Emma Watson is an English actress and activist who is well known for her role in the Harry Potter film franchise, as well as her women’s rights work. She has received a selection of accolades, including three MTV Movie Awards and a Young Artist Award.
Who is Emma Watson?
Emma Watson was born on 15 April 1990 in Paris, and raised in England. The actress rose to stardom when she landed her professional acting role as Hermione Granger, one of Harry Potter’s best friends in the ‘Harry Potter’ film. Previously, Watson had acted only in school plays. Forbes and Vanity Fair have ranked Watson among the world’s highest-paid actresses. In 2015, Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
Early Life and Education
Born on April 15, 1990 to English lawyers Chris Watson and Jacqueline Luesby, Emma Watson lived in Maisons-Laffitte near Paris until she was five-years-old. Her brother Alex, was born three years later. Watson’s parents divorced when she was young. After the divorce, Watson moved to England to live with her mother in Oxfordshire. She only paid her father a visit in London during the weekends.
Watson attended Dragon School after moving to Oxford with her mother. She remained there until 2003. Watson wanted to become an actress from age six, so she enrolled at the Oxford branch of Stagecoach Theatre Arts, where she studied acting, dancing, and singing.
Watson had performed in several Stagecoach productions and school plays, including The Happy Prince and Arthur: The Young Years by the age of four. Watson moved on to Headington School, Oxford after the Dragon School.
After finishing secondary school, Watson suspended her studies to focus on the film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Parts 1 & 2, which commenced in February 2009. She stated that she’d later resume her studies at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. After 18 months at Brown University, Watson attended Worcester College, Oxford as part of the Visiting Student Programme during the 2011-12 academic year. It took her five years to finish her degree instead of four, owing to her acting work.
Playing Hermione Granger in ‘Harry Potter’
Playing a role in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, the film adaptation of British author J.K. Rowling’s best-selling novel, became Watson’s debut screen performance. Casting began in 1999, and agents found Watson through her Oxford theatre teacher. Watson impressed the producers by her confidence. Emma Watson was finally assigned the role of Hermione Granger after 8 auditions.
After its release, the film made the highest-grossing film of 2001. It broke records for opening-weekend takings and opening-day sales. Critics applauded Watson for particular reasons; The IGN said she “stole the show,” and The Daily Telegraph called her performance “admirable.” She won the Young Artist Award for Leading Young Actress and was also nominated for five awards for her performance in Philosopher’s Stone.
Recent Work: 2010-Present
In 2010, Emma Watson made an appearance in a music video for One Night Only, after coming across lead singer George Craig at the 2010 Winter/Summer Burberry advertising campaign. In 2011, Watson appeared as Lucy, a wardrobe assistant who dates protagonist Colin Clark briefly in My Week with Marilyn.
Watson starred alongside Logan Lerman as Sam, a high school senior who befriends a fellow student and helps him through his freshman year in Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower. The film got positive reviews; Ian Buckwalter of The Atlantic said that Watson “sheds the memory of a decade playing Hermione in the Harry Potter series with an about-face as a flirtatious but insecure spirit,” while David Sexton of the Evening Standard stated that Watson’s performance was “plausible and touching.”
Watson appeared in the satirical crime film The Bling Ring in 2013. She starred in two 2015 releases, Regression by Alejandro Amenabar, alongside David Thewlis and Ethan Hawke; and the thrillers Colonia, opposite Michael Nyqvist and Daniel Bruhl.
In 2017, Watson starred as Belle, opposite Dan Stevens in the live-action adaptation of Beauty and the Beast directed by Bill Condon. She played Meg March in Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s novel Little Women, in 2019. In regards to the film, Watson stated; “I think (Little Women) was good literary device to explain that there’s not one way to be a feminist … (Meg’s) way of being a feminist is making the choice – because that’s really, for me anyway, what feminism is about. Her choice is that she wants to be a full-time mother and wife.”
Emma Watson discussed her future career plans in 2020, stating: “Having been so public in making films and being so active on social media in my activism, I am curious to embrace a role where I work to amplify more voices, to continue to learn from those with different experiences,” adding that her work would include “fewer red carpets and more conference meetings.”
Reports speculated that Watson was engaged or could be retiring in 2021. However, Watson and her representatives refuted these claims stating that her public absence is directly associated with the continued social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fashion Career
Emma Watson also emerged as a fashionista from when she was a teenager. Her style caught the attention of many major figures in the fashion industry.
“I love fashion. I think it’s so important, because it’s how you show yourself to the world,” she once told Teen Vogue.
Watson began her modeling career with a photo shoot for Teen Vogue back in 2005, making her the youngest person to cover the magazine. In 2010, she appeared in Burberry’s 2010 Spring/Summer campaign along with her brother Alex, model Max Hurd, and musicians Matt Gilmour and George Craig.
In February 2011, Dame Vivienne Westwood awarded Watson the Style Icon award from British Elle. In March 2011, Watson was chosen as the face of Lancome. She announced her involvement with People Tree, a fair trade fashion brand, in September 2009. She worked as a creative adviser for the company to create a spring line of clothing.
In 2014, Watson was awarded Best British Style at the 2014 British Fashion Awards. The competition included Keira Knightley, Kate Moss, Amal Clooney, and David Beckham. Watson is noted for dressing ethically on the red carpet and has been described as “an early adopter of sustainable fashion.”
Watson partnered with consignment website ThredUP in January 2020 to launch a “Fashion Footprint Calculator,” which enables visitors to calculate the carbon impact of their wardrobes and ways they can deal with it. She was then appointed the youngest member of the board of directors of Kering in June 2020. Kering is a multinational corporation that deals with various fashion brands, including Yves Saint Laurent and Gucci.