Anne Hathaway

Anne Hathaway (born c. 1556—died August 6, 1623, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England) was the wife of William Shakespeare and mother of his three children, one of whom died in childhood. Very little is known about her because of the sparse historical record, making her an enigmatic figure and the subject of much speculation.

Anne Hathaway was probably born at Shottery, near Stratford-upon-Avon, England, the daughter of Richard Hathaway, a local landowner. She is believed to have been the eldest of eight children and to have lost her mother, Joan, when she was about 10. Her father died in 1581 and bequeathed her a sum with which to get married. This she did in November 1582, when Shakespeare was 18 and she, according to an inscription on her gravestone, was 26. The wedding was conducted hastily because Anne was three months pregnant. Their daughter Susanna was born the following May. Twins Judith and Hamnet were born about 1585 (Hamnet, their only son, died of bubonic plague 11 years later).

After the birth of the twins, Shakespeare moved to London, probably leaving the family in Stratford-upon-Avon. Evidence suggests that Shakespeare and Anne may have lived together in London between 1600 and 1610. About 1597 Anne and the children were installed at New Place, one of the largest houses in Stratford-upon-Avon, where Anne remained until her death in 1623. Shakespeare often visited his family and lived there from his retirement in 1611 until his death in 1616. He was buried in Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon, as was Anne. In his will Shakespeare left his “second-best bed” to Anne. The bequest has long been regarded by some historians as an indication of a lack of affection between husband and wife, although modern scholarship takes a more pragmatic view—historians have pointed out that the “second-best bed” was likely the marital bed and that the bequest was not an unusual one.

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It is unclear whether Anne inspired the “dark lady” to whom Shakespeare composed some of his sonnets; theories about the identity of the real “dark lady” have variously proposed Mary Fitton, Emilia Lanier, and a sex worker known as Black Luce. The supposed infidelity on Shakespeare’s part has sometimes been taken as further proof that his marriage to Anne was strained. A fictionalized version of Anne, referred to as Agnes, takes center stage in the novel Hamnet (2020) by Maggie O’Farrell. In a film adaptation of Hamnet, released in November 2025, Agnes is portrayed by actress Jessie Buckley. The Hathaway family home is owned and run as a museum by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.