Emma Charlotte Duerre Watson was born on April 15, 1990, in Paris, France and first came out of the acting closet at the age of seven when she participated in and won a poetry competition. Emma continued to experiment with her natural talent while attending the Stagecoach Theatre Arts School at Oxford, by studying acting, dancing and singing as well as starring in plays. Despite being a novice actress, many of her theatre teachers recommended the aspiring performer to agents in search of a child actress for an upcoming family-fantasy film series, called Harry Potter.
After auditioning eight times for the role, nine-year-old Emma was personally chosen by Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling to play Harry Potter's best friend Hermione Granger. At the age of 11, Emma became a worldwide sensation for her critically acclaimed performance as a clever wizard when the film premiered in November 2001. The box-office knockout made over $974, was named the highest-grossing film of 2001 and established Emma as a gifted actress on the move.
Emma and the Harry Potter franchise later found similar success with the release of 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 Forbidden Journey (2010), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010), and the final installment Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011).
Emma's most recent projects include, My Week with Marilyn (2011) alongside Michelle Williams, the romance film The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012), The Bling Ring (2013), based on actual events, the comedy The End of the World (2013) with Seth Rogen and James Franco, the drama Your Voice in My Head (2013) alongside Stanley Tucci, and Darren Aronofsky's fantasy-drama Noah (2014) opposite Russell Crowe.
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