You Mean to Tell Us Anne Hathaway Almost Wasn’t in ‘The Devil Wears Prada’?!

anne hathaway the devil wear prada
anne hathaway the devil wear prada
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Owen Hoffmann, Getty Images

Anne Hathaway was the perfect person to play Andy Sachs in The Devil Wears Prada. After starring in her 2001 breakthrough role of Mia Thermopolis in Princess Diaries, she clearly knew how to play the part of dressed-down-shy-girl-turned-hot-and-powerful-fashionista, which translated perfectly to the 2006 film. However, the star revealed in a recent interview that she was nowhere near the first choice to play Andy.

During a guest Zoom appearance on RuPaul's Drag Race last week, Hathaway was asked by contestant Rosé if there was any role she "had to fight tooth and nail for."

"How much time do you have? A lot of them," she responded. "I will give you some tea: I was the ninth choice for Devil Wears Prada." The contestants were as shocked as we were to learn that Hathaway wasn't the immediate first choice, but the Oscar-winning actress turned the tea into an inspirational moment. "But I got it! Hang in there, never give up," she said.

Hathaway didn't share any more details about the eight women in line before her for the iconic role, but, luckily, the internet can help us put some of the pieces together. According to a 2016 Variety article marking the movie's 10th anniversary, Rachel McAdams was approached for the role after starring in Mean Girls and The Notebook. The article explains that McAdams apparently turned down the role "multiple times, citing her desire to step away from mainstream material."

According to another article by Entertainment Tonight, Juliette Lewis and Claire Danes also auditioned for the part.

We still don't know know who those other five actresses were, but we do know that Hathaway getting the part despite *shockingly* being ninth in line is our Monday Motivation.