I would never wear something memorable twice: Anne Hathaway
Peter David

LOS ANGELES—Anne Hathaway has come a long way in the style stakes since her ‘Princess Diaries’ days. Since her breakthrough in The Princess Diaries, Anne Hathaway has vaulted from one box office hit to another. After playing Jake Gyllenhaal’s wife in the Oscar-winning Brokeback Mountain, she was in The Devil Wears Prada. Anne, who is 26 on November 12, is the face of Lancome.
What is your biggest extravagance?
I will always love Channel. I am irrational when it comes to Channel. I’ll see a dress and not like it, then hear it’s Channel and completely change my mind.
Do you feel any pressure to be thin?
There is pressure on actresses, but I don’t feel it. If I lose or gain weight, it’s for a character. I lost 15lb for a character once, and for The Devil Wears Prada I dropped five. I think people take it a little too seriously.
Do you keep track of what you wear to big events?
I would never wear something memorable twice, but I do rotate pieces. I have three pairs of shoes I wear to all the premieres and nobody has ever called me on it. I have black Pradas, Manolo Blahniks and a pair of Marc Jacobs, and I’ve worn them for five years. Now the secret is out, but I won’t stop. There are certain dresses I’ve been photographed in so I can’t wear them again, but I will wear them in my personal life. Wearing them twice is not considered very chic.
What was your greatest moment of desperation?
Breaking into acting. But then every profession is competitive. I’m fortunate to have been in the right place when opportunity knocked and I have been accepted thus far. It’s very scary, but it’s the way for me to do the job I love. If it’s tough, you just have to suck it up and get on with it.
Are you more like your mother or your father?
My mum is a stage actress, so I always talk to her about the roles I play, because it’s wonderful to speak the same language with another actor. There were periods of time when it was a little awkward, where I wouldn’t often take her advice or I would disagree with her. Obviously, I still respect my mother, but I’m also my own person, and I take my work very seriously. So at first it was hard, but now she’s got her own career, and I’ve got my own career, we’re always so happy to talk to each other about certain things and be a sounding board.
What is your greatest regret?
Ultimately, I think all you can do is hope you can live without regret. I love my job. There is no advice people can give you because you reach success at different ages and everyone has their own climb to get there. I’ve already had so many highs and so many lows even at my young age. Every job, no matter how varied, requires sacrifice, but what keeps you from regretting the sacrifices you make is making sure that you love it. I decided to step back and look for what would make me happy and a better actor.
Are you a shopaholic or shop shy?
I like fashion on other people, but fashion for me is what is clean that day. I do the best I can. That’s the cool thing about investing in a nice wardrobe. You can’t really go wrong with buying classics, as they always look good.
What fashion tip did you learn from ‘The Devil Wears Prada’?
I became aware of belts, and the importance of a cinched waist.
What has been your biggest challenge?
Working with Meryl Streep in ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ and not giggling through each scene, because I couldn’t believe what I was doing. Also, getting over the fact that I felt so beneath her level as an actress as she had so much experience compared with me.
When were you least content with the way you looked?
I think when I was an adolescent. As an actress, I never really allowed myself to put on the usual 14lb when I started college - I allowed myself only to put on eight! And then I realised there are more important things in life than the size of your hips.
What are your goals?
To be the best actress I can be. I had to smoke for ‘Rachel Getting Married’. Given my age and the fact that I still have a sense of immortality, I wasn’t concerned about the health risks. I was more concerned that as I’d never smoked before it wasn’t going to look real on screen.
What has been your weirdest experience with a fan?
I’ve had scary letters asking for pictures of my bare feet, but everyone is really nice to me. I don’t take it all too seriously.