Emma Charlotte Duerre Watson (born 15 April 1990) is a French-born English actress who rose to prominence playing Hermione Granger, one of three starring roles in the Harry Potter film series.

She’s 18!

Watson was cast for the role of Hermione at the age of nine, having previously acted only in school plays.

From 2001 to 2007, she starred in five Harry Potter film installments alongside Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint. She will return for the final three installments: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, due to be released in 2008, and the two parts of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Watson’s work in the Harry Potter series has earned her several awards and more than £10 million.

Emma Watson was born in Paris, France, the daughter of Jacqueline Luesby and Chris Watson, both 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 the age of six, Watson expressed a desire to become an actress. By the time she was ten, she had starred in several school plays, including Arthur: The Young Years and The Happy Prince. She had never acted in any professional capacity prior to being cast in 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”

Despite rumors that she had refused to appear in the final two Harry Potter installments, Watson signed on for the sixth and seventh films in March 2007. She explained that the decision was a tough one, as filming would continue to dominate her life for the next three to four years, but in the end, “the pluses outweighed the minuses”.

Filming for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the sixth film, began in late 2007. Although Radcliffe and Grint have confirmed their commitment to an acting career, Watson has expressed uncertainty about her future plans. Speaking to Newsweek in 2006, she said,

“Daniel and Rupert seem so sure … I love to perform, but there are so many other things I love doing.”

Personal Life:

Watson lists her interests as dancing, singing, field hockey, tennis and art, and describes herself as “a bit of a feminist”. She admires fellow actors Johnny Depp and Julia Roberts.

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