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Anne Hathaway Has Asked People To Stop Calling Her ‘Anne’
Anne Hathaway wants everyone to stop calling her ‘Anne,’ as she’d prefer to be called something else.
The American actress has starred in a string of major hits over the years, including The Devil Wears Prada, Les Misérables, and Interstellar. Collectively, her films have grossed an astonishing $6.8 billion worldwide.
With that level of global fame, you might assume Hathaway is long accustomed to hearing her name everywhere she goes – and hardly gives it a second thought. But surprisingly, that’s not the case.
The Oscar-winning actress has revealed that the name ‘Anne’ doesn’t feel like it fits her, and that no one in her personal life actually calls her that.
Before getting into why she feels this way, let’s take a look at how Hathaway became a household name — winning over millions of fans who had no idea she disliked being called ‘Anne.’
The making of a Hollywood star
Hathaway’s breakthrough came with the role of Mia Thermopolis in The Princess Diaries.
Unusually, the actress snapped up the role in one single audition – with her and director Garry Marshall hitting it off immediately.
Hathaway recalled (per Vogue): “At some point during the audition, I got really nervous and fell out of my chair, and I think that’s what he was most impressed with.”
This is still very much a ‘fairy tale’ moment for the star, with her stating on the movie‘s anniversary: “I remember [the day] and I give thanks to the universe, a big open-hearted thank you because that was the day that dreams came true for me.
“There are a lot of aspects to my life that are very real, but also a lot that are very fairy tale. That was the day that my fairy tale started.”
Following her role in the coming-of-age comedy, Hathaway was determined to keep her stardom rising and began taking on more adult roles to avoid typecasting.
“It’s lovely to think that my audience is growing up with me,” the star said.
And grow with Hathaway fans did, with the actress appearing in numerous blockbusters, including Brokeback Mountain and The Devil Wears Prada.
Lately, Hathaway has been quite busy with various projects and public appearances.
She starred in the romantic comedy The Idea of You, which premiered on Prime Video in May 2024.
The film based on the Robinne Lee novel tells the story of a 39-year-old single mom, Solène, who embarks on a romance with a much younger pop star, Hayes Campbell, played by Nicholas Galitzine.
She also has a huge lineup for 2026, with several high-profile projects scheduled, including Mother Mary, The Devil Wears Prada 2, and Verity.
But before these hits, Hathaway had one difficult decision to make… her name.
The name that’s stuck for decades
During an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the host asked Hathaway: “I’ve known you for a pretty long time now. I’ve heard people call you Annie, like your good friends. Do I call you Anne or Annie?”
The actress responded: “Call me Annie! Everybody, everybody, call me Annie – please!”
She explained that she began going by Anne professionally at 14 as she needed a Screen Actors Guild membership card.
At this time, Hathaway had no idea how successful she would become and that people would begin to constantly refer to her by her birth name and not her preferred nickname.
“They asked me, ‘What do you want your name to be?’ And I’m like, well, it should be my name. My name’s Anne Hathaway,” the actress recalled.
“And so that seemed like the right choice. But it never occurred to me that for the rest of my life people would call me Anne.”
Hathaway revealed that the only person who ever calls her Anne is you guessed it… her mother – and this is only when she’s angry with her.
“The only person who ever calls me Anne is my mother, and she only does it when she’s really mad at me,” she shared.
“So every time I step out in public and someone calls my name, I think they’re going to yell at me.”
Hathaway then requested that the audience call her ‘anything but Anne,’ adding: “People are so lovely – they don’t want to be presumptuous, and so they come up with workarounds on set because the truth is nobody’s comfortable calling me Anne ever. It doesn’t fit.
“I’m an Annie. And so people call me, like, Miss H; people call me Hath. So feel free to call me anything but Anne.”
After years of hearing a name that never quite felt like hers, Hathaway is making one thing clear: behind the awards, premieres, and billion-dollar box office success, she’s simply Annie.
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