Anne Hathaway made her big-screen debut as Mia Thermopolis in the classic Disney film The Princess Diaries, and in the ensuing years she has built up a film resume that easily rivals the most accomplished performers of her age. After dozens of films and a wide variety of critically acclaimed roles, Hathaway has established herself as one of the most formidable working actors.
Despite her stellar reputation as a dramatic actress, her body of work is actually surprisingly diverse. Her most acclaimed films run the gamut from drama to comedy to children's movies and everywhere in between, and her highest-rated work on Rotten Tomatoes is a reflection of her unique journey as a performer.
15 Ocean's 8 (2018) - 68%
Ocean's 8 might just be the latest in the long-running series of light-hearted capers, but the fan and critic reaction to this all-female cast of criminals has demonstrated that the concept and execution haven't lost their luster quite yet.
Arguably, Hathaway plays the most intriguing character in the entire romp in the form of Daphne Kluger. Although she is initially presented as an airheaded actress and the target of the thievery, she figures out the game and actually winds up joining this squad of thieves.
14 Les Misérables (2012) - 69%
Victor Hugo's classic Les Misérables has served as the source material for a nearly incalculable number of stage and screen adaptations, and although this version starring Anne Hathaway as Fantine won't go down in history as the definitive iteration, it is still a solid film in its own right.
As the title pretty clearly implies, the story is a chronicle of the tragic lives of many Parisian residents, but Fantine's might just be the most heartbreaking, and Hathway's expressive acting style and musical talents do the character justice.
13 Rio (2011) - 72%
Rio may not have had quite the staying power of some of the biggest animated children's hits of the 2010s, but this sweet tale was successful enough to earn a sequel and earn its place among Anne Hathaway's best films.
Rio is a bit of a love story between two birds, Blu (voiced by Jesse Eisenberg) and Jewel (played by Hathaway), but the saga evolves into something much grander as these domesticated exotic birds take off on their own adventure worthy of the movie's hour and a half runtime.
12 Interstellar (2014) - 73%
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Interstellar is Christopher Nolan's clear homage to classic science fiction films like 2001: A Space Odyssey, and it is not the only collaboration that the auteur director has had with Anne Hathaway.
Hathaway plays one of the astronauts who has left the dying planet earth in search of another habitable world that can house the remaining and rapidly diminishing human population. The journey through space and time is a harrowing one, and Hathaway's character proves to be the key to solving one of their biggest problems.
11 The Devil Wears Prada (2006) - 75%
Anne Hathaway's role as Andy Sachs in The Devil Wears Prada is undeniably one of her most iconic characters ever.
It's definitely lighter and fluffier than much of Hathaway's standard fare, but watching Anne go toe to toe with the incomparable Meryl Streep makes the movie worth the watch on its own. This scary, scathing insight into the realities of the fashion world is intimidating, but The Devil Wears Prada definitely hasn't gone out of fashion yet in the intervening years since its release.
10 Nicholas Nickleby (2002) - 78%
A huge portion of the adaptation of Nicholas Nickleby is exactly the kind of Dickensian horror that literature lovers have come to expect from any big-screen versions of Charles Dickens' work, but ultimately this story is a lovely tale of a kind boy who endures a lot, and eventually comes out the other side with a happy and loving life.
Anne plays the future wife of the titular character, and although her life is also mired in misery, her situation drastically improves once she meets Nicholas, and the two of them find great comfort in a truly loving and kind romance.
9 Girl Rising (2013) - 80%
Unlike the vast majority of projects on Anne Hathaway's resume, this movie is actually a documentary. The narrative focuses on the education of girls and women around the world, and it follows nine girls in nine different countries as they deal with the trials and tribulations that it takes to get an education.
Each story is narrated by a specific actress, with similarly lauded performers like Meryl Streep and Salma Hayek covering the journeys of different girls. Hathaway provides the narration for a student in Afghanistan.
8 Don Jon (2013) - 80%
The titular character of Don Jon is straight out of Jersey Shore, and he seems to be wrestling with a pretty significant porn addiction. Despite the somewhat bizarre premise, this film has a surprising amount of soul and won critics over easily.
It's an interesting film in its own right and obviously is sporting a stellar cast, however fans of Anne Hathaway may be disappointed in how minor her role actually is, as she appears in little more than a cameo.
7 Colossal (2016) - 81%
In the unusual black comedy Colossal, Hathaway plays an out-of-work writer who unknowingly has a connection to some gigantic monster that exists on the other side of the world.
When a giant, Godzilla-like reptile suddenly appears in Seoul, Hathaway's character is as interested in it as the rest of the world, but over time she comes to realize that she, in fact, is controlling its movements. Whatever she does, it does. And because that isn't wild enough, one of her pals finds that he can control a giant robot in Seoul too, and eventually the pair's avatars have to face off.
6 Rachel Getting Married (2008) - 84%
In the family drama Rachel Getting Married, Anne Hathaway plays Kym, the younger sister of the titular Rachel, who gets a pass out of her drug rehab center for a few days so that she can attend her sister's wedding.
The pair of sisters start the weekend off with some obvious animosity, with Kym being jealous that she isn't Rachel's maid of honor and Rachel being upset that Kym's addiction issues are drawing attention away from the event, and things only get worse, and better, from there.
5 The Dark Knight Rises (2012) - 87%
It's unsurprising that one of Christopher Nolan's entries into The Dark Knight trilogy is one of Anne Hathaway's top-rated films, and it's worth noting that one of her most critically acclaimed movies sees her play the absolutely iconic role of Catwoman.
Selina Kyle has been adapted for the big screen before, but Hathaway's version is definitely the most serious and the most intimidating one yet. And although this type of character isn't quite in Hathaway's wheelhouse, she totally nailed it as this legendary femme fatale who even manages to knock Bruce Wayne off his axis.
4 Armageddon Time (2022) - 88%
Armageddon Time is an underappreciated but star-studded period piece that stars Hathaway along with acting titans like Anthony Hopkins and Jeremy Strong.
The film is a sentimental, semi-autobiographical tale crafted by director and writer James Gray, and the movie deftly captures the experience of growing up in Queens, New York in the 1980s. Hathaway shines as Esther, the mother of Paul, the young leading character of the piece.
3 Brokeback Mountain (2005) - 88%
Obviously the love story between Jack Twist and Ennis Del Mar is the most memorable aspect of the landmark film Brokeback Mountain, but Anne Hathaway's role as the potentially clueless wife of Jack Twist is an essential element of the film as a whole.
Both Jack and Ennis are forced to live their lives with their sexuality as a secret, and they both find wives to cover up their real desires. Lureen seems to be smitten with Jack from the moment they met, but after Jack's untimely death there are some pretty clear hints that she may have known more about her husband's double life than she let on.
2 The Cat Returns (2003) - 88%
The Cat Returns is a Japanese anime film from the iconic production company Studio Ghibli, based on a manga of the same name. The story is about a young girl who discovers that she can talk to cats, and she gets drawn into the absurdly involved world of cat society.
It's an adorable movie, that is an underappreciated and largely unknown entry into Hathaway's filmography. When the film made its way overseas Anne Hathaway provided the voice over for the lead character, a girl named Haru.
1 Dark Waters (2019) - 89%
Dark Waters is a fascinating dramatization of a real-life court case that largely revolutionized environmental law in America.
Mark Ruffalo takes on the leading role here as a lawyer going up against the chemical manufacturing company DuPont, who has seemingly been knowingly dumping chemicals that the company knew was poisonous but that wasn't actually regulated by the legal system at the time. Although many might have some cultural awareness of the previous toxicity of Teflon, most don't know the real-world events that exposed it, and Dark Waters explores that masterfully.