Anne Hathaway has set temperatures soaring with a sizzling new photoshoot and cover story for Elle magazine. The 43-year-old Oscar-winning actress posed for a moody aquatic-themed shoot, shortly after addressing speculation that she might have undergone a facelift in an interview with Elle UK.
Cover Story: The Epic Issue
Hathaway graced the cover of Elle's Summer 2026 The Epic Issue: Women of The Odyssey. She also appeared in the magazine's Clothes of Our Lives series, sharing some of her most iconic fashion moments over the years. The shoot, captured by Canadian photographer Norman Jean Roy, featured Hathaway in revealing teal and aquamarine ensembles as she was showered with rain.
For the cover shot, she wore a casual Fendi bodysuit, accessorised with a gleaming bracelet, earrings, and a ring from Bulgari. Her long brunette locks cascaded down her shoulders, framing her elegantly made-up face. In several photos, she sported a blue-tinted smoky eye, including one where she wore a straw-like teal dress from Stella McCartney that hung dramatically off one shoulder.
Behind the Scenes
In another striking image, Hathaway appeared to be topless, but was actually covered by a flesh-colored C'est Jeanne bodysuit. She was soaked by a stream of water while wearing an aquamarine Tom Ford skirt that began to get wet. Other studio shots placed her in a pale green Mugler dress with an enormous feathered Celia Kritharioti headdress featuring long green feathers.
Closer shots on the other side of a mini-waterfall showed a dark, distorted view of the actress, while one featured her face perfectly framed by a break in the wall of water. More dramatic photos captured her writhing around in a pool of water while gazing into the camera. She also wore a green semi-sheer Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello dress with frills covering her bust. In another image, she splashed around in a puddle, raising her arms to the sky while wearing a textured dark blue Giorgio Armani bodysuit.
Addressing Facelift Speculation
Hathaway used her cover story to respond to speculation from fans about a possible facelift. The rumours swelled in March after she posted an Instagram video showcasing a trick her hairstylist, Orlando Pita, uses to give her face a lifted appearance. In the clip, she demonstrated how Orlando would create two hidden braids near her temples to give the eye area a little extra lift.
In her interview with Elle, she said she found the rumours 'distracting.' She explained: 'I wouldn't say pointed. But we're at a time when people feel very confident in assuming what they think is fact, and sometimes what they think is accurate and sometimes it's not. My preference would be to never comment on anything and to just live in the mystery and not draw attention to myself, but the speculation has gotten so loud that you do feel the need to just get your truth out there.'
She added: 'And I'll probably always wonder, "Should I have posted that or not? Should I have just kept going and done the thing that makes me happy and makes me feel more confident on the red carpet?" But I felt like the conversation was becoming distracting.'
Hathaway also noted that having a facelift is a 'huge medical decision,' but did not rule out the idea of going under the knife in the future. 'By the way, these are huge medical decisions that people are presuming. I wanted to show that like, "No, I didn't make a huge medical decision. It's just two braids," she continued. 'And by the way, the other thing about all this is, I might still get a facelift someday.'
The Devil Wears Prada 2
Hathaway's magazine appearance comes after she reprised her role as journalist Andy Sachs in the long-awaited sequel, The Devil Wears Prada 2. She reflected on how her life has changed since she first played the part in the original movie 20 years ago. 'You know how you'll have certain memories or times in your life that you wish you could revisit because you're like, "God, I wish I could go back there and be the person that I am now and know what I know now." That's what it was like,' Hathaway said.
She added: 'I've always felt this enormous debt of gratitude to the movie and how I was protected, especially by [director] David Frankel. So it was exciting to get to go back and say thank you, and show all the work that I've done on myself and just aim to be an absolute delight every day.'
She concluded: 'To have worked so hard in my life to have… sorry, I do get emotional thinking about it, to have become a more positive person, to have become a healthier person, to have become a safer person, I was really happy that I could share that with people who were so formative and responsible for so many of the beautiful things that I have in my life.'
