At the start of Anne Frank's diary, she comes across as somewhat vain. This is seen in her entry dated Saturday, 20 June 1942, in which she refers to boys who "become enamored on the spot." This entry also refers to the fact that when she goes for ice cream, there is always a young man willing to pay for it.

Later, once Anne and her family have moved into the annex, we discover a young girl who is a typical teenager in her dislike of her mother and her hormonal sensitivity. On 30 January 1943, she describes herself "seething with rage" after an argument with her mother and expresses a desire to scream at everybody who lives in the annex.

Over and above being a typical teenage girl, however, Anne displays remarkable courage and tenacity, despite the immensely difficult situation that she and her family find themselves in. She expresses this, along with the realization of her own mortality, on 4 April 1944, with the words "I want to go on living, even after my death!"

Anne was a popular and outgoing girl before the family went into hiding. Her behavior in the secret annex reflects her natural tendency to be inquisitive. Her questions sometimes drive Mr. van Daan and Mr. Dussel to distraction and they yell at her to be quiet. Mr. Frank provides Anne a diary so she will have an outlet for her thoughts.

Anne is a typical rebellious teenager and is rude to her mother; she attempts to secure her father's support of her desire to defy her mother's restrictions. She is jealous of her sister's intelligence although she does love Margot very much. At one point, exasperated, she vents her frustration about being compared to "Margot, Margot, Margot!"

Anne is kind and generous; these qualities are demonstrated when she presents Hannukah gifts to all her fellow inhabitants of the secret annex.