Emma Watson
Who was Emma Watson?
English model, activist, and former actress (born 1990)
Biographical data adapted from Wikipedia’s article on Emma Watson (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Biography
Emma Charlotte Duerre Watson was born on April 15, 1990, in Paris, France, to British parents. Both her father, Chris Watson, and her mother, Jacqueline Luesby, are lawyers. When she was five, her parents divorced, and Watson moved to Oxfordshire, England, with her mother. She went to the Dragon School in Oxford and trained in acting at Stagecoach Theatre Arts, where casting directors quickly noticed her talent. She also studied at Headington School in Oxford and the Ermitage International School before going on to higher education at Brown University in the United States and Worcester College at the University of Oxford. She graduated in 2014 with a degree in English literature.
Before Fame
Before becoming known worldwide, Watson moved between Paris and England during her early childhood after her parents split. She loved performing from a young age, taking part in school plays and joining the Stagecoach Theatre Arts program to learn singing, dancing, and acting. When she was nine, talent scouts discovered her during a casting search for the film adaptation of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, and she was cast in one of the most commercially successful film franchises ever.
Key Achievements
- Won the Young Artist Award for Best Leading Young Actress in a Feature Film in 2002 for her role in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.
- Won the Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actress in the Sci-Fi/Fantasy category in 2011.
- Appointed UN Women Goodwill Ambassador in 2014 and launched the global HeForShe gender equality campaign.
- Graduated from Brown University with a degree in English literature in 2014 while maintaining an active career.
- Played the role of Belle in Disney's live-action Beauty and the Beast (2017), which grossed over 1.2 billion dollars worldwide.
Did You Know?
- 01.Watson was cast as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter film series after her primary school teacher recommended her to casting directors, making it one of her first professional auditions.
- 02.She was appointed a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador in 2014 and delivered a widely circulated speech launching the HeForShe campaign, which advocates for gender equality.
- 03.Watson deferred her studies at Brown University for a period to manage her acting commitments, ultimately returning to complete her degree in English literature in 2014.
- 04.She launched a feminist book club called Our Shared Shelf in 2016, which grew to include hundreds of thousands of members on Goodreads.
- 05.Watson wore an outfit made partly from recycled plastic bottles to the 2020 BAFTAs, highlighting her long-standing commitment to sustainable fashion.
Awards & Honors
| Award | Year | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Young Artist Award for Best Leading Young Actress in a Feature Film | 2002 | — |
| Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actress - Sci-Fi/Fantasy | 2011 | — |