She’ll always be Grandma Clarisse.

Julie Andrews played Anne Hathaway‘s grandmother onscreen, in The Princess Diaries, but she considers her former co-star like family in real life. Case in point: The 86-year-old actress’ latest interview with Vanity Fair, in which she had nothing but loving words about Anne as she reflected back on the filming of their 2001 coming-of-age comedy.

Describing Anne as a “lovely young, talented actress,” Julie said it was “clear from the very first day of shooting” that the now-39-year-old was going to be a star. “She was incredibly talented, her instincts were so true,” she noted. “She was very, very beautiful and just a lovely human being.”

At the time of filming, Anne was just 18 years old, with her role as Princess Mia Thermopolis being her first major film. Soon after production began, Julie—who played Queen Clarisse Renaldi—and Anne’s offscreen relationship started to mimic that of their characters. 

“It was great fun to watch her growing and learning and I think that I probably was a bit of a mum to her too,” Julie recalled. “We’re great friends.”