PEOPLE presented the cover star with her special issue at the New York City premiere on Monday, April 20
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/Anne-Hathaway-Devil-Wears-Prada-2-042026-63fa6c50992d484592283af01d646aa0.jpg "Anne Hathaway")
Credit: ANGELA WEISS / AFP via Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- Anne Hathaway reacted to her PEOPLE 2026 World’s Most Beautiful cover at The Devil Wears Prada 2 New York City premiere
- “It was not something I ever, ever, ever expected,” she told PEOPLE correspondent Taylen Biggs, quipping, “I just expect people to tease me about it”
- In the new cover story, the actress opens up about her beauty secrets, personal style and family life, crediting her husband and sons for keeping her grounded
Anne Hathaway had the best reaction to her "surreal" 2026 World's Most Beautiful cover.
The actress, 43, graced the cover of PEOPLE's annual issue on Monday, April 20 — the same day her latest film, The Devil Wears Prada 2, premiered at New York City's Lincoln Center. Hathaway reacted to the cover with delight while speaking to Taylen Biggs, PEOPLE's correspondent at the star-studded event.
“It was such a fun day,” says the Oscar winner of her shoot and interview.
Appearing on the iconic cover "was not something I ever, ever, ever expected. But everybody at PEOPLE made me feel so happy to be there," she continues with a smile.
"It's still a little surreal," Hathaway adds. "Today is the first day. I'm still trying to wrap my head around it — and I just expect people to tease me about it!"
Credit: Jonny Marlow
The Devil Wears Prada 2, one of five 2026 releases that Hathaway stars in, sees her return to one of her most iconic roles, Andy Sachs, 20 years after the aspiring journalist first graced screens in the original film.
"If Andy walked onto this carpet tonight, what do you think she'd notice first that everyone else would miss?" Biggs, 12, asked the star.
"How many journalists are here and how many more journalists there are here [than] actors," Hathaway says, noting the huge red carpet laid out for the highly-anticipated film. "She would probably write a story about that."
In her World's Most Beautiful cover story, Hathaway tells PEOPLE that returning to the world of The Devil Wears Prada, alongside costars Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci, “was just beautiful. It was joyful.”
“Sometimes you're like, ‘I wish I could go back to that moment knowing what I know now.' So for me,” she continued, “this was the chance to actually be with the same people again, step back into that world, but with a little bit more perspective.”
“I loved making the first,” Hathaway told PEOPLE of the beloved 2006 comedy. “I know I was stressed and anxious and all those things, but it's one of the most hilarious experiences ever because of the people I was with.”
As for working with her costars in the original — this time around joined by Kenneth Branagh, Lucy Liu, Justin Theroux and more — The Princess Diaries actress had no shortage of kind words.
Credit: Jonny Marlow
“Emily Blunt is such a dream of a human being,” she told PEOPLE. “Stanley is so funny and quick, and Meryl, I don't talk about how much I revere her to her, but I do.”
“She's someone I admire,” Hathaway continued of costar Streep, 76. “Someone who defines how it's done. Somebody who is just living greatness and never rests on that laurel but is always pushing herself to expand as an artist. She's unbelievable.”
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Elsewhere in the pages of Hathaway's new PEOPLE cover story, the star opened up about her personal style, beauty secrets and family life. She credits her husband of 13 years, Adam Shulman, as well as their two sons, Jonathan, 10, and Jack, 6, for keeping her grounded.
"He supports me completely,” she said of Shulman, 45, a jewelry designer and film producer, whom she first met at the 2008 Palm Springs International Film Festival and married in 2012.
Credit: Jonny Marlow
“This year in particular was unusual,” Hathaway continued. “He and I both know that it's probably never going to happen like this again. And the way he stepped up, I mean, in every possible way, he's the most extraordinary person I've ever met.”
Hathaway also stars this year in Mother Mary, The Odyssey, The End of Oak Street and Verity.
The Devil Wears Prada 2 is in theaters May 1.
For more World's Most Beautiful content, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE on newsstands Friday.