The “Devil Wears Prada 2” star opened up about an early onset cataract, which made her “legally blind” in one eye.

Anne Hathaway was ‘half blind’ for 10 years until ‘miracle’ surgery: ‘I didn’t realize how bad it had gotten’

The "Devil Wears Prada 2" star opened up about an early onset cataract, which made her "legally blind" in one eye.

By Kathleen Perricone

May 26, 2026 5:36 p.m. ET

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Anne Hathaway on the 'Popcast' podcast. Credit:

- Anne Hathaway has revealed she was "half blind" for a decade due to an undiagnosed cataract in her left eye.

- Around the age of 40, the actress got surgery to restore her vision, and the result was a "miracle."

- "I didn't realize how bad it had gotten until I could finally see the full spectrum," Hathaway said on *Popcast*.

Anne Hathaway is admitting she went under the knife — but no, not for a rumored facelift.

The *Devil Wears Prada 2* star has revealed she had "miracle" surgery on one of her eyes within the last few years after struggling with her vision throughout her entire 30s.

"This is maybe too much information," Hathaway, 43, said on *Popcast*, "I was half blind for 10 years."

Hathaway wearing eyeglasses in 2011.

John Sciulli/Getty

As the actress explained to hosts Jon Caramanica and Joe Coscarelli of *The New York Times*, she had an early onset cataract in her left eye, which clouded the natural lens. "It impacted my vision so much that I was basically legally blind out of my left eye."

Around the age of 40, "I wound up getting surgery," continued Hathaway, a mom of two. "And I didn't realize how bad it had gotten until I could finally see the full spectrum… I appreciate vision because I literally feel like every day I wake up and I get to see the way that I do, it's a miracle. I actually am like, 'Oh, two generations back that wouldn't have been an option for someone like me.’ So I actually do feel very connected to that kind of a miracle."

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Unbeknownst to the actress, the cataract was affecting more than just her vision during that decade.

"I didn't realize it was actually taxing my nervous system," revealed Hathaway, adding that since surgery "I've calmed down."

The "TMI" confession came about during *Popcast*'s lightning round, in which she was asked which of the human senses would she choose to live without.

Hathaway at the Louis Vuitton 2027 Cruise Collection show on May 20.

Lexie Moreland/Getty

"This one stresses me out," admitted Hathaway. "This is a stressful question because, what I do for a living… I live by my senses."

Ultimately, she chose to hypothetically lose her sense of taste, since "I'm not a great cook."

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"I'm a mom, like the smell of my children, you know," Hathaway explained. "When my oldest was born, I have this very very distinct core memory of that magic baby smell… I remember thinking, 'Oh, this is heaven.'"

Watch Anne Hathaway's full *Popcast* interview below.

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Source: “EW Celebrity”