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Emma Watson

Emma Watson was born in Paris, France, daughter of Jacqueline Luesby and Chris Watson, English lawyers. Watson has one French grandmother, and lived in Paris until the age of five, before she moved with her mother and younger brother Alex to Oxford, England, following her parents' divorce.

From six, Watson expressed a desire to become an actress. By 10, she had starred in school plays, including Arthur: The Young Years and The Happy Prince. 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".


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, and a four-year old son, Toby. Her mother's partner has two sons (Emma's stepbrothers), who "regularly stay with [her]". Watson's full brother, Alexander, has appeared as an extra in two Harry Potter films, and her half-sisters were cast as the young Pauline Fossil in the BBC's Ballet Shoes adaptation.

After moving to Oxford with her mother and brother, Watson attended The Dragon School, a private preparatory school, until June 2003 and then moved to Headington School, an private all-girl school, also in Oxford. While on film sets, Watson and her peers were tutored for up to five hours a day;[48] 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; she was a target of friendly ridicule on the Harry Potter set because of her straight-A exam results. The following year she received four A grades in her AS levels (advanced level examinations) in English, geography, art, and history of art.

Watson's work in the Harry Potter series has brought her more than £10 million, 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". She has been positive about working as a child actress, saying her parents and colleagues helped make her experience happy. 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, fly fishing, and donates to WTT (Wild Trout Trust). She describes herself as "a bit of a feminist", and admires fellow actors Johnny Depp and Julia Roberts.

Quick Fact

Born Emma Charlotte Duerre Watson
15 April 1990, Paris, France

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