world's 50 Most Beautiful People in 2006.

Early life
Hathaway was born in Brooklyn, New York. Her father, Gerald Thomas Hathaway, is a lawyer, and her mother, Kathleen Ann (née McCauley), is an actress who inspired Hathaway to follow in her footsteps. The family moved to Millburn, New Jersey, when she was six years old. Hathaway has an older brother, Michael, and a younger brother, Thomas. She is of mostly Irish and French ancestry, with distant Native American and German roots.

Hathaway was raised Catholic with what she considered "really strong values," and has stated she wanted to be a nun during her childhood. However, she decided against it at the age of 15, after learning her brother, Michael, was gay; she felt she could not be part of a religion that condemned her brother's sexual orientation. In 2009, Hathaway described herself as a non-denominational Christian because she had not "found the religion" for her, and later stated that her religious beliefs are "a work in progress."

As a preschooler, Hathaway attended Brooklyn Heights Montessori School. She entered first grade at the Wyoming Elementary School in Millburn while she was technically still a kindergartner. Hathaway graduated from Millburn High School, where she participated in many school plays; her high school performance as Winnifred in Once Upon a Mattress garnered her a Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Award nomination for Best Performance by a High School Actress. During this time, Hathaway was in plays including Jane Eyre and Gigi at New Jersey's Paper Mill Playhouse (which is located in Millburn, across the street from Hathaway's middle school). She spent several semesters studying as an English major and Women's Studies minor at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York before transferring to New York University's Gallatin School of Individualized Study, referring to her college enrollment as one of her best decisions, because she enjoyed being with others who were trying to "grow up." Hathaway was the first teenager admitted into The Barrow Group Theater Company's acting program.

A soprano, Hathaway performed in 1998 and 1999 with the All-Eastern U.S. High School Honors Chorus at Carnegie Hall and has performed in plays at Seton Hall Preparatory School in West Orange, New Jersey. Three days after her 1999 performance at Carnegie Hall, she was cast in the short-lived Fox television series Get Real at the age of 16.

Hathaway is a trained stage actress and has stated that she prefers performing on stage to film roles. Her acting style has been compared to those of Judy Garland and Audrey Hepburn. She cites Garland as one of her favorite actresses and Meryl Streep as her idol.

Career
2001–2004: Career development
Hathaway's first role in a motion picture was opposite Christopher Gorham in Walt Disney's drama film The Other Side of Heaven (2001), inspired by John H. Groberg's memoirs In the Eye of the Storm. Before production of the film, she was cast alongside Julie Andrews in the lead role of Mia Thermopolis in another Disney production, the comedy film The Princess Diaries, based on Meg Cabot's 2000 novel of the same name. Directed by Garry Marshall, Hathaway auditioned for the role of a princess-to-be during a flight layover on the way to New Zealand and garnered the role after only one audition. She won the role over 500 other girls. Released prior to The Other Side of Heaven in hopes that its success would increase interest in Heaven, The Princess Diaries became a major commercial success, grossing US$165 million worldwide. Many critics praised Hathaway's performance, with a BBC critic noting that "Hathaway shines in the title role and generates great chemistry." Also released in 2001, The Other Side of Heaven, directed by Mitch Davis, met with mostly negative reviews, but it performed well for a religion-themed film.

In February 2002, Hathaway starred in the City Center Encores! concert production of Carnival! in her New York City stage debut, receiving positive reviews for her portrayal of Lili. Also in 2002, Hathaway began voicing the audio book releases of The Princess Diaries and has since voiced the first three books of the series. She also provided the voice of the character Haru in the English version of Hiroyuki Morita's The Cat Returns.

Hathaway continued to appear in family-oriented films over the next three years, subsequently becoming known in mainstream media as a children's role model. In 2002, she appeared in Douglas McGrath's comedy-drama Nicholas Nickleby, opposite Charlie Hunnam and Jamie Bell, which opened to positive reviews. The Deseret News said that the cast was "Oscar-worthy". Despite critical acclaim, the film never entered wide release and failed at the North American box office, totaling less than $4 million in ticket sales. Hathaway's next film role was as the titular character in the rom-com fantasy film Ella Enchanted (2004), a loose adaption of Gail Carson Levine's 1997 novel of the same name, which opened to mostly indifferent reviews. Hathaway sang two songs in the film as well as three on the soundtrack, including a duet with singer Jesse McCartney.

In 2003, Hathaway dropped out of her role in Joel Schumacher's The Phantom of the Opera (2004), because the production schedule of the film overlapped with The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, which she was contractually obligated to make. Disney began production on The Princess Diaries 2 in early 2004, and it was released in August of that year. The film opened to negative reviews, but made $95.1 million against a $40 million budget.

2005–2007: Career transition
Hathaway began appearing in dramatic roles after The Princess Diaries 2. She said that "anybody who was a role model for children needs a reprieve", although she noted that "it's lovely to think that my audience is growing up with me". She voiced Red Puckett in the animated comedy Hoodwinked! (2005), based on the Little Red Riding Hood folktale, which received mixed reviews by critics. That same year, Hathaway starred in Barbara Kopple's drama film Havoc, in which she played a spoiled socialite, appearing nude in some of its scenes. Although the content of the film was different from her previous films, Hathaway denied that her role was an attempt to be seen as a more mature actress, citing her belief that doing nudity in certain movies is merely a part of what her chosen form of art demands of her; and because of that belief she does not consider appearing nude in appropriate films to be morally objectionable.

After Havoc, Hathaway was cast alongside Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal in Ang Lee's drama Brokeback Mountain (2005). While Havoc was not released in theaters in the United States because of its weak critical reception, Brokeback Mountain won rave reviews for its depiction of a homosexual relationship in the 1960s and received several Academy Award nominations. Hathaway would later assert that the content of Brokeback Mountain was more important than its award count and that making the film made her more aware of the kind of stories she wanted to tell as an actress.

In 2006, Hathaway appeared in David Frankel's comedy The Devil Wears Prada, in which she starred as an assistant to a powerful fashion magazine editor portrayed by Meryl Streep, whom Hathaway described as being "just divine". Hathaway said that working on the film made her respect the fashion industry a great deal more than she had previously, though she claimed that her personal style is something she "still can't get right". In an interview with Us Weekly, Hathaway discussed the weight loss regime she and co-star Emily Blunt followed for the film, she stated, "I basically stuck with fruit, vegetables and fish [to slim down]. I wouldn't recommend that. Emily Blunt and I would clutch at each other and cry because we were so hungry."

Hathaway was cast in the 2007 comedy Knocked Up, but dropped out before filming began and was replaced by Katherine Heigl. Writer/director Judd Apatow stated in a May 2007 issue of The New York Times Magazine that Hathaway dropped out "because she didn't want to allow us to use real footage of a woman giving birth to create the illusion that she is giving birth". In an August 2008 interview with Marie Claire, Hathaway commented that she "didn't believe that it was necessary to the story".

Hathaway was in the 2007 drama Becoming Jane, in which she portrayed English writer Jane Austen. Tim Burton considered Hathaway for the part of Johanna Barker in his 2007 film Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, but the role went to Jayne Wisener, a then-unknown actress, reportedly because Burton decided he wanted an unknown, younger actress for the part.

2008–present
In January 2008, Hathaway joined beauty giant Lancôme as the face of their fragrance Magnifique, and in October of that year, Hathaway hosted the NBC late-night sketch comedy Saturday Night Live. Her first film of the year was a modern adaptation of the 1960s Mel Brooks television series Get Smart, in which she starred opposite Steve Carell, and Alan Arkin, portraying Agent 99. Directed by Peter Segal, the film was a hit at the box office, prompting talk of a sequel. She also made a cameo appearance in the corresponding film Get Smart's Bruce and Lloyd: Out of Control. Also in 2008, she premiered the drama Passengers, alongside Patrick Wilson, as well as the drama Rachel Getting Married, opposite Debra Winger. Rachel Getting Married premiered at the 2008 Venice and Toronto Film Festival and garnered her widespread critical acclaim for her performance as Kym, including nominations for both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe. Hathaway stated that the film appealed to her because of its real depiction of relationships and because of the strong emotional connection she felt with her character.

Hathaway appeared in the comedy Bride Wars, released in 2009, which she described as being "hideously commercial – gloriously so." In addition to providing her voice for episodes of The Simpsons, which garnered her an Emmy Award in 2010 for outstanding voice-over performance, and Family Guy in 2010, Hathaway also appeared as Viola in the New York Shakespeare Festival's summer 2009 production of Twelfth Night at the Delacorte Theater in New York City's Central Park, opposite Audra McDonald as Olivia, Raul Esparza as Duke Orsino, and Julie White as Maria.

Hathaway's 2010 film projects include a Tim Burton-directed adaptation of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass alongside Helena Bonham Carter and Johnny Depp, the romantic comedy The Fiancé, an adaptation of the Julie Buxbaum novel The Opposite of Love, the Garry Marshall-directed ensemble comedy Valentine's Day, and an adaptation of Gerald Clarke's biography Get Happy: The Life of Judy Garland, in which she will play the title role on the stage and screen. It was reported on December 8, 2009 that Hathaway was up for the role of Felicia Hardy in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 4. Hardy would not have transformed into the Black Cat, as in the comics; instead, Raimi's Felicia was expected to become a brand-new superpowered figure called the Vulturess. On January 5, 2010, it was reported that Spider-Man 4 would be rewritten and Hathaway would not appear in the film, as she was "too expensive". On November 29, 2010, it was announced that Hathaway and James Franco would host the 83rd Academy Awards.

Together with actor Denzel Washington, Hathaway hosted the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo, Norway on December 11, 2010.

In 2010, she was named one of the sexiest stars of 2010 by Entertainment Weekly.

In January 2011, it was announced she had landed the role of Selina Kyle (Catwoman) in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises. That year, she also voiced the character Jewel in the animated film Rio, from 20th Century Fox and Blue Sky Studios, alongside Jesse Eisenberg and starred in the romance One Day.

Personal life
Hathaway is involved with charities, including The Creative Coalition, The Step Up Women's Network, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, The Human Rights Campaign, and The Lollipop Theatre Network, an organization that screens films to critically ill children. In 2008, she was honored at Elle magazine's "Women in Hollywood" tribute, and has also been honored for her work with Step Up Women's Network. and the Human Rights Campaign. In early 2007, Hathaway spoke of her experiences with depression during her teenage years, saying that she eventually overcame the disorder without medication.

In 2008, on Late Show with David Letterman, Hathaway said she had once again stopped smoking. The actress, who had begun smoking "heavily" while filming Rachel Getting Married, had "quit for a while", but had started again in the wake of her stressful summer and the end of her relationship with Raffaello Follieri. She credited quitting smoking for the subsequent decline in her stress level, and declared her return to being vegetarian.

In regard to personal strife and subsequent media attention, Hathaway uses a mantra that quotes Oscar Wilde: "The less said about life's sores the better."

Relationship with Raffaello Follieri
In 2004, Hathaway began a relationship with Italian real estate developer Raffaello Follieri. During their relationship, Hathaway took part in the development of the charitable Follieri Foundation, serving as a financial donor as well as a member of the foundation's board of directors until 2007. A Manhattan-based charity founded in 2003 focusing on programs such as providing vaccinations for children in Third World nations, the organization had come under investigation in June 2008 by the IRS, for failing to file the tax papers required from non-profit organizations. Citing the fear that this and other ongoing legal issues involving Follieri would become detrimental to her acting career, Hathaway ended her relationship with him in mid-June 2008.

Follieri was arrested in June 2008 on fraud charges for allegedly fleecing investors out of millions of dollars in a scheme in which Follieri posed as the Vatican's point man on real estate investing. It was reported that the FBI confiscated Hathaway's private journals from Follieri's New York City apartment as part of their ongoing investigation into Follieri's activities; however, Hathaway was not charged with any crime. On October 23, 2008, after earlier pleading guilty, Follieri was sentenced to four and a half years in prison.

In the October 2008 issue of W Magazine, Hathaway spoke for the first time of the break-up and Follieri's subsequent arrest. She related that she "spent a week in shock" after Follieri's arrest, and credited the kindness of friends for her ability to keep working during such difficult times. That same month, during her turn as host of Saturday Night Live, Hathaway joked about the experience in her opening monologue.

Spouse
Adam Shulman (29 September 2012 - present)

Trade Mark
Often plays sassy, free-spirited women who attempt to remain independent

Doe eyes

Full lips


Trivia
First and only teenager admitted to the acting program at the award-winning The Barrow Group in New York. Three days before being cast in "Get Real" (1999), she performed in two concerts at Carnegie Hall as member of All- Eastern U.S. High School Honors Chorus.

Appeared at both 1999 Teen Choice Awards and 1999 Billboard Awards, introducing musical acts.

In his column "Just for Variety" published on October 25, 2000 in Daily Variety, columnist Army Archerd quotes Garry Marshall, the director of The Princess Diaries (2001): "The multi-talented Hathaway is a combination Julia Roberts, Audrey Hepburn and Judy Garland."

Goes by the name Annie with all of her friends.

She graduated from Millburn High School in New Jersey in June 2000 with the highest honors.

Daughter of stage actress Kate McCauley Hathaway.

Has the same name as William Shakespeare's wife, Anne Hathaway.

Named one of People Magazine's 'Breakthrough Stars of 2001'.

Named one of Teen People Magazine's 25 Hottest Stars Under 25 in its June 2002 issue.

Won the Clarence Derwent Award for her performance as "Lili" in the City Center Encores! production of "Carnival" (2002).

She was a vegetarian for most of her life, but she has recently ceased this.

Her father Gerard Hathaway is an attorney and her mother Kate McCauley Hathaway is a singer and actress.

She grew up in New Jersey.

Was majoring in English & minoring in Women's Studies at Vassar. Transferred to New York University in 2005.

Was nominated for the Paper Mill's "Rising Star Award" for the best high school performance by an actress in New Jersey

She was nominated for the 2002 Teens Choice Award in the Best Actress/ Comedy (The Princess Diaries (2001)) series category.

In 1998, was nominated for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role at the Paper Mill Playhouse "Rising Star Awards", an award given to high schools across New Jersey. Ironically, she was nominated for playing the Princess in "Once Upon A Mattress". To further the irony, she lost to a girl who was played the exact same role. The nomination ballot listed her as Annie Hathaway.

Parents Gerard and Kate attended La Salle University in Philadelphia during the 1970s graduating one year apart.

Everyone knows that The Princess Diaries (2001) was her breakthrough role, but it is a little known fact that she auditioned for that part on her way to New Zealand to co-star in another film with Christopher Gorham. She reported to others on the set that she felt really good about the audition. Film-makers knew that she would be a big star, so the film in question, The Other Side of Heaven (2001), was delayed in post production and released after The Princess Diaries (2001) in order to capitalize on her stardom.

Was not available for role of Christine Daae in The Phantom of the Opera (2004) due to contractual obligation to Disney for The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004).. The two movies had overlapping filming schedules.

Attended Wyoming School in Millburn, New Jersey.

Has stated that she would only appear nude/topless in a film if she felt it would add significance to it. She appeared topless for the first time in Havoc (2005) and then in the same year in Brokeback Mountain (2005).

Has a dog (chocolate Labrador) named Esmerelda, born July 2004.

Named one of Teen People Magazine's 25 Hottest Stars Under 25 in its June 2006 issue for the second time. She was also on the list in 2002.

Was ranked #85 on FHM's sexiest women in the world list 2006.

In July 2006 she spent a week in Nicaragua helping vaccinate kids there against Hepatitis A. She called the experience "..an eye opener" for her.

Beat out Sienna Miller for the role of "Lureen Twist" in the movie Brokeback Mountain (2005).

Was very reluctant to take on the role of Jane Austen in Becoming Jane (2007) as she didn't think she would be suited for the role but Ang Lee, who was directing Anne in Brokeback Mountain (2005) (and who also directed Sense and Sensibility (1995)) persuaded her to take on the role.

Favorite actresses are Cate Blanchett, Sigourney Weaverand Michelle Pfeiffer

Plans on finishing her degree from NYU someday.

Her role models are Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet and Meryl Streep

Learning how to play the piano and working with a dialect coach for Becoming Jane (2007).

She is an honoree of women's empowerment organization the Step Up Women's Network and is also an advisor for the Lollipop Theater Network, that screens movies in hospitals for the terminally ill.

In 2004 received Chanel's Spotlight Award for Emerging Talent.

Has an older brother Michael who is a writer and a younger brother Tom who is an aspiring actor.

Named #85 in FHM magazine's "100 Sexiest Women in the World 2006" supplement. (2006).

She befriended Emily Blunt on the set of The Devil Wears Prada (2006). They are fast friends now, Emily calls Anne 'her rock'.

Favorite movies are Elizabeth (1998), Stand by Me (1986), Amélie (2001), Pretty Woman (1990) and City of God (2002) (City of God).

Favorite actors are Joaquin Phoenix and Ralph Fiennes.

After the release of The Princess Diaries (2001), Anne's hometown newspaper, The Item, printed an article comparing Anne to Greta Garbo because of the paper's inability to get an interview with Anne (who was busy making movies and living in LA at the time).

She grew up in Millburn Township, New Jersey, which is adjacent to the town of Summit, NJ, which is the birthplace of her The Devil Wears Prada (2006) co-star Meryl Streep. Meryl grew up in Bernardsville, NJ. It is also adjacent to Maplewood, NJ, which has Columbia High School that Zach Braff attended (as well as Grammy-winning artist and former Fugee Lauryn Hill), and Zach Braff's "Scrubs" (2001) co-star, John C. McGinley, attended Millburn High School - Anne's alma mater.

Ranked #80 on Askmen.com's 100 Most desirable Women in the World. (2006).

One of People Magazine's 100 Most Beautiful People in the world. (2006).

Born in New York but was raised in New Jersey.

Is a fan of Audrey Hepburn, Judy Garland, and Meryl Streep.

Her TV debut was in a Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate commercial filmed in 1997 in Maplewood, New Jersey.

Left Raffaello Follieri days before he was arrested for wire fraud and money laundering. Follieri plead guilty in September 2008 to misappropriating $50 million in a Ponzi scheme involving properties owned by the Catholic Church, and may have defrauded investors, including Ron Burkle, of as much as $100 million. During its investigation of the case, the FBI seized Hathaway's diaries.

Greatly admires Ryan Gosling and Bryce Dallas Howard.

Was almost cast as Johanna in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007), but Tim Burton wanted an unknown actress for the role, and newcomer Jayne Wisener got the role.

Cites Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead (1943) as her favorite novel.

Named as one People Magazine's 100 Most Beautiful People in the world 2007.

Turned down the lead role in Knocked Up (2007).

Accidentally fell off of her chair during her audition for the role of the klutzy princess in The Princess Diaries (2001). She was hired on the spot.

Is of English, French, Irish, German and Native American descent.

Good friends with Sienna Miller, Emily Blunt and Heather Matarazzo.

Ranked #6 by InStyle magazine as one of the 10 most stylish stars in Hollywood (2007).

Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#18). [2007].

Announced as the new face of "Lancome" [January 1, 2008].

Ranked #63 on Askmen.com's 100 Most Desirable Women in the World. (2008).

Was ranked #3 on Entertainment Weekly's '30 Under 30' the actress list. (2008).

Ranked #51 in FHM magazine's "100 Sexiest Women in the World 2008" supplement. (2008).

Suffered from depressions when she was a teenager.

Ranked #5 on Askmen.com's 100 Most Desirable Women in the World (2009).

One of People Magazine's Most Beautiful People 2009.

Ranked #2 on Glamour Magazine's Most Glamourous Women in the World list (2009).

For the movie The Devil Wears Prada (2006), Hathaway was told to gain 10 pounds (bringing her weight to 130) only to be told afterward that she would have to lose 10 pounds and they would pad her for the "fat scenes". After production, Hathaway was presented with the padding which she jokingly refers to as "Andy's ass".

Campaigned for the role of Stephanie Necrophuros in Nine (2009), but Kate Hudson was given the part instead.

Ranked 85 on Forbes Magazines 100 Most Powerful People. The magazine lists her earnings for 2008 at $7 million.

Voted #9 in FHM 100 Sexiest 2009.

Became a close friend of Julie White after they co-starred together this summer in William Shakespeare's play "Twelfth Night" at the Delacorte Theatre in New York's Central Park [June 24, 2009].

Born at 9:00am-EST.

Her performance as "Kym" in Rachel Getting Married (2008) is ranked #20 in Paste Magazine's 25 Best Movie Performances of the Decade (2009).

One of People Magazine's 100 Most Beautiful People in the world (2010).

Ranked #9 in the 2011 Ask Men top 99 "most desirable women" list.

Voted #7 on the 2011 Maxim list "Hot 100" women.

Announced her engagement to Adam Shulman, having been in a relationship with him since November 2008 [November 28, 2011].

One of British Vogue's Best Dressed women of 2011.

Named Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year at Harvard University.

Friends with Jake Gyllenhaal and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

Married fiancé Adam Shulman in a Jewish midnight ceremony, wearing a gown designed by Valentino, before 100 guests in Big Sur, California [September 29, 2012].

Named one of the "most desirable" women for 2013 in Askmen's list of the Top 99 Most Desirable Women.


Personal Quotes
I look my best after an entire hair and makeup team has spent hours perfecting me. When do I feel my best? When I haven't looked in a mirror for days, and I'm doing things that make me happy.

Kindness is really important to me in finding my own prince - so are patience and a sense of humor. Without those qualities he's no Prince Charming!

I really don't drink, I don't do drugs. I feel like right now I've been given so many opportunities I don't want to mess it up with those things ... I think I was raised in a solidly upper-middle class family who had really strong values and excess was not one of the things that my family put up with. - On avoiding the hard partying young-star life style.

She is just divine. As a human being, she has basically accomplished everything that I want to do ... It's not that she just gets inside the character, she's just absolutely at the center of all of her choices, of the truth of the character - On working with Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada (2006).

She can act sweet, but she's fundamentally a predator - On her character "Lureen" in Brokeback Mountain (2005).

In Hollywood you have to be careful if you go above a six, then you're considered fat. I'm considered to be, I hope, an actress, and you can get away with a couple of extra pounds if you are trading on your talent instead of your sex appeal.I don't have time to be tortured about me weight.

Over the last few years I've learned that the Next Big Thing is something a lot of people wish and want for you - but what you wish for yourself is really important too.

"College is such a unique time because you're learning a little bit how to be an adult. You're learning how to take care of yourself without parental influence, and you're exposed to so many great minds. I feel like I didn't even know how to think until I got to college." - On the importance of a college education.

I've worked with people and I've known people that were really competitive but I've always said that I take an Elizabeth Bennett philosophy of life - I laugh. I love my job but if it means hurting someone I won't do it.

I'm more proud of that film than anything I have created. - on Brokeback Mountain (2005).

I got into this business to be an actress, to scare myself and force myself into a place outside of my comfort zone. I have nothing against The Princess Diaries (2001) - but it has been a brick wall at times for my career.

I disagree with a couple of the stances of the Catholic Church. My older brother is gay and it's important for me to be able to love him completely and freely and it's important for me to spread beliefs in the world that are not going to limit people in their love.I can't support a religion that doesn't support my brother.

Films are letting me get older, which is really nice, because there was always this fear of what happens when I stop being a teenager. But for everyone else, it was kind of a sharp left.

I think that fashion can be a lot of fun. I love clothes, but I recognize that it should only be a hobby. Some clothes that are more design-based look better on women with figures like wire hangers, because that's the nature of the design. I won't wear those clothes.

I'll be honest with you, it really, really, really annoys me, the image that's put out there for women. These tiny, tiny bodies, with absolutely no fat at all on them. It's unhealthy, plain and simple, and there are only a handful of women in the world who are naturally like that. It makes me sick.

I'm very choosy! It drives my agent nuts.

... it's not something that I have ever aspired to be or courted because I think the second that you say, "Oh, I am a role model and that's why I make the decisions that I make," you've kind of shot yourself in the foot. A role model is somebody that does things because of what they believe in regardless of what other people think. (Her views on role models)

I cry terribly easily. Just a minute ago, I was reading an article about Kate Winslet in Vogue, and I love her so much, I started crying, realizing how great she is and how far I have to go.

'I've had directors say to me, 'You're the best actress for the role, but you've put on weight recently.' If people can't understand you've put on five pounds, I don't want to deal with them.

Obsessing about weight is a big old waste of time.

I love working and I feel satisfied when I know I have literally given all the energy that I have. That being said, work is not my No. 1 priority. I don't think it can come at the expense of your family, your friends and your 'significant other' if you have one.

"I'm very aware of my own background. I'm Irish, French and then a little bit of everything else thrown in, ranging from German to native American. We're talking about tiny drops of blood.''

I spent a lot of time in the early part of my career staying within the same realm with a lot of my film choices. I don't regret that, considering that my first movie was ... a very popular film. So, all of a sudden, I had opportunities, I had attention, I had buzz and heat and all those things that people tell you you are supposed to work for and I didn't know if I could act.

(On performing love scenes with Steve Carell in Get Smart (2008)] Making out with him is like the yummiest lollipop. Dipped in sunshine. And wrapped around in a masculine wrapper.

That was tough. I hesitate to talk about Heath. He was special in so many ways. I can tell you that I feel I cared about him more than I actually knew him. It was devastating, and the people who were closest to him should talk about him in their own time. - On the death of her Brokeback Mountain (2005) costar Heath Ledger.

I try not to date where I work. It makes life easier.I don't say no to anybody because I'd hope that people wouldn't say no to me just because I'm an actor - but they'd have to be pretty extraordinary. - On dating actors.

I'm not going to win. I'm in a dramatic category with Meryl Streep. No contest. (About Meryl Streep who was in her category in Critics' Choice Awards 2009.)

I gave up my struggle with perfection a long time ago. That is a concept I don't find very interesting anymore. Everyone just wants to look good in the photographs. I think that is where some of the pressure comes from. Be happy. Be yourself, the day is about a lot more. If designers want to dress me then I am at the larger end of the Hollywood scale so they have to be fine with that. And I think what some designers do is if a dress doesn't fit you because it's been fitted to a size zero model they will remake the dress for you.

On the day I shot the scene where I have to remove my trench coat and be nude underneath, I thought we were filming, but it turned out we were just rehearsing and I got unnecessarily naked in front of a lot of people. But hey, I just did my job. (On Love and Other Drugs (2010))

I think we are moving away from the idea there is one way to look. Oddly enough, the TV show "Mad Men" (2007) has done a huge and wonderful thing for women's bodies by showing what women used to naturally look like. We kind of forgot because women have been encouraged to manipulate their bodies for so many years to look like one ideal.

When my brother came out, we all felt like 'we love you and so what' - he was still Mike. It has since become a much bigger issue for us because when Mike wanted to marry his partner, he could only do it in Canada. Whatever your feelings about gay marriage, you have to accept that to ban it is discrimination, it's a human rights issue. No one can tell my brother he can't do anything and I will fight to my last breath to make sure he gets the same rights as me.

It was definitely out of my comfort zone and it required an extra little dose of courage every day. But I don't think there's anything wrong with nudity in films. I would go into my trailer and a make-up artist would put body make-up on me and then I would compulsively do sit-ups and push-ups until they needed me on set. But then we would do the sex scenes and afterwards we would just be Jake (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Annie chilling out. It was very innocent. (On Love and Other Drugs (2010))

Ireland is such an amazing country, and I have this little dream in the back of my head that someday I'll end up living there. When I've established myself in America and I don't need to live near the action, so to speak, and if you're good, the work will come to you. I feel very Irish; maybe that's why I've been so lucky with my career. On my father's side, we have relatives all over Cork and Donegal.

[about how she chose to sing "I Dreamed a Dream" in Les Misérables (2012)] There seemed to be something selfish about trying to go for "the pretty version". She's devastated, she's literally at the bottom of a hole, looking up and realizing she's never going to climb out of this. So I just decided to apply the truth to the melody and then see what would happen.


Salary
Get Smart (2008) $5,000,000
Bride Wars (2009) $5,000,000

Where Are They Now
(2010) Hostess of an infomercial for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Also appearing is Marlo Thomas.

(March 2010) Filming Alice in Wonderland (2010).