The Princess Diaries is a 2001 American comedy movie. It was produced by singer and actress Whitney Houston. It was directed by Garry Marshall. It is based on Meg Cabot's 2000 novel of the same name. The movie stars Anne Hathaway as Mia Thermopolis and Tobey Maguire as Peter Thermopolis, Mia's brother. The characters are teenagers who discover that they are the heir of the throne of the fictional Kingdom of Genovia. Genovia is ruled by their grandmother Queen Dowager Clarisse Renaldi, played by Julie Andrews. It also stars Heather Matarazzo and James Franco as Mia and Peter's best friends Lilly Moscovitz and Harry, Héctor Elizondo as Joseph, the Queen's Head of Security, and Robert Schwartzman as Lilly's brother Michael, who has a crush on Mia.