The Princess Diaries 2001

The Princess Diaries is a 2001 American coming-of-age comedy film directed by Garry Marshall from a screenplay by Gina Wendkos. Produced by Walt Disney Pictures, it is based on Meg Cabot's 2000 novel of the same name and stars Anne Hathaway (in her film debut), Julie Andrews, Héctor Elizondo, Heather Matarazzo, Mandy Moore, Caroline Goodall, and Robert Schwartzman. In the film, shy American teenager Mia Thermopolis (Hathaway) learns she is crown princess of Genovia and receives tutelage from her estranged grandmother Clarisse Renaldi (Andrews), Genovia's reigning queen, as she decides whether to claim or renounce her title. Development on the film began after Cabot's agent, believing in the novel's feature film potential, pursued Debra Martin Chase to adapt it: Chase eventually secured a deal with Disney, and the film was greenlit in August 1999, being co-produced with Whitney Houston's BrownHouse Productions. Wendkos collaborated with Chase on the screenplay, which differs from Cabot's novel, with certain themes softened and other aspects introduced or removed, as Marshall sought to create a G-rated film with broad appeal to adults and children.