Emma Watson

The girl behind Hermione

Full Name: Emma Charlotte Duerre Watson
Nickname: Em.
Birthdate: April 15th 1990.
Birthplace: Paris, France
Resides in: Oxfordshire, England
Parents: Chris Watson & Jacqueline Luesby (divorced)
Siblings: Alex Watson (born 1993), Toby Watson (born 2003) and Nina & Lucy Watson [twins] (born 2004).
Harry Potter Character: Hermione Granger (You can read about Hermione here)

The Biography

Emma Charlotte Duerre Watson was born on April 15, 1990 in Paris, France. She’s the first child of Jaqueline Luesby and Chris Watson, the both of them work as lawyers. Three years later, Alexander Watson, Emma’s young brother, was born. She lived in Paris until the age of five; when her parents got divorced, they moved back to England. She moved to Oxfordshire where she now lives with her mum and brother.

By September of that year, she attended Lynam’s, the nursery school of the prestigious Dragon School where discovered a big interest in poetry. Her interest in performance and poetry was rewarded at the age of seven, when she won the Daisy Pratt poetry competition for her recital of The Sea by James Reeves. Three years later, in September of 1998, she moved to the main school (Dragon School), where she took part in various school plays, such as Arthur: The Young Years, The Happy Prince, among others.

In 1999, the casting team of Harry Potter, went to several schools looking for ordinary kids who would audition to be the main characters of the series. Even if she didn’t think she could get the part and despite she did decided to give it a try because she thought it would “be a laugh”, she was chosen for the role of Hermione Granger. After several auditions, she was called into the producers office alongside Rupert Grint, and they were told at the same time they had gotten the roles of Ron and Hermione.

In 2000, at the age of 10, she very nervously stepped on the set for her first day of filming. Even though Mrs. Rowling had not yet met Emma, she was very supportive since the beggining, she said after a phone chat with her, that she was absolutely perfect for the role.

Emma made her debut on screen in 2001 at the age of eleven, when Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was released. The film was an instant blockbuster, breaking box-office records for both opening-day sales and opening weekend takings, and was the highest-grossing film of 2001. Critics praised the performances of the three leads, with Watson often singled out for particular acclaim.

After being nomiated for various awards and winning some of them, she signed for the second movie of the series, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, released in 2002. While the film received mixed reviews on account of pace and direction, critics were generally positive about the performances.

In June of 2004, the third installment of the Harry Potter series was released, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and Emma continued to receive critical praise.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was released in 2005 and Emma reprised her role as Hermione Granger. She called director Mike Newell “fantastic” and quickly shot down rumours that she and colleagues Daniel and Rupert could be replaced in the following movies. The film shattered the records set by the previous installments in the franchise, setting new records for a Harry Potter opening weekend. Critics praised the increasing maturity of Emma and her co-stars. Emma counted herself amongst the many fans who predicted a relationship between Hermione and Ron Weasley in later Harry Potter books, saying “Hermione and Ron just need to get it together! It just needs to happen and they just need to get on with it.” In 2006, Emma played Hermione in The Queen’s Handbag, a special mini-episode of Harry Potter in celebration of Queen Elizabeth II’s 80th birthday.

In the 2007 film Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Emma returned as Hermione Granger for the fifth time in seven years. She was appreciative of director David Yates, saying he was “quiet, very calm, very thoughtful, very sensitive.” She said that her favourite scenes were the two Wizard duels in which Hermione is a participant, especially when she practices combat magic with Rupert’s character Ron Weasley. When Ron patronises her, her spell blows him backwards into a wall. She reinforced the notion that her character Hermione should romance Ron Weasley. On July 9, 2007, Emma and fellow Harry Potter co-stars Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint left imprints of their hands, feet, and wands in front of Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood.

Despite rumours alleging that she refused to appear in the last two Harry Potter installments, Emma announced that she was prepared to agree terms with Warner Brothers for the remaining films. Emma had never intended to leave Hermione behind her; she just wanted to make sure she was able to balance her school work and acting career.

On July 19, 2007, Emma announced her involvement in her first non-Harry Potter project, The Tale of Despereaux, an animated film to be released in 2008, in which she will voice the character of Princess Pea. In August 2007, it was announced that she would star in the BBC’s adaptation of Ballet Shoes, playing Pauline Fossil, the eldest of the three Fossil sisters around whom the story revolves. She finished filming Ballet Shoes in September of 2007, much contrast to Harry Potter movies, and the movie was released in Christmas that year.

Emma has always enjoyed learning and certainly shares some traits with her character Hermione. She achieved eight A* and two A grades in her GCSE Examinations in 2006. In May 2007, Emma took her A/S level exams in Art, History of Art, English, and Geography and will drop a subject (History of Art) for her A-Levels in the new term which Emma will complete in 2008. She loves being at school in her spare time, as well as hanging out with her friends, playing sports (especially hockey, tennis, and netball), paiting, singing, and dancing. (Emma has competed twice with her school in global dance competition Rock Challenge) She likes to be treated as a normal teenage girl and is widely regarded by her fans to be friendly, bubbly, and always enthusiastic.

On 2009 Emma participated as the face the Fall/Winter 2009-10 collection of Burberry Prorsum, being her first project as a model. She also collaborated with People Tree to create an ethical fashion label. The collection named Love From Emm will be launched for Spring/Summer 2010.

Emma is currently studying at Brown University in the USA hoping to continue her acting and modelling career in the future.

Written by Anna

Her Family

We fans support her, but these are the people that have been supporting her long before she became famous.

Jacqueline Luesby (Mother) – Lawyer
Chris Watson (Father) – Lawyer
Alex Watson (Brother) – Alex has appeared twice as an extra in the Harry Potter movies.
Julie Watson (Step Mother) – She’s mum of identical twins Nina and Lucy Watson , who appeared in Ballet Shoes as young Pauline. She’s also mum of Toby Watson.

Filmography

	Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (PART II) (2011) as Hermione Granger
	Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (PART I) (2010) as Hermione Granger
	Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (July 2009) as Hermione Granger
	The Tale of Despereaux (2008) as Princess Pea (voice)
	Ballet Shoes (TV-Film) (December 2007) as Pauline Fossil
	Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (July 2007) as Hermione Granger
	Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (November 2005) as Hermione Granger
	Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (July 2004) as Hermione Granger
	Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (November 2002) as Hermione Granger
	Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (November 2001) as Hermione Granger