HANGIN' WITH THE Princess Files

Girls' Life, June, 2001 by Kelly White

We scored phone time with the three stars' of Disney's The Princess Diaries. Have read he book? It's about this girl who finds out she's a princess. But even royalty have BFF dilemmas and popularity probs. Bummer. We took notes.

THE PRINCESS

Sunday, 10 a.m.

OK, I can't believe Anne Hathaway's calling me from her house so early on a Sunday. Because I didn't think girls who star in princess movies do interviews this early in the morning. I mean, at least not on weekends. Don't they need their beauty rest or something? In the flick, Anne has the role of Mia Thermopolis, this regular girl who goes to private school, and her dad lays this news on her that she's total royalty because he's the prince of some European country called Genovia. So her grandmere (who has tattooed eyeliner) starts giving her princess lessons, and it all turns out to be a royal pain in the you-know-what--popularity probs and all. So, anyway, I guess Anne isn't really a princess just because she plays one in a major motion picture, but she's like a real celebrity now so I think she's really cool for setting her alarm clock and getting up just to chat with me in the a.m....

Me: Hey, thanks for calling. I suppose you've never had a real-life popularity problem.

Her: My high school didn't have a king and queen with their little clique running around making everybody else's life miserable. We just had the cool group, the group that didn't care and, in a way, the not-so-cool group. I kind of was friends with everybody, though. I never really had a popularity problem.

Me: Which group did you sit with at lunch?

Her: I was in the group that wasn't so cool but honestly did not care what anybody else thought about them.

Me: You were never made fun of ever? Like you never encountered a meanie like the one Mandy Moore plays in the movie?

Her: Well, I remember one time in seventh grade I came to school and my pants were slightly too long, so I rolled them up and I thought it looked really cool and I liked them. And this girl came up to me and said, "What are you doing?" and actually went down on her knees and unrolled my pants in the middle of the hallway in front of everyone. I was just so shocked that I didn't say anything.

Me: Who's your BFF?

Her: The one person that's been in my life through it all is my best friend since sixth grade. And she has known me, you know, when I was going through my phase when I hated the world, and she's known me since I had braces and before any of this happened, and she has always treated me the exact same. So I know she's pretty much the most genuine person I could know. In addition to being the most supportive, wonderful friend a girl could ever want, she's just so much fun. We've been through a lot together, and I am so thankful and grateful to have her in my life.

Me: Who's at the top of your list of the 10 women you most admire?

Her: Oh, gosh. Mother Teresa or my godmother. Mother Teresa because I don't think you can get a better example of a selfless person willing to put the rest of the world before herself and her image. And an example of how modern-day conventions of what defines external beauty do not apply because she is the most beautiful person who has ever existed. Fashion magazines may not agree with me, but I don't think any real person would contest that assumption. And my godmother because life has thrown her so many curves, and she takes it all in stride and is still such a good person. At the core of it, she's a loving person who honestly wants the best for everyone. That's so wonderful and rare to find somebody so pure.

Me: Wow! Your godmom will be honored you put her right up there with Mother T. How would you react if you found out tomorrow that you are the princess of Genovia?

Her: You're the first person to ask me that. I've never really thou thought about it. Probably after my initial freaking out of the whole situation, I'd have a huge sleepover with all my friends, tell them what was going on and say that if I ever became different, each of them would have the right to kick me in the butt.

Me: Would you wear a tiara?

Her: If the occasion arose, yeah.

Me: Harrison Ford or Leonardo Dicaprio?

Her: If it was Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones, I'd have to say Leonardo Dicaprio. But if it's Harrison Ford in Star Wars, I've always wanted to travel throughout space and who better to do it with?

Me: George Clooney or Leonardo Dicaprio?

Her: Well, isn't Leonardo Dicaprio getting married? I think so. He's off the market, so I'd have to say George Clooney.

Still Sunday, 10:30 a.m.

Geez. I just got off the phone with Annie (she lets me call her that), and I grabbed my cool autographed copy of The Princess Diaries (signed by Meg Cabot, who wrote the book, which is tons cooler than my autographed copy of Oksana Baiul's autobiography). So, I picked up where I had left off. OK, the truth is I hadn't finished the book by the time I talked to her. So I flip to page 112, third paragraph from the top and there's this whole part about how Mia's grandmere makes her get all her hair choped off at this place called Chez Paolo in Manhattan and all because she has to fit the perfect princess image. And I didn't even ask Annie if she had to get her locks lopped in real life to be in the movie.