One of the biggest gifts that Harry Potter gave to the world was Emma Watson. The actress is a bonafide star, who has consistently used her platform and fame to advocate for those who can't do it for themselves. Her performance in Harry Potter itself improved in leaps and bounds throughout the eight movies, but Emma's following roles in Beauty and the Beast, Perks Of Being A Wallflower, and Little Women also showcased her vast acting prowess.
Most recently, she was seen in Return To Hogwarts where the entire cast relived the magic of Harry Potter and she recounted her best moments during filming. Fans learned a lot about the Hermione Granger actor, but there is still a lot of trivia that only real fans of Watson would know.
Emma Was Born In Paris To Lawyers
The young actress was born on April 15, 1990, in Paris, France. Fans may be confused by this revelation since everything about Emma is extremely British, and that still remains true. Her parents are both British lawyers, and Emma was brought up in England.
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Her parents split soon after she was born, and the future Hermione Granger went to live in Oxfordshire, England with her mother and brother. She has a number of step-siblings as well.
She Ran A Book Club
One of Emma's most loved projects, besides her movie roles, was her Feminist book club "Our Shared Shelf" which she founded in 2016. The book club is no longer active, but it had 4 long years of discourse and camaraderie which people loved.
In the description of the club, she wrote "There is so much amazing stuff out there! Funny, inspiring, sad, thought-provoking, empowering! I’ve been discovering so much that, at times, I’ve felt like my head was about to explode… I decided to start a Feminist book club, as I want to share what I’m learning and hear your thoughts too."
Emma Is A Proud Feminist
Emma has been a big part of UN Women and had delivered a fantastic and incisive speech about today's feminism and how it needs to be fairer and more inclusive. Her speech had a divisive response, but most other intersectional feminists agreed with her.
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She told Vanity Fair that she will call herself a Feminist, even if the public hurled abuse at her. She said "But there’s a willingness now to be like, ‘Fine. Call me a ‘diva,’ call me a ‘feminazi,’ call me ‘difficult,’ call me a ‘First World feminist,’ call me whatever you want, it’s not going to stop me from trying to do the right thing and make sure that the right thing happens.”
She Had A Normal College Life
Despite her grueling Hollywood career, Emma Watson went to college and got a Bachelor's Degree in English. She went to Brown University. where she had a mostly normal college life. Her first day comprised some stunned stares, but after that nobody ever asked her for an autograph or made things tough for her.
In fact, the perfectly cast Harry Potter alum even held a party for her favorite 100 people from the university, and not even one of them posted a photo from it. She really did get the college experience she wanted.
She Hates What A Big Deal Turning 30 Is Made Out To Be
In a sit-down interview with British Vogue, Emma Watson spoke about the pressures of turning 30 and the strains that women are put through when they start nearing the big three-zero. When she was younger, she did not understand the hype around the age, but as she turned 29, she felt it too.
She hates that women who aren't married, don't have children, haven't built a "stable" home, or are still figuring their careers out are looked down upon or considered "incomplete" when they reach the age.
Her Guilty Pleasure During Finals Was The Carrie Diaries
While she was in college, Watson took an interview with Rookie a day before her finals. Besides her performance as a child actor in Harry Potter, she spoke about her upcoming projects and what college life was like for her.
As Tavi Gevinson conversed with her, readers found that she had baked banana bread with her roommate which Gevinson enjoyed and that Emma became a "hermit" before her final, which was the next day. Her study breaks consisted mainly of The Carrie Diaries because it was easy to watch.
She Was Instrumental In Getting Perks Of Being A Wallflower Made
In the process of looking for her next role after Potter, Emma came across the script for Perks Of Being A Wallflower. It had been shelved for a while and had no one backing it financially. However, the script resonated so much with the young actress that she went out of her way to get it made.
In the same Rookie interview, she said "So it took more than phone calls: I actually flew out to L.A. and met with all the different studio heads and basically pitched the movie, which was crazy—I’d never done anything like that before in my life." She wanted to make a movie that spoke to the wider teenage experience, as opposed to the Gossip Girls of the time.
Emma Maintains Almost 10 Journals At A Time
In her own words, "I must have 10 different personal diaries." Emma Watson loves writing and painting, besides acting, and journaling is one of her hobbies. She maintains a dream diary, a yoga diary, diaries about people she's met, diaries full of advice, acting diaries, and even collage books.
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These journals help Watson feel a bit more sorted out, and she prefers her thoughts penned down and tangible so that she feels frightened of them. She has a treasure trove of diaries filled with the most amazing things.
She Almost Quit Potter, But It Was Too Hard To
After the fifth movie, Emma Watson considered quitting the franchise as the weight of fame became a bit much for her. She spoke of it during the reunion special too, and in this TIME interview, where she admitted that if she did it, "I probably would have been public enemy No. 1."
She would have hated watching the movies without herself being in them, and in the end, she thinks that seeing them through was the best decision she made.
Cutting Her Hair After Potter Was Symbolic
In the same chat, she revealed why her hairstyle changed so dramatically after filming wrapped. She had to have her hair long for a decade since she was playing Hermione, and being free of that restriction made her want to chop it off instantly.
However, the actress still waited a few weeks before she went for her famous pixie cut. She said, "You really have to be in a good frame of mind to do something so drastic to your appearance. When I was feeling very confident, I was like, I'm going to cut it off."
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