Hathaway Celebrates 20th Anniversary of Rom-Com Classic 'Princess Diaries'

Entertainment

| LAST UPDATE 08/01/2021

By Kayla Black
princess diaries twentieth anniversary
Getty Images via Matt Winkelmeyer / Staff

It's hard to believe that Anne Hathway's breakout romantic comedy was released two decades ago. But on the anniversary, the 38-year-old actress had a lot of good memories to share from the iconic role.

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From Instagram montages to interviews, Hathaway was feeling The Princess Diaries nostalgia over the weekend as the film approached its 20th birthday. Anne, who played Mia Thermopolis in the 2001 Disney rom-com, sat down with Access Hollywood to revisit some of her favorite moments from the film that launched her career. In fact, Hathaway had such a good time on set that she couldn't fathom picking just one moment out of them all. But in the end, she settled on the times she spent with the Hollywood legends she co-starred alongside. "Every time I got a hug from Julie Andrews. Every time I got a hug from Garry Marshall. Héctor Elizondo pulling me aside giving me career advice. Meeting Heather Matarazzo..." the actress listed off. It was clearly a life-changing opportunity to have been surrounded by such talented actors, and Anne certainly never forgot it.

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"I've had a very fortunate career," the Locked Down star explained. "But that job still stands out as being one that was just so full of magic, and just really made my life." And it most definitely put her on the map. According to IMDb's Box Office Mojo, the 2001 romantic comedy went on to bring in over $165 million worldwide and led to future roles including The Devil Wears Prada and Get Smart, plus, of course, the 2004 sequel to The Princess Diaries. Hathaway was full of love and appreciation for her breakout rom-com, and went on to take a walk down memory lane on her own personal Instagram account.

"Miracles happen..." the Hollywood actress captioned her roundup of movie stills. Her collection included photos from her coming-of-age role, in addition to her star-studded cast, which included Mandy Moore and Sandra Oh. And over 2.5 million people joined her as she reminisced on the beloved twenty-year-old romantic comedy.

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Like many in the comments section, we're holding out for a third installment in The Princess Diaries franchise, but no news yet. Stay tuned for more updates from your favorite Hollywood rom-coms...