Don't take things seriously, suggests Hathaway

Anne gives credit to her mother for teaching her how to take life 'with a pinch of humour'.

LOS ANGELES: Actress Anne Hathaway says that she has been through several embarrassing situations but her mom taught her to take life with a pinch of humour.

"My mother, Kate McCauley, taught me to be always understanding of other people - and to have a sense of humour about yourself. You need to hold on to that sense of humour," thesun.co.uk quoted the actress saying.

Anne, 29, who became engaged last November to actor Adam Shulman, will be seen with him in the latest Batman film, "The Dark Knight Rises", coming out this summer.

"If you don't look back and have a laugh at things like that, you really are taking yourself and life too seriously. Mom will also never discuss or criticise my performances, which is exactly the way it should be. There are plenty of others who can do that," she said.

She thanks her mom for never being judgmental and added: "Lindsay Lohan and I have more in common than people think. We've all done things we shouldn't.

It is just that I did stuff at college when nobody knew about it, so I'm not a saint. I wasted time doing self-destructive things."

"I try to keep my personal life low-key, particularly after what happened to me. (Her former boyfriend, Raffaello Follieri was arrested and jailed for fraud in 2008 and she had to hand back jewellery he had bought her). As I say, I do need to keep a sense of humour!

She agrees that as a teenager she often got things out of perspective but her mom told her "Maybe you are taking things a little bit too seriously?"