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)
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‘Nicholas Nickleby’ (2002)
Image Credit: ©United Artists/Courtesy Everett Collection 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.
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‘Colossal’ (2016)
Image Credit: Courtesy Everett Collection The scene that proves it: Raising her arms at the playground.
It is so weird, it works. Hathaway’s mystifying performance as Gloria, an unemployed alcoholic writer who manifests a giant creature in Seoul, is quietly one of her finest. Lying somewhere between “Lost in Translation” and “Ex Machina,” artful performances in science fiction get overlooked far too often, and that is certainly the case here. You do not need $100 million in effects. You need a clever script and an actor like Hathaway, who makes raising her arms in the middle of a playground look like a Michelangelo.
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‘Ella Enchanted’ (2004)
Image Credit: ©Miramax/Courtesy Everett Collection The scene that proves it: “Somebody to love.”
As our alluring hero, Hathaway brings a jovial spark that keeps the sweet Tommy O’Haver family film watchable for the adults in the audience. Displaying wonderful chemistry with Hugh Dancy, she pushes Ella into a snarky, mischievous register that keeps the laughs coming and her fans enchanted.
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‘The Dark Knight Rises’ (2012)
Image Credit: ©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection The scene that proves it: “Oops.”
Listen, I know the addition of Selina Kyle is widely considered by fans to have been a questionable move for the Nolan trilogy, especially coming off the masterful 2008 sequel that won Heath Ledger a posthumous Oscar. But even when Hathaway is “wrong” for the part, she makes sure she does everything right. From a sultry one-line zinger delivered to Christian Bale to her calculated perch on the Bat-Cycle, her action work has hardly ever disappointed.
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‘Ocean’s Eight’ (2018)
The scene that proves it: “Hi Daph, welcome to the team…let’s not all high-five at once.”
On the recommendation of Variety’s Matt Donnelly, who calls it “her very best work,” this was the last film I revisited before finalizing the initial ranking of this list back in 2022. It is not quite the top, at least on my list, but it is her smoothest transition into a wicked, go-for-broke comedic role. In a film that also stars Cate Blanchett, Rihanna and Sarah Paulson, she is the clear standout, never more so than in her welcome-to-the-team sequence.
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‘Love and Other Drugs’ (2010)
Image Credit: ©20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection The scene that proves it: “Actually, this me being nice.”
Not everything comes together in Edward Zwick’s story about two people wrestling with the drug industry, professionally and personally. One thing is certain, though: the chemistry between Hathaway and Jake Gyllenhaal is electric, and she leaves nothing behind in her tender turn as a woman battling Parkinson’s disease. She was nominated for a Golden Globe for best actress in a comedy or musical, but her commitment here is anything but funny.
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‘Brokeback Mountain’ (2005)
Image Credit: ©Focus Films/Courtesy Everett Collection The scene that proves it: “Get in touch with his folks…”
I will admit that when Ang Lee’s romantic drama first arrived, Hathaway’s role did not register next to what her fellow actors were doing. Time has since revealed how integral she is to the story, particularly in her first meeting with Jake Gyllenhaal’s Jack Twist after the rodeo and her shattering phone call with Heath Ledger’s Ennis at the end. Lureen helps us feel the full magnitude of Jack and Ennis’ love story.
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‘Get Smart’ (2008)
Image Credit: ©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection The scene that proves it: “That was my last mile…”
Charm and chemistry are on full display between Steve Carell and Hathaway in this adaptation of the classic television series. Channeling the spirit of a “Naked Gun”-style spoof, Hathaway refuses to take the backseat as Agent 99, stepping into a role that trades on strength and perfectly offsets Carell’s dimwitted Maxwell Smart. Her Agent 99 becomes the true hero of the caper.
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‘The Devil Wears Prada’ (2006)
Image Credit: ©20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection The scene that proves it: Getting a makeover.
While many cite Meryl Streep’s fashion editor Miranda Priestly and Emily Blunt’s Emily as the standouts of David Frankel’s comedy, Hathaway is not to be ignored for all she delivers, including excellent chemistry opposite Stanley Tucci. Her smart, sharp line readings are supremely orchestrated, and she holds her own against top-tier thespians, a knack that makes her return in this year’s “The Devil Wears Prada 2” feel long overdue.
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‘The Odyssey’ (2026)
Image Credit: Melinda Sue Gordon The scene that proves it: The reunion.
In her third collaboration with Christopher Nolan after “The Dark Knight Rises” and “Interstellar,” Hathaway plays Penelope, the queen of Ithaca who holds her kingdom and her marriage together across the two decades her husband is lost at sea. It is a study in restraint, and many have singled out the quiet resolve she brings to the Ithaca scenes and the film’s climactic homecoming.
In a sword-and-sandal epic stacked with Matt Damon, Tom Holland and Robert Pattinson, Hathaway will always carve out a way to ensure we see our light shine as brightly as ever.
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‘The Princess Diaries’ (2001)
Image Credit: ©Buena Vista Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection The scene that proves it: “Me? A princess?”
Full of comedic beats and memorable one-liners, it is impossible not to remember the first time we laid eyes on the greatness that is Anne Hathaway. A cult classic, and not just for young girls, her star-making role has her standing assertively toe to toe with Julie Andrews in this Cinderella-esque fantasy.
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‘Les Misérables’ (2012)
Image Credit: ©Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection The scene that proves it: “I Dreamed a Dream”
In an All-Star cast that includes Hugh Jackman, Amanda Seyfried and Eddie Redmayne, Hathaway’s devastating Fantine ushered her to new heights. Her Oscar win for best supporting actress was utterly deserved, sealed by the lusciously orchestrated rendition of the character’s signature song, “I Dreamed a Dream.” The way she bites down on the final note of “dream” is the gravy on an already delicious feast.
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‘Rachel Getting Married’ (2008)
Image Credit: ©Sony Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection The scene that proves it: “Did I sacrifice every bit of love in this life because I killed our little brother?”
The intimacy of Jonathan Demme’s masterful drama is deeply profound, and Hathaway is perfectly attuned to the pain that lies deep within Kym. As we watch her grapple with grief and addiction, years after killing her younger brother in a crash as a teen, there is no better display of Hathaway’s mastery of emotion, careening from tears and anguish to manipulation and charm, all in service of a bottomless well of feeling. Her performance earned an Oscar nomination and a wave of other recognition at this inflection point of an incredible career.
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