Anne Hathaway explains why she keeps her two sons out of the spotlight: ‘It’s not just about me’

‘They need to be able to define their own lives,’ Oscar winner says

Anne Hathaway has revealed the reason she keeps her two sons away from the spotlight.

In an interview for the cover of NET-A-PORTER’s digital title PORTER, the Les Miserables actor reflected on why she’s decided to keep her family life private amid public interest.

“It’s something I feel is not just essential for my health,” she explained to the outlet. “I’m on a team, it’s my family, and it’s not just about me.”

The Oscar winner - who shares two children with her husband Adam Shulman, sons Jonathan, seven, and Jack, three - continued: “My family has needs, and one of the needs of children is that they need to be able to define their own lives. It doesn’t even occur to me to link the two up, except through gratitude that they serve each other so beautifully. But they serve each other through me, and not through a space that’s outside of myself.”

In September, the Bulgari ambassador shared with People that she found that having two sons gave her a greater appreciation for her body and its strength. She told the outlet: “People don’t talk about this and it really made me feel better when I found out about it. It takes three years for your body to fully recover from a pregnancy.”

“I didn’t snap back. I want to very, very clear about that. With my second, it took every minute of those three years. And it’s cool. Let your body be a body,” she continued, advocating for mothers to give themselves grace and compassion in regard to their changing bodies. “There’s nowhere to get to. It’s just now. Just be present and take care of yourself and don’t set expectations.”

On Sirius XM’s The Jess Cagle Show in October 2022, Hathaway noted that her children play a large factor when she selects her projects, especially since some projects can take her away from home for long stretches of time.

“I have to say, the ‘kids’ thing has been the biggest shift,” the Devil Wears Prada actor explained to Cagle. “That’s kind of re-prioritised everything, so it’s actually made me a bit choosier because something really has to be so excellent to spend time away from them because they’re so precious to me.”

“They’re the most sacred part of my life by a long shot,” she added. “And then when I do accept something, it puts greater pressure on me to make it worth the time that I’ve spent away from them.”

When they’re both old enough, Hathaway said that she’s excited to show them some of her movies.

“I am really excited to show them The Devil Wears Prada. It’s such a good movie,” she said after taking a minute to recall her long list of films. “And I say that, you know, with complete humility, I’m a small part in that film. It’s David Frankel, our director. It’s Meryl Streep. I mean, you know, Stanley [Tucci], Emily [Blunt], everyone - Patricia Field.”

The Academy Award-winning actor recently appeared in the twisted romantic comedy She Came To Me alongside Peter Dinklage and Marissa Tomei, and is slated to star in Eileen, an adaptation of Ottessa Mosfegh’s 2015 novel of the same name.