
In a 2016 interview with Cosmo, Matarazzo revealed that her co-star insisted that the two of them had met several times before at auditions, but if that was truly the case, she has no memory of it. The two actresses share such strong on-screen chemistry that it feels like they must’ve known each other forever - which, at least according to Hathaway, is exactly right. One of the best elements of The Princess Diaries is the friendship between Mia and the loud, confident Lilly (Heather Matarazzo). Mia and Lilly might’ve had a real-life connection “That’s what terrific people do they pass the baton,” Elizondo told Variety in 2016. According to co-star Héctor Elizondo, who played Joe, Andrews would instruct Hathaway to watch the monitor as they rewound scenes to review her work. Thankfully, she had the legendary Julie Andrews as her mentor.
Chris pine princess diaries movie#
It’s hard to believe now, but Hathaway was just 18 when she starred in The Princess Diaries, and the movie was only her second on-screen role. Julie Andrews took Hathaway under her wing Unfortunately, Heaven flopped at the box office, proving that even an actress as watchable as Hathaway isn’t always enough to save a movie doomed for failure. The adventure drama was supposed to come out earlier than The Princess Diaries, but when Disney got word of how successful the latter film might be, they postponed Heaven’s release in the hopes that by its new date, Hathaway would be a big-enough star to bolster its sales. That audition tape Marshall watched? It was filmed during a 26-hour layover Hathaway had in Los Angeles before heading off to New Zealand to film another movie called The Other Side of Heaven. But The Princess Diaries wasn’t supposed to be her movie debut When Marshall watched the audition tapes of the many actresses he was considering to play Mia Thermopolis (ranging from Drew Barrymore to Reese Witherspoon), Hathaway stood out - at least to his young granddaughters, who raved over her princess-like hair. Anne Hathaway’s hair helped her get castĪlthough the actress’ talent and charisma certainly helped earn her the part, Hathaway might have her hair to thank most of all. Even better? When Marshall celebrated his birthday, the singer serenaded him on the set - a moment none of the cast or crew around has surely forgotten. But Houston didn’t just write a check and walk away - she was heavily involved in the film, from coming up with the memorable scene in which Mia (Hathaway) smears ice cream on Lana’s (Mandy Moore) cheerleading uniform to curating the boy band-heavy soundtrack. While the late Whitney Houston is largely remembered for her incredible voice and roles in films like The Bodyguard and Waiting to Exhale, she was also a producer, with her company, BrownHouse Productions, responsible for movies like the Brandy-starring Cinderella remake, Disney Channel’s The Cheetah Girls, and, of course, The Princess Diaries. YouTube Icon YouTube Icon Whitney Houston produced the movie - and had a lot of input

But even those of us who’ve spent decades reenacting the makeover scene, memorizing the Genovian national anthem, and rewatching the movie more times than we can count still might not know everything about it - which is why, in honor of its anniversary, we’re sharing 15 pieces of Princess Diaries trivia you may not have known before. Twenty years after its debut, the Garry Marshall-directed film continues to earn new fans thanks to its streaming release on Disney+ and the fact that “I don’t want to rule my own country I just want to pass the 10th grade,” as Mia says in the film, truly is a forever mood.


Over the years, the movie went on to inspire not just its 2004 sequel (which was written by Shonda Rhimes), but countless other aspects of entertainment and popular culture, from rom-coms like The Princess Switch to the exuberant reactions we all had when Meghan Markle underwent “duchess training” before marrying Prince Harry. The feel-good comedy not only out-earned all box-office expectations, but it also introduced the world to Anne Hathaway, introduced Julie Andrews to a new generation, and made Genovian superfans out of, well, pretty much everyone. It’s not an exaggeration to say that pop culture hasn’t been the same since Augaka the day that The Princess Diaries hit theaters.
