Apr 15, 2026 8:33am PT

Anne Hathaway on How Beyoncé Helped Her Find ‘Swag’ as a Singer for ‘Mother Mary’ Film

Jem Aswad

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Jem Aswad

Executive Editor, Music

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Anne Hathaway has played many roles across her two-decade career, but pop star is a new one. As a singer, she’s usually gravitated toward musical theatre — with an exception being her stellar cover of Queen’s “Somebody to Love” — but for David Lowery’s “Mother Mary,” coming from A24 on Friday, she had to go full pop star in the role of Mother Mary, a traumatized fictional singer reminiscent of Madonna and Lady Gaga.

It’s a very different style of singing and acting, and during a Q&A in New York on Tuesday, as part of a listening event for the seven-song soundtrack album sponsored by A24 and Spotify (and moderated by Variety‘s Jem Aswad), she revealed that Beyonce’s “American Requiem” was the key that unlocked her inner pop star.

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Anne Hathaway on How Beyoncé Helped Her Find 'Swag' as a Singer for ‘Mother Mary’ Film