Anne Hathaway may not really be the princess of Genovia, but she is definitely Hollywood royalty. It’s incredibly hard to imagine someone disrespecting her now, but that wasn’t the case when she was just starting out. The pressure on Hollywood actresses to say in incredible shape isn’t just for grown women, it can also be for teenagers.
Anne is no strangers to rumors about her body.
When she shared this video of her workout routine, her caption called out future body-shamers, announcing that she was “gaining weight for a movie role.” She later revealed that she said this to get ahead of pregnancy rumors.
That’s why in her recent announcement of her second pregnancy, she made a little joke.
Her caption started, “It’s not for a movie…” but she continued on to say, “All kidding aside, for everyone going through infertility and conception hell, please know it was not a straight line to either of my pregnancies. Sending you extra love.”
Anne has talked about how after he first pregnancy, she had a lot of issues with her weight.
“One of the lucky things about being in this business for so long is that I’ve really kind of come to terms with the pressure that you get to look a certain way as an actress,” Anne revealed in an interview with Ellen Degeneres.
“And I don’t beat myself up about any of that stuff anymore,” she continued.
“But after I had my son, the weight was really slow to come off and so I was a different size than I normally am.”
“I walked on the set [of Ocean’s 8], and you know, my weight’s a little up, and I’m aware of it.”
Luckily she had a friend to help lift her up. She says, “Rihanna looks up and goes, ‘Damn girl, you got an ass!’ And I, of course, freaked out and loved it so much. I was like, ‘Really?!’ And she goes, ‘You got an ass like me!'”
The rest of the cast was similarly supportive.
She told Ellen that Sandra Bullock told her, “Looking good, mama!” and that Cate Blanchett added, “Nice jeans, Hathaway!” Anne said that she was grateful to be “surrounded by so much love and understanding.”
In a new interview, Anne revealed that these pressures go back a long time.
For Allure’s September issue, Anne opened up about her experience getting cast for her first role on Get Real when she was just 16 years old.
“It was ‘Congratulations, you have the part. I’m not saying you need to lose weight. I’m just saying don’t gain weight.’”
“Which of course means you need to lose weight,” Anne said of receiving the news that she was cast.
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Anne compared that to being asked to gain 20lbs for the role in her new movie.
She said the experience was totally different, adding, “So I had that, then 20 years later I have [the costume designer for her new film] asking me what my body does on my moon — which I realized meant my period — so she can make adjustments for me.”
“I am cautious in my praise of how Hollywood is shifting.”
Anne added that, while things were improving, there was a lot of distance left to cover. “There is so much more body inclusivity — which is great! — but the thin thing is definitely still the centralized ‘normal’ expectation.”
Of course, at Anne’s level of fame now, designers are lining up to dress her at any stage her body is in.
Even in pregnancy. On a recent red carpet, Anne revealed an adorable hidden detail in her dress added by the designer Brandon Maxwell.
The adorable detail was revealed in one of her Instagram posts.
Anne shared the photo, captioning it, “As if it wasn’t enough you custom-made me and the bump a knockout dress, you put this tag in it. Thank you, new friend.”
Anne’s honesty about her struggles in Hollywood are so refreshing.
She’s also opened up about her issue with alcohol. “My issue is I just love it,” she explained . “So much. But the way I do it makes me unavailable for my son.”
“”My last hangover lasted for five days.”
Anne explained that she was no longer going to drink while her son was still living in her house. With the upcoming arrival of her new child, Anne’s probably grateful she got a head start.
Whether she’s talking about body image, alcohol, or pregnancy, Anne always keeps it real.
And on top of that she’s also a phenomenal actress? No wonder we just can’t get enough of her.
