Emma Watson | Biography, Movies, Harry Potter, & Facts (2024)

British actress

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Also known as: Emma Charlotte Duerre Watson

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Emma Watson

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In full:
Emma Charlotte Duerre Watson
Born:
April 15, 1990, Paris, France (age 34)

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Emma Watson (born April 15, 1990, Paris, France) is a British actress and activist who was perhaps best known for playing the young wizard Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter films. She also garnered attention as a spokesperson for women’s equality.

Watson was born in Paris to British parents who divorced when she was young. She and her brother went to live with their mother in Oxfordshire, England. While a child, Watson decided she wanted to be an actress. Besides attending school, she took acting and singing classes. She also appeared in several school plays.

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Watson began acting in earnest in 1999 after she auditioned for a part in the film adaptation of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001). She won the role of smart and logical Hermione, one of Harry Potter’s best friends. The film was a box-office hit, and Watson reprised her role in the franchise’s other movies: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007), Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010), and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011).

After the Potter films ended, Watson began to look for more mature roles. Her first major part was in the drama The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012), in which she played a high-school senior who becomes friends with a clinically depressed freshman. She subsequently appeared in the crime drama The Bling Ring (2013), the historical thriller The Colony (also known as Colonia; 2015), and the sci-fi thriller The Circle (2017). These films had limited success at the box-office, but Watson had another blockbuster hit with the live-action Disney adaptation (2017) of Beauty and the Beast. In 2019 she appeared as Meg March in Greta Gerwig’s acclaimed Little Women, which was based on Louisa May Alcott’s classic children’s book.

Meanwhile, in the midst of her acting career, Watson pursued a college degree. In 2009 she began attending Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. She took time off as needed for filming, and she also studied for a year at the University of Oxford. Watson graduated from Brown in 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in English literature. That year she was named a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador. She was an advocate for women’s rights and gender equality. From 2016 to 2020 Watson ran an online feminist book club, Our Shared Shelf, to read and discuss books by and about women.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.

Emma Watson | Biography, Movies, Harry Potter, & Facts (2024)

FAQs

What are some fun facts about Emma Watson in Harry Potter? ›

15 Magical Fun & Interesting Emma Watson Facts
  • She was born in France! ...
  • She always wanted to be an actress. ...
  • She was the perfect fit for Hermione. ...
  • She went to school on set. ...
  • She's smart. ...
  • She celebrated the end of Potter with a brand new look. ...
  • She almost quit Hermione. ...
  • She's a yoga instructor!

Who kissed Emma Watson in Harry Potter? ›

One such moment was the unexpected and intense kiss between Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. The kiss occurs during a vision induced by Voldemort's Horcrux.

What is Emma Watson in Shrek? ›

Emma Watson as the green swamp ogre Fiona in Shrek, | Stable Diffusion.

How old was Emma Watson when she tried out for Harry Potter? ›

Emma Watson was only nine years old when she auditioned for the role of Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter series of films. She auditioned eight times for the role, but Harry Potter author JK Rowling had liked her in her first screen test itself.

What is Emma Watson's favorite food? ›

Emma has mentioned in multiple interviews that Mexican food is her all-time favorite kind of food. She explained to The Huffington Post, “I'm obsessed with Mexican. We don't have Mexican food in England, we just kill it. That's one of the first things I do when I come here.”

What is so special about Emma Watson? ›

Watson is an outspoken feminist. She has promoted education for girls, travelling to Bangladesh and Zambia to do so. In July 2014, she was appointed a UN Women Goodwill ambassador.

Who is Hermione Granger first kiss? ›

Krum would be the first one we know about. It is doubtful Hermione was snogging, as they put it, before.

Did Hermione kiss Ron? ›

We kept laughing." Ron and Hermione finally lock lips during a distressing moment in Deathly Hallows — Part 2 when the characters are in the Chamber of Secrets.

Who is the guy who has a crush on Hermione? ›

Cormac Maclaggen had a crush on Hermione. Despite being a Gryfindor, the only person he was truly interested in was himself. He didn't ask her a single question about her, instead overloading her with “look what I did as keeper in Quidditch!” She was not impressed, and indeed, after Ron started dati…

What is Emma Watson's favorite movie? ›

Emma's favorite movies include Notting Hill (1999), Love Actually (2003), Bridget Jones's Diary (2001), Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), About Time (2013), Giant (1956), Breathless (2008), Amélie (2001), Pan's Labyrinth (2006), The Fountain (2006), The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

Who is Shrek's girl? ›

Princess Fiona (speaking voice by Cameron Diaz, singing voice provided by Sally Dworsky in the first film, Renee Sands on all other occasions, and Holly Fields in the video games) is the princess of the kingdom of Far Far Away and Shrek's wife from the end of the first film on.

What gender is Shrek? ›

Shrek (character)
Shrek
GenderMale
OccupationReplacement ruler of Far Far Away (temporarily)
FamilyUnnamed father
SpousePrincess Fiona
11 more rows

Who is Draco Malfoy's boyfriend? ›

Who did Harry Potter marry? ›

In the epilogue to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, which is set 19 years later, it's revealed that Harry married Ginny Weasley, Ron's sister, and they have three children.

Who is Hermione married to in real life? ›

What is Emma Watson's favorite book? ›

Listed as Emma's favourites on her official website EmmaWatson.com (now offline) - I Capture the Castle by Dodi Smith, The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro (also mentioned in Vogue and Harper's Bazaar in 2011), The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Catcher in the Rye ...

Does Emma Watson have pets? ›

Emma Watson Shared a Pretty Epic Tale of Saving a Mouse From Her Cat and Dog on Instagram. Amazing effort for someone who doesn't really use social media.

Did Emma Watson date anyone in Harry Potter? ›

While the British actress has admitted to having a crush on her Harry Potter costar Tom Felton when she was young, the actors never actually dated. They're more like platonic "soulmates," as Watson explained in the foreword of Felton's memoir, Beyond the Wand.

How old was Emma when she did Harry Potter? ›

The 33-year-old has been in the public eye since she played Hermione Granger at the age of 10 in 2001's Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

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