Anne Hathaway has always been a stunningly beautiful woman, regardless of which stage of her career you refer to. Still, there’s no doubt she’s undergone some extreme physical transformations for her many on-screen roles.
2012 was a great example of such transformations, as she dropped the pounds and got into terrific shape to play Fantine in Tom Hooper’s epic Les Misérables and Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman, in Christopher Nolan’s superhero romp The Dark Knight Rises.
Hathaway’s many extreme physical alterations over the years have occurred due to various practices. Her dedication to her craft, ensuring she turns up to work looking just right for any given role, has to be admired. Let’s see how she’s achieved her amazing condition for certain movie roles.
Extreme dieting
Dieting is the go-to method for losing unwanted weight for millions worldwide, but Hathaway is no stranger to going to extremes to ensure that happens when roles require it.
The actress has a slim frame, to begin with, so any roles that require her character to be excessively skinny demand insane dedication from her. That notion was never more applicable than when she had to play the tuberculosis-stricken Fantine in Les Mis.
Hathaway dropped 25 pounds for the role, losing 10 pounds with a detoxifying cleanse, eating only hummus and radishes. After that, she shed the remaining 15 pounds by eating only two thin pieces of oatmeal paste daily.
She described the process as “a little nuts” and “obsessive,” but when the aim was to look “near death” that level of madness was necessary. The process left her physically and emotionally deprived, and it took weeks until she felt like herself again.
Hathaway also has a generally healthy diet outside of her work, regardless of her roles.
A high protein, anti-inflammatory diet
Hathaway adhered rigidly to a high-protein, almost vegan, anti-inflammatory diet to prepare for her role as the super-agile Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises.
The star’s personal nutrition coach, Jackie Keller, who spoke to Shape about the subject, had complete control over what Hathaway ate and introduced tempeh and seitan to her dietary plan. The food Keller okayed for Hathaway’s menu included superfoods and healthy options such as vibrant red and orange vegetables that are high in antioxidants (like yams), dark leafy greens, sesame seeds, avocados, almonds, plain chocolate, egg whites, brown rice, gluten-free bread, turmeric, and ginger.
This enabled Hathaway to shed weight deemed superfluous and gain muscle fast when working out.
Dedication to the gym
It’ll surprise nobody that Hathaway’s weight loss and conditioning are largely due to her dedication to working out regularly.
In 2011, she told Harper’s Bazaar how she’d be in the gym five times a week to prepare for her role as Catwoman and that the aim was more than just looking good. She said, “I’ve always thought that skinny was the goal, but with this job, I also have to be strong.”
Gym sessions also played a massive part in helping the actress to return to peak physical condition after giving birth. Speaking to the iconic eponymous host on The Ellen DeGeneres Show following her 2016 pregnancy, she shared, “Yeah, I work out with five-pound weights, but I pushed a baby out of my body.”
Hathaway was back in the gym fairly regularly just eight weeks after giving birth to her son, Jonathan.
No wonder she always looks so darn good.