August 3 marks the 25th anniversary of The Princess Diaries, and Heather Matarazzo has been looking back on the movie’s enduring popularity.
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The Disney hit turned Anne Hathaway into a breakout star through her role as Mia Thermopolis. Starring alongside her was Heather Matarazzo, known for Welcome to the Dollhouse, who played Mia’s close friend Lilly Moscovitz.
Even after 25 years, The Princess Diaries continues to attract loyal viewers — including one especially familiar Hollywood name.
“Recently I ran into Bryce Dallas Howard and she came up to me, and was like ‘I just have to say, I love you so much,'” now-43-year-old Matarazzo shares.
Matarazzo explained that the Jurassic World actor had been picking something to watch one evening and landed on The Princess Diaries.
“I’m a huge fan of Bryce,” Matarazzo continues to tell us. “Any time you get complimented by another actor is a lovely thing.”
Matarazzo also had plenty of praise for Hathaway, whose recent run of film work has kept her firmly in the spotlight.
Her fourth movie of 2026, The End of Oak Street, arrives in cinemas on August 14. That will be followed by the adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s Verity, due out on October 2.
Those projects come after Mother Mary, The Devil Wears Prada 2, and The Odyssey — and Matarazzo feels Mother Mary stands out as one of Hathaway’s finest performances.
She says: “I saw Mother Mary and thought it was absolutely incredible. I think it’s some of Annie’s greatest work.
“There’s a moment in that film when it’s just no words and she’s fully just using her body. It’s devastating in its separation and intimacy.”
Matarazzo went on to describe it as ‘brilliant, brilliant work’.
The conversation also turned to the big question many fans still have: will there be a Princess Diaries 3?
“Listen,” she begins. “We’re hoping that [Princess Diaries 3] happens. You know, we all have the desire to do it.”
Matarazzo adds: “I don’t think they’re questioning or not if there’s going to be loads of interest. It really is just scheduling at this point between me, Annie, Julie [Andrews], and Héctor [Elizondo]. It’s just a carousel of schedules.”
When asked whether she could help nudge Disney toward making the third film happen, Matarazzo laughed that it was ‘above my pay grade’.
Hathaway also offered a recent update on Princess Diaries 3. Speaking on Radio Andy last month, per PEOPLE, she said: “I can say I think we had a story breakthrough.
“I think we are moving in the right direction. The script that we were working on — we kind of had to start over with this new direction, which is not the update I think anybody wants, but we all feel really good that this is gonna be the one.”
Director Adele Lim, who came on board the project in 2024, emphasized in May that the team is focused on honoring the beloved franchise. Lim has worked on hits like “Crazy Rich Asians” and “Raya and the Last Dragon.”
Hathaway announced her pregnancy with her third child in June, revealing the news on Instagram. She shares two sons with husband Adam Shulman, whom she married in 2012. On her July appearance on “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” she joked about the pregnancy affecting her schedule, saying “I’m busy making baby number three, and that has sort of taken the place of knowing when exactly I can make Princess Diaries 3.”
For now, fans will just have to keep watching for the next update.