Anne Hathaway: from the royal court to the rodeo and beyond

Starring in teen royalty flicks like The Princess Diaries and Ella Enchanted, Anne Hathaway has in her career thus far played the klutzy innocent thrust into a world of empty sophisticates with such endearing aplomb that the real royals might want to give her a call if they're ever thinking about hiring. With her big brown eyes, long auburn hair, and alabaster skin, she looks like the kind of girl who still sleeps in a four-poster bed, put upon by would-be suitors who dream of one day winning her favor with expensive jewelry using Richard Gere's snapdragon maneuver from Pretty Woman.

But 23-year-old, New Jersey-raised, and Vassar-educated Hathaway has other ideas, oceans of them even. For one thing, she has been at this acting gig far longer than anyone knows, training formally as a teen and appearing on stage for years before The Princess Diaries. And for another, she's about to switch things up, moviewise, in some very un-regal ways: First, in Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain, in which she plays the cuckolded wife of Jake Gyllenhaal's character, a cowboy who is having an affair with another cowboy; then, in her first big post-princess starring role, opposite Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada, based on former Vogue assistant Lauren Weisberger's very thinly veiled (i.e. completely transparent) novel about life running errands and performing menial tasks for the editor of a high-powered fashion magazine. And, no, Hathaway does not play the devil. But, to paraphrase the late Michael Hutchence, every single one of us has a little one inside.

Stephen Mooallem is Interview's senior editor. Left: Anne Hathaway wears a vest by H&M. Tights by STOCKINGIRL.COM. Necklace by RACHEL LEIGHo Cosmetics by M*A*C. Hair products by KIEHL'S. Fragrance: YOUTH DEW AMBER NUDE EAU DE PARFUM. Styling: ANNABEL TOLLMAN. Hair: KEVIN MANCUSO/Eiji Salon NYC/ Jed Root. Makeup: TOMMY JOINER/artistsbytimothypriano.com. Special thanks: THE CHELSEA HOTEL. Fashion details page 159. Photo: MATT JONES.

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