Academy Award-winning actress Anne Hathaway has been selected as the cover star for PEOPLE magazine's highly anticipated annual 'Most Beautiful' issue. The 43-year-old performer, currently experiencing a career resurgence with multiple high-profile projects, receives this honor during a remarkably busy year that showcases her enduring star power and artistic versatility.
A Prolific Year for the Oscar Winner
Hathaway's recognition comes as she prepares for an extraordinary 2026 that will see five of her films released to audiences worldwide. Her upcoming projects demonstrate impressive range, from dramatic adaptations to blockbuster reunions with acclaimed filmmakers.
In July, Hathaway will reunite with visionary director Christopher Nolan for the epic adventure The Odyssey, a project already generating significant buzz within industry circles. Later in the fall, she will star alongside Josh Hartnett and Dakota Johnson in the cinematic adaptation of Coleen Hoover's bestselling novel Verity, bringing another complex literary character to life on the big screen.
Return to a Fashion Icon
The most anticipated project in Hathaway's 2026 lineup is undoubtedly The Devil Wears Prada 2, which arrives exactly twenty years after the original film became a cultural phenomenon. Hathaway reprises her role as Andy Sachs alongside original co-stars Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, and Stanley Tucci, creating what promises to be one of the year's most nostalgic cinematic events.
In the sequel's narrative, Andy assists her former boss Miranda Priestly (Streep) in navigating the dramatically transformed contemporary media landscape. The story brings back Emily Charlton (Blunt), Miranda's former assistant who now leads a luxury brand that could potentially solve Runway magazine's advertising challenges. This continuation explores how these iconic characters have evolved while maintaining the sharp wit and fashion-forward sensibility that made the original so beloved.
Personal Reflections and Professional Partnerships
In her PEOPLE magazine profile, Hathaway offered heartfelt insights into her personal life, particularly praising her husband, producer and actor Adam Shulman. She described him as "a dream partner" who provides crucial support in balancing her demanding career with family life as a mother of two.
"I'm so lucky that he's my partner that I spend my life with," Hathaway revealed. "If I didn't know that before this past year, I think I really know it now because with absolutely everything he's just, he's on it. He holds it down. It's one thing to have dreams. It's another thing to have somebody who helps you achieve them. I absolutely would not be able to have achieved what I've done without my husband."
Reuniting with Cinematic Legends
Hathaway expressed particular enthusiasm about working alongside Meryl Streep again, describing the experience as both professionally rewarding and personally meaningful. "Just to get to see an artist like her, I don't talk about how much I revere her to her, but I do," Hathaway confessed. "Someone whom I admire, someone who does it better than anybody, somebody who defines how it's done, somebody who is just living greatness. And never rests on that laurel but is always pushing herself to expand as an artist."
Reflecting on returning to the world of The Devil Wears Prada after two decades, Hathaway noted: "Sometimes you're like, 'I wish I could go back to that moment knowing what I know now.' So for me this was the chance to actually be with the same people again, step back into that world, but with a little bit more perspective." She characterized the original filming experience as "one of the most hilarious experiences ever" and called the sequel reunion "just beautiful."
Overwhelming Fan Response
The intense public interest in the sequel became evident during production, as Meryl Streep revealed in a separate interview with Harper's Bazaar. "Even though we were aware of the impact of the first film two decades ago, I think none of us were prepared for the ambush of both goodwill and avid attention that engulfed us," Streep explained.
She described extraordinary scenes during filming: "We needed police barriers and crowd control. Buses of fans turned up, and paparazzi swarmed and in one case kept jumping in front of the camera and the shot and got in a kerfuffle with crew. Annie kept her cool, but I was unnerved." This overwhelming response underscores the lasting cultural impact of the original film and the tremendous anticipation surrounding its long-awaited follow-up.
The original The Devil Wears Prada (2006) was adapted from Lauren Weisberger's 2003 novel, which offered a fictionalized account of working at a prestigious fashion magazine under a demanding editor widely believed to be inspired by Vogue's Anna Wintour. The film became both a critical and commercial success, earning Streep an Academy Award nomination and establishing itself as a defining work in the fashion film genre.
The Devil Wears Prada 2 is scheduled to premiere in theatres on May 1, 2026, marking the beginning of what promises to be a landmark year for Anne Hathaway as she balances prestigious magazine honors with multiple high-profile cinematic releases.
