Anne Hathaway has had an iconic career, appearing in several remarkable movies and working with great directors in the industry.
Her prominent roles in The Princess Diaries, The Devil Wears Prada, Les Misérables, Alice in Wonderland, and Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises as Catwoman have contributed to her success.
Hathaway has several accolades, including an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in the 2013 film adaptation of the musical Les Miserables. However, despite her success in the film industry, the actor has expressed her dislike for her name.
Anne Hathaway Hates Being Called Anne
The actor known for Les Miserables, Anne Hathaway, prefers not to use her middle name and also dislikes being called Anne. She has explained that the name Anne reminds her of her mother when she is angry.
“The only person who ever calls me Anne is my mother, and she only does it when she’s really mad at me, like really mad,” she explained.
“So every time I step out in public and someone calls my name, I think they’re going to yell at me… People are like, ‘Anne!’ And I’m like, ‘What? What did I do?’”
Of course, she would never want to picture someone yelling at her like her mother did when she was mad at young Anne.
During an appearance on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon, the actor expressed her dislike for being called Anne and her legal name. When asked what name she preferred, she requested to be called Annie.
She also mentioned that she prefers to be called Annie, as most people address her by that name on a daily basis. Additionally, Hathaway revealed that her colleagues have always shown her respect by using her preferred name.
“People are so lovely, they don’t want to be presumptuous, and so they come up with workarounds on set because the truth is nobody’s comfortable calling me Anne ever. It doesn’t fit. I’m an Annie. People call me ‘Miss H,’ people call me ‘Hath,’ so feel free, call me anything but Anne,” she said.
Anything but Anne, it is evident how much she hates her real name.
The Actress Could Change Her Stage Name But She Didn’t Know About It
Hathaway’s reason for the hatred for her real name is clearly justified. But she could put a halt to that, except she didn’t know she could change her stage name. She started her acting career at a very young age and at the time she didn’t give much thought to changing her name.
“When I was 14 years old I filmed a commercial and I had to get my SAG card, and they asked me, ‘What do you want your name to be?’” it would certainly be confusing for a 14-year-old actor. “I’m like, ‘Well it should be my name, my name is Anne Hathaway’,” Hathaway said.
Also, at the time, she was not sure enough that her career would expand into being one of Hollywood’s most sought-after actors. By that time, it was already too late as most people were familiar with the legal name she gave at the age of 14.
“That seemed like the right choice, but it never occurred to me that for the rest of my life people would call me Anne,” the Les Miserables actor said.
Despite her hatred for her legal name, the actor still uses the name in public without taking any measures to change it. Further, her social media handles also have her name as Anne. Perhaps, her original name only bothers her when she is being called out by that.
Anne Hathaway is set to appear in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie alongside Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. The movie will hit the theater on 21 July 2023.
