In 2012, she starred as Catwoman in her highest-grossing film, The Dark Knight Rises, and played Fantine, a prostitute dying of tuberculosis, in the musical Les Misérables, winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the latter.

[7] At age eight,[3] when Hathaway watched her mother perform in the first national tour of Les Misérables as Fantine, she instantly became fascinated with the stage, but her parents were not keen on allowing her to pursue an acting career.

[29] After voicing Haru Yoshioka for the English version of The Cat Returns (2002),[33] she starred in Douglas McGrath's comedy-drama Nicholas Nickleby (2002), which opened to positive reviews.

[37] In 2003, Hathaway turned down the role of Christine Daaé for Joel Schumacher's The Phantom of the Opera (2004), because the production schedule of the film overlapped with The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004).

[46] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone wrote that Hathaway "excels at showing Lureen's journey from cutie-pie to hard case", and Todd McCarthy of Variety credited her for "provid[ing] an entertaining contrast in wifely disappointment".

[47][48] Hathaway stated that the content of Brokeback Mountain was more important than its award count, and that making the film made her more aware of the kind of stories she wanted to tell as an actor.

[5] Hathaway starred in the comedy-drama The Devil Wears Prada (2006), based on Lauren Weisberger's novel of the same name, as a college graduate who becomes an assistant to a powerful fashion magazine editor (played by Meryl Streep).

[52] Hathaway stated that working on the film made her respect the fashion industry a great deal more than she did previously, though she admitted that her personal style was something she "still can't get right".

[68] The romantic comedy, in which she and Kate Hudson played two best friends who become rivals after their weddings are scheduled on the same day, was a critical failure; it was named among the ten worst chick flicks in history by Time in 2010.

[75][76] In 2010, Hathaway appeared as a receptionist who dates a clerk (played by Topher Grace) in the ensemble romantic comedy Valentine's Day, directed by Garry Marshall.

[77] Hathaway played the White Queen in Tim Burton's 2010 adaptation of the fantasy novels Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass alongside Helena Bonham Carter and Johnny Depp.

[81] Hathaway reunited with Jake Gyllenhaal as a free-spirited artist with Parkinson's disease in Edward Zwick's erotic romantic comedy-drama Love & Other Drugs, based on the nonfiction book Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman by Jamie Reidy.

For the role, she spent time with a Parkinson's patient to research the disease, and in preparation for its nude scenes, she watched films of Kate Winslet and Penélope Cruz who, in Hathaway's view, had performed nudity with sensitivity and dignity.

Columnist Suzanne Moore, reviewing the film on BBC Radio 4's Front Row, said Hathaway's accents were "all over the shop", adding, "Sometimes she's from Scotland, sometimes she's from New York, you just can't tell".

[99][100] In 2012, Hathaway's audiobook recording of L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was released at Audible.com and garnered her an Audie Award nomination for Best Solo Narration – Female.

[130] Reviewers for The Independent and Empire found her to be "affecting" in the part of a scientist unable to decide between her personal feelings and professional responsibilities,[131] and took notice of the "soulful nuance" in her performance.

In the episode, she competed against her The Devil Wears Prada co-star Emily Blunt; she lip synced "Love" by Mary J. Blige and "Wrecking Ball" by Miley Cyrus.

It tells the story of Ben Whittaker (played by Robert De Niro), a 70-year-old widower who becomes a senior intern at an online fashion site run by Jules Ostin (Hathaway).

Along with Daisy Ridley, Hathaway and Streisand performed the song "At The Ballet" from A Chorus Line; she played the role of Maggie, one of a trio of dancers hoping to be cast in an upcoming show.

[155][156] In the former, she starred alongside her Interstellar costar Matthew McConaughey as a woman who tasks her ex-husband to kill her new abusive husband, a role for which she dyed her hair blonde.

[161] She then played the wife of Mark Ruffalo's character in Todd Haynes' legal drama Dark Waters, about environmental poisoning committed by the chemical company DuPont.

[177] David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter considered it her best performance since Rachel Getting Married, while Owen Gleiberman of Variety praised Hathaway for making her character "at once affectionate and blinkered".

[180] Eileen, based on Ottessa Moshfegh's thriller novel of the same name, starred Thomasin McKenzie in the title role and premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.

[188] She next led the romantic comedy The Idea of You, based on Robinne Lee's novel of the same name, playing a divorced mother who begins a romance with a younger pop star.

[194] Describing her off-screen persona, John Hiscock of The Daily Telegraph wrote in 2014 that Hathaway is a "well-grounded, friendly young woman with a good sense of humour, a wide smile and an easy-going attitude".

[211] Hathaway's beauty and sex appeal have been picked up by several media outlets; FHM, People, Maxim, Empire and Entertainment Weekly have included her on their yearly listings of sexiest women.

[216] Hathaway serves on the board of the Lollipop Theatre Network and is involved with charities Creative Coalition, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and the Human Rights Campaign.

[225] To promote an increased awareness of systemic sexism in the entertainment industry, Hathaway has advocated for greater professional opportunities for women and criticized Hollywood as not being a place of equality.

[232][233] She has spoken out against issues such as homophobia, school bullying, transphobia and white privilege, writing in an Instagram post that Black people "fear for their lives daily in America and have done so for generations".

[261] Hathaway's most acclaimed and highest-grossing films, according to the online portal Box Office Mojo and the review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes, include The Princess Diaries (2001), Brokeback Mountain (2005), The Devil Wears Prada (2006), Get Smart (2008), Rachel Getting Married (2008), Valentine's Day (2010), Alice in Wonderland (2010), Love and Other Drugs (2010), The Dark Knight Rises (2012), Les Misérables (2012), Interstellar (2014), The Intern (2015), Colossal (2016), and Ocean's 8 (2018).