Emma
Biography
Emma Charlotte Duerre Watson was born to parents Chris and Jacqueline on the 15th of April, 1990 in Paris. Her parents divorced when she was quite young; she and her younger brother Alex moved to Oxfordshire, England, to live with their mother in 1995. That same year, Emma enrolled at Lynam's, the nursery school of the prestigious Dragon School in Oxford. It was here that she first discovered her interest in poetry. Emma was rewarded for her performance and poetry-writing when she won the Daisy Pratt poetry competition for her recital of The Sea by James Reeves. Even at the mere age of seven, she was already blossoming into a cultured young lady.
In September 1998, Emma moved to the main Dragon School where she spent a happy five years of learning. She took part in several plays there, most of the time taking on major roles. Plays in which she starred were Arthur: The Younger Years, The Happy Prince, and Alice in Wonderland. A short two years later, though, her life as an actress changed forever. When searching out the leads for the upcoming Harry Potter movies, the film's casting team encouraged kids from ordinary schools to audition. Emma decided to try out for the part of Hermione Granger, though she never dreamed she'd land the role. After several auditions and callbacks, she was brought to David Heyman's office and told that she'd been cast. Emma made her debut on screen in 2001, when Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was released. The film broke records all over the world and critical acclaim was piled on Emma for her performance as Miss Granger. She was immediately cast to reprise her role in the second film, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, which was released in 2002.
Between 2000 and 2007, Emma has appeared in a total of five Harry Potter films. Her years of work have won her many awards, including the AOL Moviegoers' Award for Best Actress and a regular spot in Bravo magazine's Otto awards. Her appearance in 2005's Teen Vogue magazine and the recent 2007 Tatler magazine made Emma the youngest celebrity to ever grace both covers. In 2006, Emma was honored to be invited to make a speech at Oxford University's famous Oxford Union, in front of hundreds of top-level students. As a testament to her acting performances a year later, she and the rest of the Harry Potter trio left imprints of her hands, feet, and wands in front of the Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood. Emma also received a National Movie Award in 2007 for her performance as Hermione Granger in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, beating out major actresses such as Judi Dench and Keira Knightley. Even further, Emma was ranked number 98 in the FHM 100 Sexiest Women in the World 2007 list.
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. She loves being at school in her spare time, as well as hanging out with her friends, playing sports (especially hockey, tennis, and netball), dancing, singing, and painting. She likes to be treated as a normal teenage girl and is widely regarded by her fans to be friendly, bubbly, and always enthusiastic.
Emma's plans for the nearest future include taking her A-Levels and filming the sixth Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. In July of 2007, Emma announced on her official website that she would be lending her voice to the animated film The Tale of Despereaux, playing the role of Princess Pea among Hollywood heavyweights Sigourney Weaver, Dustin Hoffman, William H. Macy, and Christopher Lloyd. It has also been confirmed that she will be starring in the TV film Ballet Shoes. Emma hopes to attend university sometime soon, quite hopefully at Cambridge. As for her career, she wants to continue acting and wishes to return to what she originally started with: performing on stage. Whatever she chooses to do in the future, we wish her the best of luck!