Anne Hathaway recently revealed on an episode of the New York Times' "Popcast," released on April 22, that she had been "basically legally blind" in her left eye for a significant period of her career. The "Devil Wears Prada 2" star, now 43, explained that she had an early-onset cataract, which is a clouding of the lens of the eye, according to the Mayo Clinic.
The initial clouded vision caused by the cataract might have only affected a small part of the eye's lens, resulting in a slight loss of vision. However, as the cataract progressed and more of the lens became cloudy, it impacted her daily activities.
"I had surgery and didn't realize how bad it had gotten until I could finally see the full spectrum," Hathaway said. "Since then, I've calmed down. I didn't realize it was actually taxing my nervous system."
Her vision issues began in 2013, while she was filming Christopher Nolan's Oscar-winning sci-fi film "Interstellar." Her vision was impaired for a decade, from ages 30 to 40, before she treated the condition. During this time, she also acted in films like "The Intern," "Colossal," "Ocean's 8," "Dark Waters," and "Armageddon Time."
Legal blindness is defined by the Social Security Administration as having 20/200 or worse vision in the "better eye," even with corrective glasses or contacts, or having a field of view that's no more than 20 degrees wide.
Hathaway shared how life has been since she underwent treatment for the cataract. "I appreciate [my] vision because I literally feel like every day, when I wake up and see the way I do, it's a miracle," she said.
