Here's How Anne Hathaway Survived Being a “Chronically Stressed Young Woman” in Hollywood

Anne Hathaway recently revealed how her journey to success was marred with immense stress in Hollywood. Speaking on The New York Times podcast, The Interview, Hathaway, now 41, looked back on the beginnings of her career. Looking back, the Devil Wears Prada actor shared how her stress barred her from accepting the appreciation she got for work in the industry. 

"I was a really stressed out young woman. And as a formerly chronically stressed young woman, which leads to, you know, all manner of things, I just remember thinking one day, ‘You are taking this for granted, you are taking your life for granted,'" Hathaway revealed. Speaking further she added, "You have no idea. Something could fall through the sky and that will be lights out for you. So when I find myself, like, the old instincts rising, I just tell myself, I’m like, ‘You are not gonna die stressed.'"

Upon being asked about the source of her stress Hathaway disclosed, "I didn’t know how to breathe yet. And that was really complicated. That was really, really complicated not knowing how to breathe. I was just very, very, very in my head, about a lot of things." Adding further while speaking to David Marchese, she said, "I was just stuck in this feeling. It’s that thing about, I want to achieve things, I want to grow, and you think, mistakenly, that the way you do that is to be really hard on yourself. You drive yourself by self-criticism." However years later the Princess Diaries actor finally realized that "in order to keep that narrative alive, I was going to have to deny so much. I just said, ‘You’re just going to have to accept that if nothing else happens to you, you’ve had a really great life. You have been given gifts and opportunities. And for you to continue to walk on this path, not being grateful, I don’t think that’s really who you are.’ It felt like a light went on." 

Looking at the present and thriving on her success, the actor according to The Hollywood Reporter shared, "I work hard just to be present. Like I said, I’m more grateful. I’m more settled in myself. I’m less afraid of things not happening." The actor had previously confessed in an interview with Vanity Fair, that she has quit drinking, "I knew deep down it wasn’t for me. And it just felt so extreme to have to say, ‘But none?’ But none. If you’re allergic to something or have an anaphylactic reaction to something, you don’t argue with it. So I stopped arguing with it." She added, "For me, it was wallowing fuel. And I don’t like to wallow. The thing that I have faith in is that everybody else is going to have one or two drinks, and by the time everybody gets to two drinks, you’ll feel like you’ve had two drinks – but without the hangover."