It's hard to believe, but until The Princess Diaries hit theaters 15 years ago (in August 2001), no one knew of Anne Hathaway. The Disney movie was a surprise hit *and * the Oscar winner's first movie role.
In a way, Hathaway has a lot in common with her character, Princess Mia Thermopolis of Genovia, as the film changed her life forever too. We all know that Hathaway went on to make The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement—and then successfully transitioned into more serious roles in acclaimed films like Brokeback Mountain, became a pop-culture icon in The Devil Wears Prada, and nabbed a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her heartbreaking portrayal of Fantine in* Les Miserables*. But here's something we didn't know about Hathaway: She's all about paying homage to her roots. Why, you ask? Because it looks like a third Princess Diaries movie is in the works, and Hathaway's planning on reprising the role that started it all! The Princess Diaries' director, Garry Marshall, told People this week that a reunion could be happening: "I was with Anne Hathaway a couple weeks ago. It looks like we want to do Princess Diaries 3 in Manhattan. Anne Hathaway is very pregnant, so we have to wait until she has the baby, and then I think we're going to do it."
We are trying very hard to contain our excitement here because we know it could be a very long time until filming gets off the ground. Plus, we have a million questions—like will it pick up after PD2, when Princess Mia chooses Chris Pine (in his first movie role, FYI)? But it's totally worth the wait! In the meantime, we can obsess over what made the first film so awesome and provide you with 10 little-known facts about the original movie that you can use to impress your friends.
1. The set Princess Diaries was filmed on is actually super famous.
Julie Andrews, who so memorably played Princess Mia's grandmother Queen Clarisse Renaldi, was quite at home. They filmed The Princess Diaries on Stage 2 in Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California—the same stage in which Mary Poppins was shot in the '60s! Stage 2 has since been renamed in honor of Andrews.
2. Hathaway had family all around her.
The picture of Mia's deceased father that sits next to her music box is a picture of Hathaway's real-life dad (who is still alive!).
3. Mia's pet cat was actually four!
One of the four, yes four, cats who played Fat Louie actually belonged to Hathaway.
4. Julia Roberts was on everyone's mind.
Marshall also famously directed Pretty Woman, and he paid some subtle homages to the iconic film in The Princess Diaries. Most notably is in the scene when Mia breaks a glass while tapping on it to make a toast. The waiter says, "It happens all the time." But if the waiter looked and sounded familiar it's because the same actor played a waiter in Pretty Woman and delivered the exact same line after Julia Roberts flings a snail and the waiter catches it.
5. The nod to Shakespeare was on purpose.
During Mia's "princess lessons,"she recites one of Juliet's soliloquies from Shakespeare's *Romeo and Juliet *. It's a fun wink to Hathaway because Shakespeare's wife was also named Anne Hathaway.
6. The Princess Diaries hurt Hathaway's career for a beat.
It took a while for Hathaway to be considered for the roles she really wanted after The Princess Diaries came out. "It was so cool in so many ways because it was a great first job—it was a big hit—but at the same time, it was a hard thing to be like, 'Robert Rodriguez, I swear I can do one of your movies!'" she told the Huffington Post. "It was hard to get into rooms to be taken seriously for roles that weren't princesses, so I think partially that was why I've tried to have as big a range as I have."
7. That ugly ducking look took A LOT of work.
Before her princess makeover, Mia has unruly thick hair and bushy, never-been-plucked eyebrows. But neither were real. Hathaway did have to wear a clip-in hairpiece that was nicknamed "The Beast," and it took over an hour in the makeup chair to create those brows!
8. A famous singer was behind the scenes.
Whitney Houston produced The Princess Diaries and went on to produce the sequel, the Disney Channel original movie The Cheetah Girls, and Sparkle (starring Jordin Sparks), which came out after Houston's untimely death.
9. A different actress almost wore Princess Mia's crown.
Hathaway has said that Liv Tyler was originally considered for the role of Mia, but Marshall's granddaughters also had a little something to do with Hathaway nabbing the role—they saw her audition tape and thought she had the best "princess hair."
10. A happy accident made for a most memorable moment!
This scene where Mia trips and falls into the bleachers? Yeah, it wasn't planned! Hathaway tripped, and Marshall thought it was funny during editing and left it in!
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