Anne Hathaway - Awarding Winning Actress, Producer, Depression
Anne Hathaway is an Academy Award winning actress, producer, and singer. She is best known for her portrayal of the soulfully moving character Fantine in Les Miserables (2012), the role that won her critical acclaim, awards a& the admiration of millions. The depressed character she portrayed on screen revealed a side of her former younger self; one that struggled with depression.
Anne Hathaway's Early Career
Anne Hathaway got her big acting break in the Disney film The Prince Diaries (2001), playing the secret heiress ‘Mia Thermopolis’. Since then she has continued to prove herself as a credible and well-ranged actress, appearing in films like Brokeback Mountain, The Devil Wears Prada, The Dark Night Rises and Les Miserables.
Anne Hathaway’s Success
In 2008, she earned an academy Award nomination for Best Actress for her performance in Rachel Getting Married. Although she won many awards for that role, the prestigious Oscar eluded her. In 2010, she starred in the box office hits Valentine's Day, Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, and Love and Other Drugs. In this same year she won an Emmy Award for her voice-over role in an episode of The Simpsons. In 2012, she played Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises and gave a multi-award winning performance in Les Miserables.
This performance earned her several awards including: a Golden Globe, A Screen Actors Guild Award, a BAFTA and finally an Academy Award. Anne Hathaway is one of the rare breed of actors that has won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, a BAFTA, a SAG award and a Critics Choice award; all for a single role (making her 1 out of 23 people to do so in all of history).
Anne Hathaway's Childhood
Hathaway was born November 12, 1982, in Brooklyn, New York. Her father, Gerald Thomas Hathaway, is a lawyer, and her mother, Kathleen Ann "Kate" (née McCauley), is an actress who inspired Hathaway to follow in her footsteps. Hathaway's mother played Fantine in the first U.S. tour of Les Misérables.
Anne Hathaway was a raised as a Roman Catholic, with what as she puts it "really strong values". As a child, Hathaway didn’t want to grow up to become an actor, she wanted instead to enter the seminary as a nun.
"When I was 11, I felt like I got a calling from God to be a nun." – Anne Hathaway
As a teenager, her relationship with the Catholic Church began to change after learning that her older brother was gay, she said that she found it difficult to support a religion that didn’t accept her brother. "I realized my older brother was gay, and I couldn't support a religion that didn't support my brother. Now I call myself a nondenominational Christian, because I haven't found the religion for me."
As of 2009, Anne Hathaway has stated that her religious beliefs are a “work in progress”.
Anne Hathaway & her Depression
In early 2007, Hathaway spoke of her experiences with depression during her teenage years. She suffered from anxiety and depression as a teen, and has an interesting perspective on being a “different person” at the time:
“I said to Mom the other day, ‘Do you remember that girl? She has now gone, gone to sleep. She has said her peace and is gone.’ But then I thought, I to remember her, only she is no longer part of me. “I am so sorry she was hurting for so long. It’s all so negatively narcissistic to be so consumed with self.” -She said,
“Many people might take issue with thinking of depression as “consumed with self” – it is a provocative idea. But with my own past experience with depression, I think there is some validity to it. Not that being “narcissistic” brings on depression, but that when you are suffering from it, your perspectives on life tend to get restricted to your dark moods, and your darkened self having to deal with those moods.”
It is hard to say whether Anne’s change in her religious belief affected her depression, however a change in one’s religious belief can trigger or intensify negative depressive episodes; however without consultation it is impossible to determine if this was the case for Anne Hathaway. As Anne Hathaway got older, she was able to overcome her condition without medication through the support of friends, however many people who suffer from depression require more than this to overcome their condition.
Depression is not as simple as thinking everything will be ok and waiting for you to get better; it often requires real help from professionals & strong supportive networks in terms of friends and families. If you suffer from depression, or knows someone who does; let them know that help is available at AB Consultation & Counselling Services.