Anne Hathaway appeared at the ‘The Odyssey‘ premiere and talked to People when she was asked whether she’s a ‘mama-bear‘ in real-life.
Not only did she proudly accept the tag, she even drew a connection between motherly instinct and Penelope, her character in ‘The Odyssey‘.
Anne Hathaway Explains Why She Sees Penelope As A Fellow “Mama Bear” in ‘The Odyssey’
Hathaway opened up about the motherly instinct she shares with Penelope. The Oscar winner is already raising two sons and is expecting her third child, so the idea of a mother fiercely guarding her children carries a personal connection.
Related: Who Is Penelope In ‘The Odyssey’? Anne Hathaway’s Character Explained
While talking to People, she said, “Because you used the word protective, yeah. I’m a little bit of a mama bear. Nothing comes between me and my cubs,” Hathaway said.
She then explained why Penelope carries a similar instinct in ‘The Odyssey‘. Odysseus is away, leaving Penelope to protect her son amid serious danger and huge stakes.
“And, and I definitely think, given all that Penelope was going through, given how high the stakes were, given how targeted her son-in-law was, that is mama bear, that she had to protect him in more than one way,” she explained.
Motherhood Made Anne Hathaway Reconsider Everything
Hathaway shares sons Jonathan and Jack with husband Adam Shulman, whom she married in 2012. The couple welcomed Jonathan on March 24, 2016, before Jack arrived in November 2019. In June 2026, they announced they are expecting their third child.
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The actress has often spoken about how deeply motherhood changed her. “I didn’t feel fully landed and fully here until I was a mom,” she told WSJ Magazine in March 2022. “It’s not like I was lacking integrity, but it made me want to be completely, on every level, true to my word.”
Hathaway has also spoken openly about fertility struggles and pregnancy loss. She later explained why she refused to present pregnancy as a completely happy and simple experience after everything she had endured. “Given the pain I felt while trying to get pregnant, it would’ve felt disingenuous to post something all the way happy when I know the story is much more nuanced than that for everyone,” she told Vanity Fair in 2024.
The Princess Diaries star has also kept Jonathan and Jack out of the public eye despite living in the spotlight since 2001. She does not want them becoming child actors either. “I would probably take the same tack that my parents did with me, which is: You have all the time in the world to be a professional actor; you can only be a child once,” she shared.
For an actress known for dozens of major roles, motherhood appears to remain the one she guards most fiercely.
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