Whatever Happened To The Cast Of The Princess Diaries?
Released in 2001, "The Princess Diaries" was a surprise hit that made a star of Anne Hathaway in her first major role. Based on the popular book series by Meg Cabot, "The Princess Diaries" focuses on awkward teen Mia Thermopolis (Hathaway), who is surprised to learn that she's a royal descendant of the European kingdom of Genovia. As she struggles to come to terms with her new status as a princess, Mia undergoes a transformation and learns from the regal Queen Clarisse Renaldi (Julie Andrews) — her grandmother — what it takes to rule. All while dealing with the usual teen problems such as bullies, an unreliable car, and a boy who doesn't like you back.
Packed with memorable moments, "The Princess Diaries" combines traditional Disney fairytale magic with a relatable and charming coming-of-age story. The movie was so successful, that it spawned a sequel — 2004's "The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement" — and there's a rumored third installment in the works as well.
Many of the cast members have gone on to have hugely successful and varied careers, while others have moved away from acting altogether to focus on other projects. Join us as we take a look at what happened to the cast of "The Princess Diaries."
Anne Hathaway as Mia Thermopolis
Following her acting debut in the Fox comedy-drama series "Get Real," Anne Hathaway got her big break as Mia Thermopolis in "The Princess Diaries." Three years later — the same year "The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement" was released — she played a princess again in "Ella Enchanted," but it wasn't long before she branched out into more varied roles.
From comedies such as "The Devil Wears Prada" and "Bride Wars" to collaborating with Christopher Nolan on "The Dark Knight Rises" and "Interstellar," Hathaway continued to demonstrate her range, and in 2015 she was named by Forbes as one of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood. In 2012, Hathaway received recognition at the Academy Awards, winning the Oscar for best supporting actress for her brief but memorable appearance as Fantine in "Les Misérables," impressing audiences with her singing prowess as much as her acting talent.
Outside of acting, Hathaway is passionate about activism — particularly regarding equality for women and girls — advocating for equal opportunities and the right to an education. Hathaway was appointed UN Women goodwill ambassador in 2016 and has been particularly vocal about issues such as paid parental leave and the "Time's Up" campaign.
Julie Andrews as Queen Clarisse Renaldi
While "The Princess Diaries" featured Anne Hathaway's breakout performance, her co-star Julie Andrews had enjoyed a glittering decade-spanning career before playing the Queen of Genovia. The legendary star of stage and screen became a household name in 1964 after she played the titular magical nanny in Disney's "Mary Poppins," for which she won her first — and, so far, only – Oscar for best actress. As Queen Clarisse Renaldi, Andrews brings real gravitas to "The Princess Diaries" as she hands over the baton to the next generation of superstars.
Following her appearance in "The Princess Diaries" and its sequel, Andrews predominantly focused on voice acting, bringing her instantly recognizable tones to franchises including "Shrek" and "Despicable Me," and continuing to deliver Disney magic with a voiceover role in 2007's "Enchanted." Most recently, Andrews has voiced the mysterious Lady Whistledown in the TV series "Bridgerton" and its spin-off "Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story." Away from the screen, Andrews is a prolific author. In addition to writing her two memoirs in 2008 and 2019, she co-wrote several children's books with her daughter, Emma Walton-Hamilton.
Héctor Elizondo as Joe
For Queen Clarisse and the princess-in-training, Joe (Héctor Elizondo) is a steadfast and calming presence — and off-screen Elizondo is a similarly ubiquitous figure in director Garry Marshall's movies. From 1982's "Young Doctors in Love" to "Mother's Day" in 2016, Elizondo had a supporting role in 18 of Marshall's movies. In an interview with Variety about their 34-year working relationship, Elizondo said, "Garry kept reminding people how lucky we are to be working. He liked hiring the same people, because you don't have to explain stuff."
Outside of his appearances in Marshall's movies, Elizondo carved out a successful voice acting career, voicing Carlos Sanchez in "The Book of Life," Jim Gordon in "The LEGO Batman Movie," and characters in TV series like "Elena of Avalor" and "Star Wars: The Bad Batch." He also appeared alongside Tim Allen and Nancy Travis in the sitcom "Last Man Standing."
While proud of his Latino heritage, Elizondo is careful about the roles he chooses and refuses ones that play into stereotypes. Speaking to the Washington Post, Elizondo said, "I don't see what my ancestry has to do with it. I think by putting me in that box, by categorizing me, you're taking away my options and my opportunity."
Mandy Moore as Lana Thomas
In "The Princess Diaries," Mandy Moore plays the mean cheerleader, Lana Thomas, who mercilessly picks on Mia and her friends. Alongside her cohorts Anna (Elizabeth Gudenrath) and Fontana (Bianca Lopez), Lana rules the school and to make matters even worse, she's dating Mia's crush, Josh (Erik von Detten).
When "The Princess Diaries" was released, Moore was perhaps better known for her singing career, and she had the chance to show off her talent in the movie with her cover of Connie Francis' "Stupid Cupid," which she sings at the Baker Beach Party. Following this film, Moore's acting career took off with leading roles in films including "A Walk to Remember," "Chasing Liberty," and "Saved!" — the latter of which also starred "The Princess Diaries" alum Heather Matarazzo. In 2010, Moore voiced Disney princess Rapunzel in "Tangled" — a character she continued to voice in the multiple spin-off TV series — and in 2016 she landed the part of Rebecca Pearson on the hugely popular show, "This is Us." Since then, she starred in the shark thriller "47 Meters Down" in 2017 and the war drama "Midway" in 2019.
Caroline Goodall as Mia's mother, Helen
At first glance, both Mia's mother and her absent father have a lot to answer for in terms of why they kept the secret of her royal heritage from Mia. However, we later learn that Mia's mother, Helen (Caroline Goodall) did it so that her daughter could have a normal childhood — well, as normal as living in a converted firehouse complete with a pole to get you between floors could be. She also single-handedly raised Mia while her ex-husband was heir to a fictional European country. Helen is a free-spirited artist who ends up dating Mia's English teacher, Mr. O'Connell (Sean O'Bryan), and proves to be very supportive of her daughter's journey to becoming a princess.
Before "The Princess Diaries," Goodall began her career with notable roles in two Steven Spielberg movies: "Hook" and "Schindler's List" in 1991 and 1993, respectively. Since 2001, she has appeared in movies such as the feel-good feline flick "A Street Cat Named Bob," and the action-comedy sequel "The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard," and had small parts in TV series including "The Crown," "The Good Wife," and "The White Queen."
Robert Schwartzman as Michael Moscovitz
One memorable exchange in "The Princess Diaries" tells us almost everything we need to know about Michael Moscovitz (Robert Schwartzman): "He fixes cars, he plays guitar, and he can sing ... he is wicked sweet!" Michael is the older brother of Mia's best friend Lilly (Heather Matarazzo) who admires Mia from afar until eventually, the princess realizes the boy who can make her foot pop has been there all along.
Michael might not come from a royal background, but the same can't be said for Robert Schwartzman, who is part of the royal family of film, the Coppolas. Nephew to the legendary director Francis Ford Coppola, Schwartzman calls Sofia Coppola and Nicolas Cage cousins, and he is also the younger brother of actor Jason Schwartzman — best known for his collaborations with Wes Anderson on films such as "Rushmore" and "The Grand Budapest Hotel."
Compared to some of his other castmates, Robert Schwartzman has few acting credits and only a handful of roles in small indie films since "The Princess Diaries." However, he has still enjoyed a successful career as the lead singer of the alternative rock band Rooney, and also directed several films, including 2016's "Dreamland" which starred his brother Jason.
Erik von Detten as Josh Bryant
Every '00s teen movie needs the hottie that our protagonist lusts after, and in "The Princess Diaries" that comes in the form of Erik von Detten as Josh Bryant. While Mia spends her days fantasizing that she's making out with Josh, he barely gives her a second look — until her radical transformation, that is. For the movie's target audience, Josh is the quintessential heartthrob, and even some 20 years after the film's release, people are still infatuated with him.
Von Detten got his big break on the soap opera "Days of Our Lives," where he played Nicholas Alamain. He spent the majority of his teen years working with Disney, appearing in the made-for-TV inline skating movie "Brink!" and the supernatural television series "So Weird." Outside of this and his role in "The Princess Diaries," he's perhaps best known as the voice of the villainous Sid in "Toy Story" — a role he reprised in 2010 for "Toy Story 3." This proved to be his last role, as von Detten has since retired from acting. He now works in finance and is married to Los Angeles realtor Angela von Detten. Speaking to E! News in 2021, von Detten didn't rule out returning to acting, saying, "If there's a script with a role that doesn't require an arduous audition process, I'm definitely open."
Sandra Oh as Vice Principal Gupta
Even though "The Princess Diaries" is a teen-centric movie, the adult characters are just as memorable, and arguably one of the best is sassy Vice Principal Gupta (Sandra Oh). In little over two minutes of screen time, Oh completely steals the show — particularly with her scathing putdown following the "Lana got coned" incident.
So iconic is Vice Principal Gupta that the moment she's informed "the Queen is coming" to her school became a hilarious TikTok trend where people reenacted the scene using their pets. Oh is now a huge star in her own right, with starring roles in TV series including "Grey's Anatomy" where she played Dr. Cristina Yang, and "Killing Eve" where she played Eve Polastri. She also provided the voice for major characters in Disney's "Turning Red" and "Raya and the Last Dragon," as well as the Netflix animated movie, "Over the Moon."
While some of Oh's "The Princess Diaries" co-stars haven't confirmed that they would return for a third movie, Oh has said she would love to come back. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Oh said, "I am ready for the Queen. Call me! I'm dying to see how Gupta has moved up in the world."
Patrick John Flueger as Jeremiah Hart
Jeremiah Hart (Patrick John Flueger) — complete with instantly recognizable flame-red hair — is a friend of Mia and Lilly's and another one of the outcasts at Grove High School. Jeremiah appears alongside Lilly on her cable talk show, "Shut Up and Listen," where he shows off his impressive abilities as a magician.
Like Robert Schwartzman and Erik von Detten, Flueger didn't return for "The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement," but he has enjoyed success in a variety of roles since the release of the first movie. After some minor roles in "CSI: Miami" and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," Flueger landed a major part in the sci-fi series "The 4400" as Shawn Farrell, and played Chuck in the 2011 remake of "Footloose." Today, audiences will recognize him as Adam Ruzek in the "Chicago" franchise — a character who appeared in "Chicago Med," "Chicago Fire," and predominantly "Chicago P.D."
Sean O'Bryan as Mr. O'Connell
Tasked with simmering down a potentially unruly debate class near the beginning of "The Princess Diaries" is Grove High's English teacher, Mr. O'Connell. Following Mia's stage fright in his class — where she almost vomits into a tuba when asked to provide a dissenting opinion on wearing casual clothes to school — a surprising turn of events later sees Mr. O'Connell dating Mia's mom, Helen.
After playing the educator in "The Princess Diaries" and its sequel — where it is revealed that he and Helen have married and had a son — O'Bryan appeared in films such as "Yes Man," "Searching," "Olympus Has Fallen," and its sequel "London Has Fallen." More recently, O'Bryan appeared in Damien Chazelle's divisive "Babylon." In addition to the two "Princess Diaries" movies, O'Bryan also worked with director Garry Marshall twice more, appearing in "New Year's Eve" in 2011 and "Mother's Day" in 2016.
Kathleen Marshall as Charlotte Kutaway
Not only did director Garry Marshall like working with the same actors, but he also loved working with his family. Daughter Kathleen Marshall crops up in "The Princess Diaries" as the headset-wearing right-hand woman to Queen Clarisse, Charlotte Kutaway. Since "Young Doctors in Love" in 1982, Kathleen appeared in almost all of her father's movies, including "Pretty Woman," "Never Been Kissed," and "Valentine's Day."
Following Garry Marshall's death in 2016, Kathleen continued her father's legacy. Since 2017 Kathleen has served on the board at the Garry Marshall Theatre — formerly the Falcon Theatre – founded by her father. In the same year, Kathleen and her brother Scott accepted the Disney Legend award on their father's behalf, and in 2018 she stood in for him at the opening of "Pretty Woman: The Musical" in Chicago.
Despite now being heavily involved in the running of the Garry Marshall Theatre, Kathleen spoke positively about her time in "The Princess Diaries" movies and expressed her willingness to return. In an interview on the "Hey Now! Hey Now!" podcast, Kathleen shared, "I'm ready to show up as Charlotte."
Larry Miller as Paolo Puttanesca
Sometimes, a character doesn't need more than a handful of scenes to make an impact, and that's certainly the case with the flamboyant Paolo Puttanesca (Larry Miller). So memorable was his appearance in "The Princess Diaries" that he reprised his role in the sequel, despite having already worked his magic with Mia's makeover and subsequently disgraced himself when he sold out the princess to the press. However, Paolo's intentions are sort of honorable — he just wants the world to see and appreciate his incredible work on Mia's locks.
Comedian Larry Miller also showed up in the 1999 teen classic, "10 Things I Hate About You," and the mockumentary movies "Best in Show" and "A Mighty Wind." Like many of the other cast members, Miller was also a regular on director Garry Marshall's roster, appearing in "Raising Helen" and "Valentine's Day," among other films. Miller also had a successful stand-up comedy career and appeared in TV shows including "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "NCIS," and "8 Simple Rules."
Heather Matarazzo as Lilly Moscovitz
Even though there's a compelling argument that Lilly Moscovitz is the true villain of "The Princess Diaries," she's — for the most part — one of the most consistent people in Mia's life as she handles the tumult of discovering she's a princess. Lilly is quirky and eccentric, proudly marches to the beat of her own drum, and is brilliantly brought to life by Heather Matarazzo.
The actor, who began her career on the TV series "The Adventures of Pete & Pete" at 11 years old, had a number of acting credits prior to her appearance as Lilly. Her big screen break came in 1995 with "Welcome to the Dollhouse," and she also played Martha Meeks in "Scream 3" — a role she reprised in 2022's "Scream" as well. After "The Princess Diaries," Matarazzo predominantly acted in low-budget indie movies, and she has been very open about her struggles in Hollywood. Speaking to The Guardian, Matarazzo said, "Most people think that I probably get paid a lot of money ... But I really don't, and most working actors don't." She even shared on her TikTok how low residual checks can be and has been vocal and visible in support of the SAG-AFTRA strikes.