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Anne Hathaway revealed in her new Vanity Fair cover story that she was told she had zero sex appeal when she was a young actor just starting out in Hollywood. Not that she ever bought into the claim: “I was like, ‘I’m a Scorpio. I know what I’m like on a Saturday night,’” she said.

Hathaway started her career as a teenager, filming her breakout role in Disney’s “The Princess Diaries” when she was 17 years old. She said the cultural definition of what it means to be sexy was much more narrow during her early days of Hollywood stardom than it is now.

“The male gaze was very dominant and very pervasive and very juvenile,” Hathaway said, noting that she her feelings are far more important in the film and television business nowadays than her physical appearance.

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Hathaway’s latest role is that of single mother Solène in “The Idea of You.” The film is based on the bestselling novel of the same name from Robinne Lee and centers on the blossoming and unexpected romance between 40-year-old Solène and the 24-year-old lead singer of the world’s hottest boy band (played in the film by Nicholas Galitzine). Hathaway was drawn to the film because it shows it’s never too late for a woman to come of age. The film is also sex positive.

“It’s not like one healthy, consensual female orgasm (okay, multiple) is going to change the world,” Hathaway wrote in a note to Vanity Fair, “but I’m really happy to be part of a story that takes pleasure in female pleasure.”

“The Idea of You” premiered to strong reviews out of SXSW. Variety‘s Peter Debruge wrote in his review: “Hathaway’s rockin’ single-mom character doesn’t need a boyfriend, much less a boy-band fling to fulfill her. But her on-and-off romance with Nicholas Galitzine’s smitten pop star feels like one for the ages… the chemistry between Hathaway and Galitzine feels real.”

“The Idea of You” streams May 2 on Amazon Prime Video. Head over to Vanity Fair’s website to read Hathaway’s latest cover story in its entirety.

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