At 26, she's the youngest of this year's Best Actress nominees.

She's a luminous beauty, preternaturally gifted, and often described as the closest this generation can come to Audrey Hepburn.

Anne Hathaway is up for Best Actress for her work in "Rachel Getting Married." Here's a look at her landmark acting roles:

"The Princess Diaries,” a Disney movie directed by Garry Marshall, her first film immediately tossed Anne into the spotlight.

She got to act opposite Julie Andrews, and critics were pleasantly surprised by the way the young girl stood pluckily up to the still-irresistible "Sound Of Music" veteran.

Actresses debuting with Disney features often face the pressure of rushing into adult roles just to prove they aren't kids anymore, and while Hathaway certainly fell prey to that with the disappointing "Havoc," she completely made up for it with her small yet impressive turn in Ang Lee's masterpiece.

In "Brokeback Mountain" Hathaway played Lureen, a ravishing cowgirl with her eyes firmly on the prize, and while it was great to watch her romance Jake Gyllenhaal, her character turns gradually chilling.

David Frankel's film "The devil Wears Prada" cast her opposite her -idol, with Streep playing1 a fire-breathing, impossibly cruel fashion magazine editor, and Hathaway playing her naive, poorly dressed underling.

Streep had the script's finest lines and Anne merely had to play the straight part, yet the young actress managed to convincingly hold her own and win the audience over to her side.

There was much negative buzz on the American actress being chosen to play an iconic English writer, but director Julian Jarrold stuck to his guns and Hathaway walked away with much critical applause and obvious respect as an emerging young talent.

The film, "Becoming Jane," firmly distancing itself from being a true-to-life biopic, is an exploration of Austen's early family life, and one of her most impressionable relation-

ships. Leading man James McAvoy does well, but it is clear that the flawed film works only because of its striking leading lady.

Hathaway's latest film, "Rachel Getting Married," opened the 65th Venice International Film Festival, and has been getting major plaudits since. Directed by Jonathan Demme, the family drama revolves around Hathaway's character returning home from rehab the day

before her sister gets married

"Hathaway," writes David Edelstein in New York magazine, “is stunningly vivid. She has a habit of telegraphing her characters' emotions, but this time her mannerisms are in sync with the role. It makes sense for the character to draw attention toherselfby pulling faces.

And, really, what a face to pull. The dark eyes, the heavy mouth, the teeth like bowling pins: Everything but the tidy ski-slope nose is way

oversize, as if her head never grew into her features. The bratty KvTp P” ; impossible to ignore, even when she's only smoking and glowering."

Anne Hathaway has publicly stated that she can't possibly win the Oscar this year because she's in the same nominee list as 15-time nominee Meryl Streep, but she could just be wrong.