Academy Award winner Anne Hathaway will be honored with the American Riviera Award at the 42nd annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF).
Hathaway will receive the award Feb. 5 at an in-person tribute and conversation celebrating her career, with a focus on her performance as Penelope in Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey.”
“In the film, Hathaway delivers a moving and layered portrayal of a woman fighting to protect her family and kingdom while awaiting her husband’s return,” the Film Festival said.
Starring opposite Matt Damon as Odysseus and Tom Holland as her son Telemachus, Hathaway serves as the emotional core of Nolan’s epic that has garnered rave reviews and grossed more than $1.8 billion worldwide since its July release.
The film marks Hathaway’s third collaboration with Nolan, following “The Dark Knight Rises” and “Interstellar.”
“Anne Hathaway has always impressed me with her theatrical sophistication, unwavering commitment, and remarkable versatility as a performer,” said Roger Durling, SBIFF executive director.
“In ‘The Odyssey,’ she delivers a breathtaking performance, one that stands among the finest of her career, channeling simmering rage and profound emotional complexity into a portrayal that is at once fierce, vulnerable, poignant and unforgettable,” Durling said.
The American Riviera Award was established to recognize actors who have made a significant contribution to American cinema.
An Academy Award, Golden Globe, SAG and BAFTA Award-winning actress, Hathaway is known for her versatility as a performer and producer with a career spanning acclaimed dramas, blockbuster franchises and beloved comedies, SBIFF said.
In addition to “The Odyssey,” her films this year include “Mother Mary,” “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” “The End of Oak Street,” and “Verity,” an adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s bestselling novel.
Hathaway’s upcoming projects include Ron Howard’s “Alone at Dawn,” “Days of Thunder 2” alongside Tom Cruise, and “The Princess Diaries 3,” in which she will reprise her role as Mia Thermopolis.
Recent credits also include “Mother’s Instinct,” “The Idea of You,” “She Came to Me,” “Armageddon Time,” and “Eileen.”
Hathaway won the Academy Award, Golden Globe, SAG and BAFTA Awards for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Fantine in Tom Hooper’s 2012 adaptation of “Les Misérables.”
She previously earned Academy Award, Golden Globe and SAG Award nominations for her performance in Jonathan Demme’s critically acclaimed “Rachel Getting Married” (2008), for which she was also named Best Actress by the National Board of Review and several critics’ organizations.
Hathaway’s television credits: “WeCrashed,” “Modern Love,” “Get Real,” “Family Guy,” and “The Simpsons,” for which she received an Emmy Award.
Through her production company Somewhere Pictures Hathaway has also produced projects including “The Idea of You,” “Verity,” and “Mother’s Instinct.”
The 42nd Santa Barbara International Film Festival will take place Feb. 3-13. Official events including screenings, filmmaker Q&As, industry panels and celebrity tributes will be held throughout the city. Passes for the 2027 Film Festival are for sale at sbiff.org.
Previous recipients of the American Riviera Award are Ethan Hawke, Zoe Saldaña, Mark Ruffalo, Brendan Fraser, Kristen Stewart, Delroy Lindo, Renée Zellweger, Viggo Mortensen, Sam Rockwell, Jeff Bridges, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Patricia Arquette, Robert Redford, Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese, Annette Bening, Sandra Bullock, Mickey Rourke, Tommy Lee Jones, Forrest Whitaker, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Kevin Bacon, and Diane Lane.