25 Years Ago, Anne Hathaway Was A 'Nobody' Who Had To Ask For Princess Diaries Dress Help

Anne Hathaway smiling as Mia Thermopolis with a tank top on in The Princess Diaries
(Image credit: Walt Disney Pictures)

Anne Hathaway may be so sought-after in Hollywood that this year she stars in five 2026 movies, but she just passed a different major career milestone. Last week, on July 29 to be exact, it was the 25th anniversary of The Princess Diaries premiere at Los Angeles’ El Capitan Theatre. The Disney movie was Hathaway’s film debut, and as the actress remembers it, getting designer clothes for a press tour was much different back then.

Hathaway was eighteen years old when she walked the red carpet of The Princess Diaries premiere in a mauve strapless dress alongside stars like Julie Andrews and Mandy Moore. Here’s what she recently said about acquiring the getup from Calvin Klein:

I contacted Calvin Klein myself, and explained who I was, and that I had a premiere coming up. Such a bridge and tunnel nobody, and they treated me with so much respect and kindness. They lent me so many clothes for this press tour. And, the one thing that I forgot: I’m not wearing sunscreen.

Hey, that was pretty resourceful of young Anne Hathaway. The actress had the gall to get in touch with a major label in hopes of getting the appropriate clothes for a major press tour. And, they really hooked her up. Though, she did make one rookie move. She neglected to put on sunscreen for the Hollywood Blvd. premiere. As a result, she pointed out that her shoulders were all burned up for the afterparty. Take a look:

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Julie Andrews & Anne Hathaway during The Princess Diaries Premiere After Party at El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California, United States.

(Image credit: SGranitz/WireImage)

Hathaway looked gorgeous in her Calvin Klein mid-length dress with her legendary co-star Julie Andrews, but of course she remembers the faux paus the best. In the same interview with Elle, the Oscar winner shared how special the premiere dress was to her with these words:

I still have this dress. I keep some of my kind of most treasured outfits in a special spot, and this is one of them.

The Princess Diaries gave Anne Hathaway a big hit on her first Hollywood go-around. The Disney movie earned $165 million worldwide against a reported production budget of $26 million. All these years later, it's considered a 2000s classic, especially for the young women who were growing up with it at the time. Amidst the anniversary, Hathaway also celebrated by posting this on Instagram:

Anne Hathaway called the 2001 release “still one of the most magical things that has ever happened to me!” You can currently revisit both Princess Diaries movies with a Disney+ subscription.

The actor is currently working behind-the-scenes as a producer on The Princess Diaries 3 which is set to be directed by Adele Lim. We still have a lot of questions about the sequel, but apparently the script is coming along.

These days, Anne Hathaway undoubtedly has no problem at all securing designers to help her with press tour outfits. But, it’s always fun to look back on where one started.

Sarah El-Mahmoud
Staff Writer

Sarah El-Mahmoud has been with CinemaBlend since 2018 after graduating from Cal State Fullerton with a degree in Journalism. In college, she was the Managing Editor of the award-winning college paper, The Daily Titan, where she specialized in writing/editing long-form features, profiles and arts & entertainment coverage, including her first run-in with movie reporting, with a phone interview with Guillermo del Toro for Best Picture winner, The Shape of Water. Now she's into covering YA television and movies, and plenty of horror. Word webslinger. All her writing should be read in Sarah Connor’s Terminator 2 voice over.

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