Emma Charlotte Duerre Watson (born 15 April 1990) is a French-born British actress[1] who rose to prominence playing Hermione Granger, one of three starring roles in the Harry Potter film series. Watson was cast as Hermione at the age of nine, having acted only in school plays.[2] From 2001 to 2007, she starred in five Harry Potter film instalments alongside Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint. She will return for the final two instalments: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, due to be released in 2009, and the two parts of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.[3] Watson's work in the Harry Potter series has earned her several awards and more than £10 million.[4]
In 2007, Watson announced her involvement in two non-Harry Potter productions: the made-for-television adaptation of the novel Ballet Shoes and an animated film, The Tale of Despereaux. Ballet Shoes was broadcast on December 26, 2007 to an audience of 5.2 million and The Tale of Despereaux, based on the book by Kate DiCamillo, was released in 2008.[5][6]
Emma Watson was born in Paris, France, daughter of Jacqueline Luesby and Chris Watson, English lawyers.[7] Watson has one French grandmother,[8] and lived in Paris until the age of five, before she moved with her mother and younger brother, Alex, to Oxfordshire, England, following her parents' divorce.[7]
From the age of six, Watson expressed a desire to become an actress.[9] By 10, she had starred in school plays, including Arthur: The Young Years and The Happy Prince.[7] She had never acted professionally before the Harry Potter series. "I had no idea of the scale of the film series", she said in a 2007 interview with Parade magazine; "if I had I would have been completely overwhelmed".[10]
Watson's extended family has grown as her divorced parents both have children by new partners. Her father has identical twin girls, Nina and Lucy,[44] and a four-year old son, Toby. Her mother's partner has two sons (Emma's stepbrothers), who "regularly stay with her".[45] Watson's full brother, Alexander, has appeared as an extra in two Harry Potter films,[44] and her half-sisters were cast as the young Pauline Fossil in the BBC's Ballet Shoes adaptation.[44]
After moving to Oxford with her mother and brother, Watson attended The Dragon School, an independent preparatory school, until June 2003 and then moved to Headington School, an independent school for girls, also in Oxford.[7] While on film sets, Watson and her peers were tutored for up to five hours a day;[46] despite the focus on filming she maintained high academic standards. In June 2006, Watson took GCSE examinations in 10 subjects, achieving eight A* and two A grades;[47] she was a target of friendly ridicule on the Harry Potter set because of her straight-A exam results.[29] She received A grades in her 2008 A level examinations in English Literature, Geography and Art,[48] and in her 2007 AS (advanced subsidiary) level in History of Art.[49] Watson is currently taking a gap year,[48] with filming of the two part adaptation of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows starting in February 2009,[50] after which she "definitely wants to go to university" to study English.[51] Though rumoured to have secured a place to read English at Trinity College, Cambridge,[52] she’s "still deciding whether to take up a university place at Oxbridge or an Ivy League college."[53]
Watson's work in the Harry Potter series has brought her more than £10 million,[4] and she has acknowledged she will never have to work for money. However, she has declined to quit school to become a full-time actress, saying "People can’t understand why I don’t want to ... but school life keeps me in touch with my friends. It keeps me in touch with reality".[10] She has been positive about working as a child actress, saying her parents and colleagues helped make her experience happy.[29][45][54] Watson enjoys a close friendship with her fellow Harry Potter stars Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint, describing them as a "unique support system" for the stresses of film work.
Watson lists her interests as dancing, singing, field hockey, tennis, art,[7] fly fishing,[55] and donates to WTT (Wild Trout Trust).[56][57][58] She describes herself as "a bit of a feminist",[10][45] and admires fellow actors Johnny Depp and Julia Roberts.[59]
As she has grown older, Watson has become something of a budding fashion devotee. She has said she sees fashion as something very similar to art, which she studied in school. In September 2008, she told a blogger, "I've been focusing on art a lot, and fashion's a great extension of that."[60]
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