Anne Hathaway’s best performance? Variety puts rehab drama at No. 1

Anne Hathaway’s fiercest screen work, according to Variety, is still her raw turn in Jonathan Demme’s 2008 family drama “Rachel Getting Married.”

Clayton Davis, Variety’s chief awards editor, placed Hathaway’s performance as Kym at the top of a 13-film ranking of the Oscar winner’s best work. The list arrives during a busy 2026 for Hathaway, who appears as Penelope in Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” and is also part of “The Devil Wears Prada 2.”

Variety described Hathaway as one of Hollywood’s most adaptable leading women over more than 25 years, pointing to a career that has stretched from studio comedies and blockbusters to addiction drama, musicals and thrillers.

From Genovia to Oscar night

Hathaway was born in Brooklyn and raised in New Jersey, Variety noted. After appearing in the Fox family drama “Get Real,” she broke out in 2001 as Mia Thermopolis in Garry Marshall’s “The Princess Diaries,” opposite Julie Andrews.

That film earned more than $160 million worldwide and led to the 2004 sequel “The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement,” again with Marshall and Andrews, according to Variety.

The outlet traced her early shift into varied film roles through “Nicholas Nickleby” in 2002, “Ella Enchanted” in 2004 and Ang Lee’s “Brokeback Mountain” in 2005, where she played Lureen Newsome.

Her career kept accelerating with “The Devil Wears Prada” in 2006, co-starring Meryl Streep, and the Steve Carell comedy “Get Smart” in 2008. That same year, “Rachel Getting Married” brought Hathaway her first Academy Award nomination, for best actress.

Four years later, Hathaway won the supporting actress Oscar for playing Fantine in Tom Hooper’s “Les Misérables.” Variety singled out her performance of “I Dreamed a Dream,” filmed as a one-take showcase, as the defining proof of that role’s power.

Variety’s top 13 Hathaway performances

• 1. “Rachel Getting Married” (2008)
• 2. “Les Misérables” (2012)
• 3. “The Princess Diaries” (2001)
• 4. “The Odyssey” (2026)
• 5. “The Devil Wears Prada” (2006)
• 6. “Get Smart” (2008)
• 7. “Brokeback Mountain” (2005)
• 8. “Love and Other Drugs” (2010)
• 9. “Ocean’s Eight” (2018)
• 10. “The Dark Knight Rises” (2012)
• 11. “Ella Enchanted” (2004)
• 12. “Colossal” (2016)
• 13. “Nicholas Nickleby” (2002)

“The Odyssey” landed high on the list as Hathaway’s third collaboration with Nolan after “The Dark Knight Rises” and “Interstellar.” Variety said she plays Penelope, the queen of Ithaca, in a cast that also includes Matt Damon, Tom Holland and Robert Pattinson.

Several familiar titles missed the main ranking. Variety named “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” “Interstellar,” “The Intern,” “Eileen” and “The Idea of You” as honorable mentions. The outlet also noted that “The Idea of You” became one of Amazon’s most-watched original films.

This story draws on original reporting from Variety.