| Mia Thermopolis | |
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Full Name |
Amelia "Mia" Mignonette Grimaldi Thermopolis Renaldi |
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Series |
The Princess Diaries |
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Portrayed by |
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First seen |
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Last seen |
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Age |
14-26 |
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School |
Albert Einstein High School |
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Occupation |
Student |
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Title |
Princess of Genovia |
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Significant Other |
Michael Moscovitz |
Amelia "Mia" Mignonette Thermopolis Renaldi, most commonly known as Mia Thermopolis, is the main protagonist in the Princess Diaries book series.
Daughter to Helen Thermopolis and Phillipe Renaldi, she is the princess and sole heir to the throne of Genovia, a small country in Europe. Having lived most of her life in San Francisco, Mia attends Albert Einstein High School for Boys (made coeducational circa 1975) with her few close friends (including her best friends, Lilly Moscovitz and Tina Hakim-Baba). Her special talent is writing and she chronicles the main aspects of her life in various personal diaries. In the two Princess Diaries films, Mia Thermopolis is portrayed by Anne Hathaway.
Physical Features
Mia in the movies
At the beginning of the series, Mia is flat-chested, 5 foot 9 height, thin, and had extremely large feet. During the events of Princess Mia, Mia grows an inch taller, develops a bust and becomes less of a "Q-tip".
Mia thinks that she is "not pretty, but not grossly disfigured". However, this can be argued as rather a lot of people think that Mia is very pretty. Her grandmother told her she was "really quite beautiful", and her distant cousin Sebastiano says the she "has a beautiful bone structure"
Personality
Mia is a sarcastic, funny person. She is concerned about the environment and regularly donates money to Greenpeace. She particularly adores her cat, Fat Louie, which inspired her Instant Messenger handle, FtLouie.
Mia is often worried and seems paranoid. She is familiar with a number of catastrophe scenarios that could happen to Manhattan and what to do in these situtations. Her paranoia also translates to her relationship with Michael. Mia often worries that he will leave her for a girl who is smarter or who is willing to have sex. Mia's insecurities are a source of tension in her relationships.
Mia is a romantic and, by the end of the series, a romance author.
Education
Mia attends Albert Einstein High School for Boys and Girls (made coeducational circa 1975). During her time there, the school is headed by Principal Gupta. Students at AEHS are very well-off and most expect to attend Ivy League schools.
In school, Mia struggles in math and science courses. She succeeds in math largely because she is tutored by her boyfriend. She succeeds in science because she has Kenny Showalter as a lab partner, who is willing to do most of her work for her. Mia is a skilled writer but often is at odds with her English teacher, Ms. Martinez. Eventually, they come to terms when Ms. Martinez allows Mia to write a historical romance novel as her senior project.
Mia is not very involved with extracurricular activities as she considers herself an outcast. She writes for the school newspaper, the Atom.
Mia is accepted at every university she applies to. Ultimately, she chooses to attend Sarah Lawrence College. Later, in the second film, it is revealed she is a graduate of Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.
Relationships
Grandmother
Dowager Princess Clarisse Renaldi is Mia's paternal grandmother. Growing up, Mia saw her grandmother when she visited Genovia over the summer, although she was unaware of her family's lineage. When Mia is told that she is a princess, her grandmother takes it upon herself to teach Mia how to be a princess in daily 'Princess Lessons'. Mia often argues with Grandmere and rarely agrees with her actions, which are very self-serving. Grandmere does help Mia out on a number of occasions. For example, she ensures that Mia has nice dresses for not only state affairs but also for school dances. Grandmere also helps Mia by getting the Empire State Building as a prom location when the dance is almost canceled, and to solve a student government deficit with the play 'Braid!'.
Michael Moscovitz
Michael Moscovitz
Mia and Michael's relationship progresses in Books 4-8 as they face different challenges, including Mia's busy schedule, Michael's reluctance to attend prom, Michael's transition to college, and Mia's reluctance to have sex. In Book Eight, when Michael is given an opportunity to move to Japan to work on a robotic arm for closed heart surgery, the two break up after an argument reveals that Michael is not a virgin. Michael goes to Japan and Mia is distraught. Their broken relationship sends Mia to therapy in Book Nine, especially as Mia is unwilling to respond to Michael's emails.
In Book Ten, Mia is conflicted over her current relationship with J.P. and her past relationship with Michael which she must confront when he returns to Manhattan. The two meet privately, first for coffee and then for lunch. At the second meeting, they make out and Michael confesses his unabated love for Mia. He later donates a CardioArm to Genovia for Mia's sake. They resume their relationship after Mia breaks up with J.P. at her senior prom.
In 2014, Meg Cabot announced a new book about the marriage of Mia and Michael. The book, Royal Wedding, is due out June 2, 2015.
Lilly Moscovitz
Lilly and Mia have been best friends since kindergarten. Mia often spends the night at Lilly's house and her parents consider Mia to be like a daughter to them. They often argue, largely due to Lilly's stubborn and argumentative personality. Mia helps Lilly with her Public Access TV Show, Lilly Tells it Like It Is, and once sparked a significant argument with Lilly when she gave an interview to the news before Lilly's show. When Mia and Michael begin a relationship, Lilly expresses consternation over the fact that Michael spends so much time with Mia.
Lilly nominated Mia for Student Government President in the hopes that Mia would be too busy and would have to step down, so Lilly could assume the presidency. In Mia's first run, she does not step down.
Lilly tried to publish one of Mia's short stories, No More Corn, in a collection called Fat Louie's Pink Butthole. Mia tried to get Lilly to stop because she did not want to offend the unwitting subject of her story, J.P. The magazine is confiscated before anyone reads it for explicit content.
When Mia and Michael break up, Lilly becomes angry at Mia. This is largely because she feels betrayed to see Mia with J.P., who broke up with Lilly when he heard Mia was single. She trusted that Mia would not be willing to go out with J.P. because he was Lilly's ex-boyfriend. This anger culminates with the formation of the website ihatemiathermopolis.com and an angry outburst in the cafeteria.
By their senior year, Lilly's anger has cooled and she and Mia interact regularly as Lilly is the editor of the Atom and Mia is one of her staff writers. At Michael's presentation to Columbia, they speak kindly to one another and Lilly urges Mia to interview Michael personally. Later, Lilly attends Mia's eighteenth birthday party and films interviews with guests to create a commercial to help Mia's father win reelection. She later predicts the end of Mia's relationship with J.P. and tells Michael to show up at prom around midnight, ultimately bringing the two back together.
Tina Hakim-Baba
Tina and Mia have been close friends since their freshman year of high school. Their friendship begins when Mia feels ostracized from Lilly and her other friends after being outed as a princess and joins Tina for lunch. Mia and Tina are the only girls at AEHS to have bodyguards, and until Mia sits with Tina, she is friendless. However, once Mia and Lilly reconcile, Tina joins their group of friends.
Tina shares with Mia her love of romance novels. Tina's romantic notions are often looked down upon by Mia, who feels they are unrealistic. However, at times, for example when reading Jane Eyre or Your Precious Gift, Mia and Tina share ideas of romantic conquests. In regard to Your Precious Gift, Mia and Tina make a pact to lose their virginity on the night of their senior prom, although Tina breaks the promise.
When Mia and Lilly fight, especially in Book Nine when they are not speaking, Tina is a pillar of strength for Mia. While Mia occasionally condescends to her friend or thinks of her as simple-minded for her over the top belief in romance novels, Tina is always there for Mia.
Lana Weinberger
Mia and Lana hate each other when they first meet. Mia crushes on her locker neighbor, Lana's boyfriend Josh Richter, and Lana constantly mocks Mia. Their mutual hatred escalates several times, with Mia shoving a Nutty Royale down Lana's chest, crushing her mobile phone, and slamming her hair in a textbook. Lana, in turn, makes fun of Mia and her friends and instills self-doubt in Mia, particularly when she suggests that college boys expect their girlfriends to 'Do It'.
A sharp change comes in Book Nine when Mia and Lilly are feuding. After Mia is invited to speak to the Domina Rei by Lana's mother, Lana realizes that she should be nicer to Mia. She invites her shopping and, although at first reluctant, Mia realizes that Lana offers her great fashion advice. By the end of the series, they are good friends, although Mia generally needs to take Lana's outlandish advice with a grain of salt.