Anne Hathaway enjoys interior design and reading as pastimes. Hathaway has cited Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged as her favorite novels, as well as Jane Austen's Persuasion Anne Hathaway is a firm believer in education and has stated that if she were a princess like her breakthrough character, she would "make it mandatory that all six-year-olds know how to read." She enjoys music and has stated that she is a fan of a wide variety of music, from Judy Garland to Rilo Kiley to Blonde Redhead. Perhaps most of all, Anne Hathaway has a strong love of film and has credited the 1958 film Auntie Mame starring Rosalind Russell with her decision to become a professional actress. Anne Hathaway calls Audrey Hepburn, Meryl Streep, and Julia Roberts her favorite movie stars, and says even she is easily starstruck. She is also a self-proclaimed Steve Carrell fan and adores TV's The Office'.Anne Hathaway has stated that she isn't in the entertainment industry to be famous, but simply because she loves to create.
In early 2007, Anna Hathaway spoke of her experiences with depression during her teenage years, and said that she eventually overcame the disorder without medication.
In regard to personal strife and subsequent media attention, Hathaway's self-subscribed mantra is a quote by Oscar Wilde: "The less said about life's sores the better."
Anna Hathaway has said that not much is stated about her personal life because she has problems being open in interviews, but is "learning."
Anne Hathaway is involved with the Lolipop Theater Network, a program that screens films to critically ill children. In 2008, she hosted a special screening of Get Smart for teenagers, and has also shown The Devil Wears Prada. She is also involved with St. Jude events, as well as the Human Rights Campaign and the StepUp Women's Network.
In 2004, Anna Hathaway began a relationship with Italian real estate developer Raffaello Follieri. During their relationship, Hathaway took part in the development of the charitable Follieri Foundation, serving as a financial donor as well as a member of the foundation's board of directors for an undisclosed amount of time. A Manhattan-based charity founded in 2003 focusing on programs such as providing vaccinations for children in Third-World nations, the organization had come under investigation in early June 2008 by the IRS, reportedly for failing to file tax papers required from non-profit organizations. Citing the fear that this and other ongoing legal issues involving Follieri would become detrimental to her acting career, as well as for her own ethical reasons, Hathaway ended her relationship with Follieri in mid-June 2008.
On June 24, 2008, Follieri was arrested on fraud charges for allegedly fleecing investors out of millions of dollars in a scheme involving purchasing Catholic properties in the U.S. for re-development. The FBI alleged that he posed as a financial representative of the Vatican and had duped people into investing in his fraudulent fund as recently as May 2008. Court papers state that Hathaway was an unwitting beneficiary of the stolen money which had in large part paid for Follieri's opulent lifestyle of jet-setting, shopping sprees and fine dining. On July 24, 2008, it was reported that the FBI had confiscated Hathaway's private journals from Follieri's New York City apartment as part of their ongoing investigation into Follieri's activities.
Currently, She is not facing any charges in regards to the allegations brought against either Follieri or the Follieri Foundation, and has reportedly cut off all contact with him.
For the October 2008 issue of W Magazine, Anne Hathaway spoke for the first time of the break-up. She related that she "spent a week in shock" after the arrest of Follieri, and credited the kindness of friends to her ability to keep working during such difficult times.
On a recent appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman she stated that she had stopped smoking after what she described was a "stressful summer."