Anne Hathaway Breaks Down Andy’s Devil Wears Prada 2 Fashion Journey

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Anne Hathaway certainly has style and a sense of fashion.

Anne Hathaway’s character, Andy Sachs, from The Devil Wears Prada, is also feeling more confident about her style. While her fashion choices were criticized in the original 2006 film – where she played a junior assistant to Miranda Priestly, played by Meryl Streep – she’s embracing her look in the upcoming sequel, The Devil Wears Prada 2.

Anne Hathaway, star of The Princess Diaries, recently told Zuri Hall on the March 12th episode of Fandango’s Big Ticket Podcast that her current style is a blend of comfortable and glamorous.

It took Anne and the film team some time to figure out how Andy’s fashion transformation would happen. In the first movie, her character famously ditched her simple blue sweater and received a dramatic—and incredibly lavish—wardrobe update thanks to Nigel Kipling, the art director at Runway magazine, played by Stanley Tucci.

Anne explained that a major part of the first film’s appeal was when Nigel magically transforms Andy’s style. She described it as a wonderful moment where Andy essentially becomes a brand new fashion icon.

Seeing the cost of Andy’s new clothes, she jokingly said, “Let’s not dwell on how she could afford all that Chanel with her income.”

The Oscar-winning actor believes the stylish accessories Andy wore in the movie wouldn’t seem particularly innovative to modern viewers, and the film’s overall costume design shows that.

She explained that audiences today don’t want to simply be entertained; they want stories that feel earned and realistic. To achieve this, they focused on creating authenticity. For example, Andy’s wardrobe was carefully curated to reflect a history of working at Runway magazine followed by extensive international travel and shopping at consignment stores.

Given Anne’s high income and successful career, it’s not surprising that Andy has a wardrobe full of pricey, carefully selected clothes chosen specifically for her.

The trailer for The Devil Wears Prada 2 showcased Andy’s stylish outfits, alongside appearances by Meryl Streep, Stanley Tucci, and Emily Blunt. Blunt is returning to play Emily Charlton, Miranda Priestly’s right-hand woman from the first film.

Anne and Stanley were both surprised and excited to learn they’d be returning with the rest of the cast for a sequel, which will be released in theaters on May 1st.

Anne shared that none of them ever expected to work together again as the main team from The Devil Wears Prada. She said it just didn’t seem likely.

After all, rumblings of a follow-up had come and go over the last two decade.

“You’re right, I didn’t expect that at all,” Stanley said. “In my 45 years in the entertainment industry, I’ve never seen anything like it.”

While we eagerly await the next movie, here’s a recap of everything you need to know about the first one.

(Fandango and TopMob News are both part of the Versant family.)

Even before the book The Devil Wears Prada was published, a movie adaptation was already being planned. Fox executives were impressed by the first 100 pages and a summary, which were enough to convince them to buy the rights. As Carla Hacken, a former Fox executive, explained to Variety magazine in 2016, she was the first person at the studio to read it and immediately recognized the character of Miranda Priestly as a truly memorable villain. She recalled that the studio quickly moved to secure the rights to the story, which was loosely based on author Lauren Weisberger’s experiences as an assistant to Vogue‘s editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour.

Even before the book became a New York Times bestseller in 2003, efforts were underway to adapt it for the screen. After four different writers tried to create a straightforward adaptation, Aline Brosh McKenna was brought in to write a new version. Her script focused on the compromises women often make to advance their careers at fashion magazines. “I was able to write a first draft fairly quickly – it took about a month,” McKenna explained. “Then I revised it based on feedback from everyone involved.”

Creating the story for the film faced challenges because people in the fashion industry were hesitant to speak with the author, fearing repercussions from Anna Wintour and Vogue. According to the author, one anonymous source told her the characters were too kind, pointing out that people in that world are often too busy and competitive to be nice. The author then revised the script to portray the characters as more driven and less accommodating.

Director David Frankel told Entertainment Weekly that Anna Wintour’s influence created some challenges finding filming locations. The Metropolitan Museum of Art wouldn’t allow them to film there because of the Met Ball, and Bryant Park, a frequent New York Fashion Week venue, was also unavailable.

We even looked at some famous apartment buildings for Miranda’s place, but the building committees wouldn’t allow us to film there. Finally, a producer friend, Wendy Finerman, lent us a five-story townhouse on the Upper East Side.

Bethenny Frankel shared that the production designer, Jess Gonchor, secretly visited Anna Wintour’s office at Vogue to study it. He recreated the office so accurately that, according to Frankel, Wintour immediately redecorated her real office after seeing the movie.

The costumes for the movie also proved difficult to source. According to Frankel, well-known designers were hesitant to contribute, fearing the disapproval of Anna Wintour.

The film’s incredible costumes were created by the renowned Patricia Field, who gathered around 150 pieces from designers like Donna Karan, Zac Posen, Rick Owens, and even Prada. She made sure to create a distinct look for Meryl Streep’s character, Miranda Priestly, differentiating her from Anna Wintour. As Streep joked, “Everything was borrowed, so we had to be careful not to spill anything at lunch – especially spaghetti – because we couldn’t return stained clothes!”

Anna Wintour seems to have a good sense of humor about the situation. Meryl Streep spoke with the editor-in-chief of Vogue for the magazine’s 125th anniversary issue, discussing her role as Katherine Graham in the 2017 film The Post. When asked about the hardest character she’d ever played, Streep began to answer, but Wintour playfully interrupted, saying with a laugh, “No, no! We’re not going there, Meryl.”

Wintour actually did see the movie—the same screening as her previous assistant, Weisberger. She later explained to 60 Minutes that while it was entertaining, the film wasn’t an accurate portrayal of life at the magazine.

Meryl Streep was the only actress the studio considered for the role of Miranda. Studio VP Hacken told Variety they were completely focused on getting her. “I just remember praying it would be Meryl,” she said. When Streep’s agent called to say she’d read the script and was willing to meet with the director, Hacken was overjoyed—she even put the agent on hold briefly to celebrate. “I was shouting with excitement in my office!”

I’ve always admired Miranda’s strength and refusal to compromise who she was. What really struck me, as Streep explained to EW, was that the writers didn’t shy away from her difficult side. She didn’t try to be likable or soften her approach to get what she wanted – something my friend Carrie Fisher brilliantly called ‘the squeezy and tilty’ – that tendency for women to be overly accommodating. Miranda just didn’t do that, and I found that incredibly powerful and refreshing.

Before agreeing to the role, Meryl Streep did something very characteristic of the demanding character she would play. Although she had already won two Oscars and received eleven other nominations, she wasn’t used to negotiating a higher salary. However, this time, she confidently asked for more money.

She told Variety that the initial offer felt a little low, and didn’t quite reflect how much she contributed to the project. After she was prepared to leave, they increased the offer significantly. She was 55 at the time and realized, somewhat late in life, how to negotiate for herself.

As a huge Meryl Streep fan, I always appreciated how carefully she approached playing Miranda. She really didn’t want to make the character a simple stereotype, so she fought for specific moments to show Miranda’s layers. There were two scenes she absolutely needed: the iconic one where Miranda explains the importance of cerulean blue, showing her fashion expertise, and another, more vulnerable scene in the hotel room where we see her without her usual polished exterior – a truly raw and revealing moment.

Meryl Streep decided on the character’s signature white hair, debuting the look during a meeting with the studio head. Director David Frankel told EW that Streep fully embodied Miranda during that meeting, and the studio executives were so captivated they didn’t even comment on the hair – they simply looked into her eyes and remained silent.

Anne Hathaway revealed she wasn’t the first choice for her role in The Devil Wears Prada. She joked on RuPaul’s Drag Race that she was actually the ninth actress considered for the part, meaning she had to work extra hard to convince producers she was right for the role – perhaps even harder than her character, Andy, worked for Miranda in the movie!

Anne Hathaway shared with Variety that while she didn’t need to audition, she had to be very persistent. She even went so far as to write “hire me” in the sand of a Zen garden! When she finally received the news she was cast, she was at home putting on a shirt. She was with friends at the time and remembers running into her living room, still half-dressed, and excitedly yelling, “I got The Devil Wears Prada! I got The Devil Wears Prada!”

Luckily for Anne Hathaway, the studio’s first choice for the role repeatedly said no. Director Frankel told Entertainment Weekly that they offered the part to Rachel McAdams three times. At the time, McAdams was filming The Family Stone and, after starring in hits like Mean Girls and The Notebook, didn’t want to immediately take on another popular, mainstream film. According to Frankel, the studio really wanted McAdams, but she was set on turning it down.

Kate Hudson turned down a highly sought-after role, something many actresses would have loved to have. She explained on Capital FM’s Capital Breakfast in February 2025 that it simply wasn’t the right time. She admitted she should have made it work, but couldn’t, and immediately regretted not taking the part when she first read the script.

Meryl Streep—and Anne Hathaway’s performance in the 2005 Oscar-winning film Brokeback Mountain—convinced Streep to sign on for The Princess Diaries sequel. Director Garry Marshall remembered that Streep saw Hathaway’s scene, then spoke with her and called Fox executive Tom Rothman, saying she thought Hathaway was talented and they would work well together.

Finding the right actress for Emily proved even harder. Frankel reviewed over 100 auditions for the role of Miranda’s tough assistant (including Tracie Thoms, who later auditioned for the part of Andy’s friend Lily), but he was immediately impressed by Emily Blunt, who showed up for the audition in casual clothes.

Emily Blunt was already auditioning for the movie Eragon at the Fox studio when a casting director asked her to read for The Devil Wears Prada. She recalled on The Late Late Show in May 2021 that she was in a hurry to catch a flight and felt flustered during the audition. She even admitted she was wearing sweatpants and didn’t look the part at all.

A few days after missing out on the role in Eragon, Emily Blunt received a call from casting director David Frankel. She told Variety that she was at a club in London and had to take the call from the bathroom. Frankel explained that while he liked her audition, the studio wanted to see her again, this time dressed more like the character.

Emily was originally conceived as an American character, but Emily Blunt’s performance changed that. When Blunt delivered the sharp lines with her British accent, the writers decided to rewrite the script to reflect that. As screenwriter McKenna explained to Entertainment Weekly, they met for coffee and added British expressions throughout the dialogue.

Emily Blunt shared a story about how she draws inspiration from real life. On The Howard Stern Show, she explained that she often incorporates things she observes from people she meets into her acting. She recalled witnessing a stressed mother in a supermarket while filming a movie. The mother, while scolding her child, made a specific gesture and said, ‘Yeah, I’m hearing this, and I want to hear this.’ Blunt found the moment so authentic that she later included the line in the film.

Stanley Tucci played a key role in creating some of the most memorable lines in the film. After a lengthy search for the perfect actor to play art director Nigel, Tucci took the role just in time, as he told Entertainment Weekly. He then perfectly captured Nigel’s witty and sarcastic personality, even coming up with some of the character’s funniest lines on the spot.

Stanley Tucci recalled fondly a scene where Miranda first arrives at the office, causing a bit of panic among the characters. He shared with Buzzfeed that the cast kept bursting into laughter during filming, and director David Frankel would often improvise lines for him. The now-iconic line, ‘Gird your loins,’ ultimately made the cut, but many other suggestions didn’t. Tucci revealed to Entertainment Weekly that he’d also pitched the line, ‘Tits in!’, which always got a laugh from everyone on set.

One of Stanley Tucci’s most cherished memories from making movies is the connection he’s made with his extended ‘film family.’ He became close with his co-star Emily Blunt, and was even invited to her wedding to John Krasinski in 2010. It was there he reconnected with Felicity Blunt, who is now his wife. They married in 2012 and have two children, Matteo and Emilia.

It’s incredible to me how things unfolded for Stanley Tucci. He shared with People that he actually met his now-wife at the premiere of The Devil Wears Prada back in 2006. The timing was so poignant, as he was still married to his late wife, Kate, who had just been diagnosed with breast cancer. He explained that he made the film, Kate began treatment, and then they had the premiere. Sadly, she lived for four more years after that. What’s really touching, though, is that Felicity—Emily Blunt’s sister, and now my wife—actually chatted with Kate at that very premiere! He even has a photo of them together, which is just… really strange and beautiful to think about.

Rosario Dawson, similar to Anne Hathaway, clearly remembers when she found out she’d been cast as Lily – it was her 30th birthday in August 2005. While she felt good about her audition – having often played supporting, ‘best friend’ roles at that point in her career, she thought Lily would be a natural fit – she was still overjoyed to get the news.

She remembered being at Dartmouth, workshopping a new play by Alan Ball. She found out she’d been cast in The Devil Wears Prada during lunch in the cafeteria. “They just casually told me, ‘Oh, you got the part! Happy birthday!'” she said, adding it was a memorable birthday.

Thoms recalls seeing Adrian Grenier, who was very popular during his time on Entourage, surrounded by fans. He skillfully managed the requests for autographs by giving everyone a CD from his band, The Honey Brothers, instead.

Thoms observed that Josh Grenier, who played Nate, used his role to highlight his bandmates, since he wasn’t the lead singer. Thoms admired how Grenier thoughtfully acknowledged everyone’s support and actively returned that appreciation to his fellow band members.

Thoms had a wonderful time working on the project, describing the atmosphere as similar to the show Sex and the City – a very New York, sophisticated, and adult experience. However, she does have one thing she wishes had gone differently.

She had a specific idea for how to handle the Marc Jacobs bag that Lily and Thoms reacted so strongly to in a crucial scene. She asked the props team to keep the bag hidden until filming began, wanting her reaction to be real. “The shocked expressions, the reaching, and begging for it – that all happened because the bag was truly stunning.”

She confessed to TopMob News that she loved the purse so much she’d even imagined a storyline about keeping it. Unfortunately, a scene where she’d accidentally leave with it was removed, meaning she never got a chance to retrieve it from the set. She described it as ‘very sad.’

Meryl Streep didn’t travel to Paris for the film. Originally, no one was scheduled to shoot the final scenes of Miranda and Andy’s trip to Paris Fashion Week there. Director David Frankel was shocked by this, but he created a compelling preview that convinced the studio to move the film’s release to the summer and increase its budget.

Hathaway and Simon Baker (playing Christian, her other love interest) traveled to France to film for two days. However, Meryl Streep filmed her scenes in New York, as the studio said it would be too expensive to fly her to France.

Meryl Streep actually ended up missing out on a lot of the enjoyable moments on set. She explained to Entertainment Weekly that fully immersing herself in her stern Miranda character and distancing herself from the playful atmosphere was deeply unpleasant. She could hear everyone having fun, which made her feel really down. She jokingly told herself it was the cost of playing a boss, and that experience made her decide to never use the Method acting technique again!

Before Meryl Streep adopted a more distant demeanor, she offered Anne Hathaway a quick word of encouragement, as Hathaway told People magazine. Streep said, “I want you to know I think you’re going to be great, and I’m so happy to work with you…and that’s the last nice thing I’m going to say to you.”

That’s all. 

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2026-03-13 22:51