emma watson

Emma Charlotte Duerre Watson

Emma Charlotte Duerre Watson (born 15 April 1990) is an English actress and model who rose to prominence playing Hermione Granger, one of three starring roles in the Harry Potter film series. Watson was cast as Hermione at the age of nine, having previously acted only in school plays. From 2001 to 2010, she starred in seven Harry Potter films alongside Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint; she will return for the final instalment: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2.[3] Watson's work on the Harry Potter series has earned her several awards and more than £10 million. She made her modelling debut for Burberry's Autumn/Winter campaign in 2009.

In 2007, Watson announced her involvement in two non-Harry Potter productions: the television adaptation of the novel Ballet Shoes and an animated film, The Tale of Despereaux. Ballet Shoes was broadcast on 26 December 2007 to an audience of 5.2 million, and The Tale of Despereaux, based on the novel by Kate DiCamillo, was released in 2008 and grossed over US $70 million in worldwide sales

Early life

Emma Watson was born in Paris to Jacqueline Luesby and Chris Watson, both British lawyers. Watson has one French grandmother,and lived in Paris until the age of five. Following her parents' divorce, she moved with her mother and younger brother to Oxfordshire From the age of six, Watson wanted to become an actress, and for a number of years she trained at the Oxford branch of Stagecoach Theatre Arts, a part-time theatre school where she studied singing, dancing and acting. By the age of ten, she had performed in various Stagecoach productions and school plays, including Arthur: The Young Years and The Happy Prince, but she had never acted professionally before the Harry Potter series. "I had no idea of the scale of the film series," she stated in a 2007 interview with Parade; "If I had I would have been completely overwhelmed."

Career
Harry Potter

In 1999, casting began for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (released as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the United States), the film adaptation of British author J. K. Rowling's best-selling novel. Casting agents found Watson through her Oxford theatre teacher, and producers were impressed by her confidence. After eight auditions, producer David Heyman told Watson and fellow applicants Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint that they had been cast for the roles of the schoolfriends Hermione Granger, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley respectively. Rowling supported Watson from her first screen test.

The release of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in 2001 was Watson's debut screen performance. The film broke records for opening-day sales and opening-weekend takings and was the highest-grossing film of 2001.Critics praised the performances of the three leads, often singling out Watson for particular acclaim; The Daily Telegraph called her performance "admirable", and IGN said she "stole the show".Watson was nominated for five awards for her performance in Philosopher's Stone, winning the Young Artist Award for Leading Young Actress.

Non-acting work

As she has grown older, Watson has become something of a fashion devotee, saying that she sees fashion as very similar to art, which she studied in school. In September 2008, she told a blogger, "I've been focusing on art a lot, and fashion's a great extension of that."

In 2008, the British press reported that Watson was to replace Keira Knightley as the face of the fashion house Chanel, but this was flatly denied by both parties.In June 2009, following several months of rumours, Watson confirmed that she would be partnering Burberry as the face of their new campaign; she received an estimated six-figure fee for modelling Burberry's Autumn/Winter 2009 collection. She later appeared in Burberry's 2010 Spring/Summer campaign alongside her brother Alex, musicians George Craig and Matt Gilmour, and Max Hurd.Watson continued her involvement in fashion advertising when she modelled for Lancôme in March 2011.

In September 2009, Watson announced her involvement with People Tree, a Fair Trade fashion brand. Watson worked as a 'creative advisor' for People Tree to create a spring line of clothing, which was released in February 2010; the range featured styles inspired by southern France and the City of London.The collection, described by The Times as "very clever" despite their "quiet hope that [she] would become tangled at the first hemp-woven hurdle", was widely publicised in tabloids such as You magazine, Heat Magazine, Teen Vogue,Cosmopolitan, and People. Watson, who was not paid for the collaboration,admitted that competition for the range was minimal, but argued that "Fashion is a great way to empower people and give them skills; rather than give cash to charity you can help people by buying the clothes they make and supporting things they take pride in"; adding, "I think young people like me are becoming increasingly aware of the humanitarian issues surrounding fast fashion and want to make good choices but there aren't many options out there."[84] Watson continued her involvement with People Tree, resulting in a release of a 2010 Autumn/Winter collection.