Hathaway was born… Read Full Bio ↴Anne Jacqueline Hathaway is an actress and singer.
Hathaway was born in Brooklyn, New York, U.S. Her father, Gerald Thomas Hathaway, is a lawyer, and her mother, Kathleen Ann (née McCauley), is an actress who inspired Hathaway to follow in her footsteps. The family moved to Millburn, New Jersey, when she was six years old. Hathaway has an older brother, Michael, and a younger brother, Thomas. She is of mostly Irish and French ancestry, with distant Native American and German roots.
Hathaway's first major role came in the short-lived television series "Get Real" (1999). She gained widespread recognition for her roles in The Princess Diaries (2001) and its 2004 sequel as a young girl who discovers she's a member of royalty, opposite Julie Andrews and Heather Matarazzo.
She also had a notable role in Nicholas Nickleby (2002) opposite Charlie Hunnam and Jamie Bell, and a starring role in Ella Enchanted (2004). A former top-ranking soprano in New York, Hathaway was reportedly a front-runner for the role of "Christine" in the 2004 The Phantom of the Opera (2004). However, due to scheduling conflicts with The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004), she couldn't take the role, which was later given to newcomer Emmy Rossum.
Hathaway soon started to move away from family-friendly films. Following The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004), she appeared topless in the films Havoc (2005) opposite Josh Peck and Brokeback Mountain (2005) opposite Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal. Her desire to break out of her "Princess Diaries" image parallels that of her one-time co-star, Julie Andrews, who went topless in the film S.O.B. (1981) in order to break away from the image she created from her 1960s musicals. In interviews, Hathaway said that doing family-friendly films didn't mean she was similar to their characters or mean she objected to appearing nude in other films.
Other films she has starred in include The Devil Wears Prada (2006) opposite Meryl Streep, Becoming Jane (2007), in which she plays a young Jane Austen, and Rachel Getting Married (2008) in which she plays Rachel's sister who comes home for her sister's wedding after rehab. She has also featured in the romances Bride Wars (2009), Valentine's Day (2010), and Love & Other Drugs (2010), and the fantasy film Alice in Wonderland (2010). In 2012, she starred as Catwoman in her highest-grossing film, The Dark Knight Rises, and played Fantine, a prostitute dying of tuberculosis, in the musical Les Misérables, winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She has since played a scientist in the science fiction film Interstellar (2014), the owner of a fashion website in the comedy The Intern (2015), a haughty actress in the heist film Ocean's 8 (2018), a con artist in the comedy The Hustle (2019), and Rebekah Neumann in the miniseries WeCrashed (2022).
Great Big World
Anne Hathaway Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's the one about the girl riding on her bike
I know it's a tired old tale but it still rings true
She could never be rude or unkind
But a sad song played at the back of her mind
Oh, can someone show me a different day
To take me away
Great big world
You know I'm wanting for you
You know I'm wanting for you
They tell me goodies make the woods go round
And every day they fix their tea to wash 'em down
You know, if you spin your wheels everything's okay
There's a girl who's been on my mind
She was never one who ever cared to color in the lines
Oh, did you know that this girl looks a lot like me
Take me out of the woods
Great big world
You know I'm wanting for you
You know I'm wanting for you
I'm wanting for you
I'm waiting for you
The lyrics of Anne Hathaway's "Great Big World" describe a young woman who longs to escape the constraints of her everyday life and experience something different. The song tells the story of a girl riding her bike, a tired old tale that still rings true, implying that the desire for adventure and change is universal. While she could never be rude or unkind, a sad song still plays at the back of her mind, suggesting an underlying dissatisfaction with her current circumstances.
The second verse of the song takes a turn towards the surreal, as the lyrics describe a world in which "goodies make the woods go round" and people fix their tea to wash them down. Despite this strange landscape, the girl still searches for an escape, spinning her wheels in the hopes that everything will be okay. The lyrics imply that the girl has always felt like an outsider, someone who never cared to color inside the lines. Interestingly, the song hints that this girl looks a lot like the singer herself, suggesting that there may be some autobiographical elements to the lyrics.
Overall, "Great Big World" is a poignant meditation on the human desire to break free from the mundanity of everyday life and experience something new. It reflects the universal longing for adventure and excitement and will likely resonate with anyone who has ever dreamed of leaving their problems behind and exploring the world.
Line by Line Meaning
Here's a story I hope you'll like
Let me tell you a personal story and I hope it brings you joy
It's the one about the girl riding on her bike
It's a simple story about a girl riding her bike
I know it's a tired old tale but it still rings true
Even though it's a common story, it still holds meaning
She could never be rude or unkind
The girl in the story was always polite and compassionate
But a sad song played at the back of her mind
Despite her cheerful appearance, the girl carried a heavy heart
Oh, can someone show me a different day
I wish for a new, brighter day than what I have been experiencing
Take me out of the woods
Help me escape my troubles and problems
Great big world
A vast, wide-open space with endless possibilities
You know I'm wanting for you
I long to experience this great big world
They tell me goodies make the woods go round
Others say that material possessions bring happiness and fulfillment
And every day they fix their tea to wash 'em down
People constantly seek momentary fixes to their problems
You know, if you spin your wheels everything's okay
If you pretend everything is fine, your problems will magically disappear
There's a girl who's been on my mind
I can't stop thinking about a specific girl
She was never one who ever cared to color in the lines
The girl was never one to conform to societal norms or expectations
Oh, did you know that this girl looks a lot like me
I see myself in this girl, in her non-conformist ways and her struggles
I'm wanting for you
I'm longing to be a part of this great big world
I'm waiting for you
I'm patiently waiting for my chance to see and experience the world
Contributed by Miles Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@andy530i
Here's a story I hope,
you'll like.
It's the one about the girl riding on her bike.
I know,
It's a tired old tale,
but it still rings true.
She could never be rude, or unkind.
But a sad song played at the back of her mind
Oh-Ohh,
Can someone show me a different day,
To take me away?
Take me out of the woods.
Great Big World
You know I'm wanting for you.
(You know I'm wanting for you)
They tell me goodies make the woods,
go 'round.
And every day they fix the tea to wash 'em down
You know,
If you spin your wheels everything's okay.
There's a girl who's been on,
my mind.
She was never one who ever cared to to color in the lines.
Oh-ohh,
Did you know that this girl looks a lot like me?
Take me out of the woods.
Great Big World
You know I'm wanting for you.
You know I'm wanting for you.
You know I'm waiting for you.
You know I'm wanting for you...
@mstutsi3408
Oh wow you got the long version!! Amazing
@WynnFoxy
You are doing gods work