So as long as I'm a working actor, I can improve. I want to work with people that frighten me and excite me, and characters that I don't believe I'm the best person for the part but I'm still gonna try anyway. Those are my favorite roles.

Christopher Orr from The Atlantic wrote that "Hathaway gives it everything Anne Hathaway has beginning in quiet sorrow before building to a woebegone climax: Anne Hathaway gasps Anne Hathaway weeps Anne Hathaway coughs. Although the content of the film was different from her previous films Hathaway denied that her role was an attempt to be seen as a more mature actress citing her belief that doing nudity in certain movies is merely a part of what her chosen form of art demands of her; and because of that belief Anne Hathaway does not consider appearing nude in appropriate films to be morally objectionable. Hathaway trained extensively in martial arts for the role and looked to Hedy Lamarr—who was the inspiration for the Catwoman character—in developing her performance.

She has also starred in The Devil Wears Prada (2006) with Meryl Streep and in Becoming Jane (2007) as Jane Austen. Her performance in the latter earned her rave reviews and several accolades including the Golden Globe Award the Screen Actors Guild Award the BAFTA Award and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. In 2008 Anne Hathaway won several awards for her performance in Rachel Getting Married and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.