Emma Watson has been on top of the world since she was just a little tyke starring in the
Harry Potter movies.
The world watched her grow up on-screen, but she's also managed to accomplish quite a bit
away from the cameras — like pursuing a world class education, and becoming a fashionista
and philanthropist.
All the while, she's also solidified her career in show business.
So, to celebrate all of her accomplishments thus far, let's take a look back at Emma Watson's
journey since her first ride on the Hogwarts Express.
An auspicious start
A lot of children have big dreams of becoming a star, but Emma Watson got to actually live
that reality.
In 2001, the then-nine-year-old made her screen debut as the spunky smart girl Hermione Granger
in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.
And that was just the beginning of her work playing one of the most iconic book-to-film
characters of all time.
"Honestly, don't you two read?!"
She might have been an instant silver screen legend thanks to her turn as the cleverest
witch, but she still had a surprisingly normal childhood.
As she told BBC News when she was just 12, "I go to a very big school and some people
give me a bit of stick…But apart from that most people are really nice about it.
My close friends just treat me normally.…
I still do everything I used to do."
As the years continued, Watson was able to dig deeper into who Hermione Granger was,
growing both her character and her acting abilities.
And even in those teen years, Watson seemed free of diva tendencies.
She said, "I feel incredibly lucky to be given the opportunity to be in such a fantastic
film … my ambitions couldn't even dream of the scale and greatness that Harry Potter
is, and so, I'm so very lucky about that."
As time progressed, she continued to challenge herself and excelled when she worked hard,
much like her on-screen counterpart.
And as both Watson and her character grew older, they became more complex and compelling
in equal measure.
Role model status
As her fame grew, Watson became a role model for young girls, and she saw how important
it was to emphasize girls' intelligence in society.
At 17, she told Parade, "Hermione's not scared to be clever.
I think sometimes really smart girls dumb themselves down a bit, and that's bad."
And while Watson was taking a strong stand when it came to girl power, she also was focusing
on making sure her life stayed normal outside of Hollywood.
She decided to pursue a prestigious education as one of her first post-Potter adventures.
Expanding her horizons
By 2008, the world had been caught under the spell of a young starlet.
At 18, the actress was signed to a two-year, $6 million contract with Chanel to be the
face of its Coco Mademoiselle fragrance.
This big moment showed that Watson had grown from a showbiz teen into a woman of class.
But she wasn't just working towards a future in fashion.
"Just because you've got the emotional range of a teaspoon."
In 2009, Watson announced she planned to attend Brown University to study liberal arts.
Ever the non-diva, she also wanted the full college experience — including the dorms
and roommates.
She said, "If I'm going to do this experience, I'm going to do it properly and going to do
it like everyone else."
With an attitude like that, it's no wonder she was never cursed with child star syndrome.
Brand new 'do
Once the Harry Potter films came to a close, Emma Watson decided to make a big change to
her appearance.
Although she'd had to maintain a wavy, long mane throughout filming for Harry Potter,
in 2010 Watson chopped off her hair for a cute, very short, pixie-like 'do.
Watson told Metro, "I didn't get to experiment with dyeing and chopping off my hair like
most teenagers…I also felt, right, I'm 20, I'm not a little girl any more.
I'd been on Harry Potter for ten years so I needed to mark the end of it in some way.
I needed a drastic change and that's what the chop was all about."
When she revealed her new look to the world, she dubbed it "the most liberating thing ever."
And the look would last at least long enough for her to star in her next big book-to-screen
project The Perks of Being a Wallflower.
Shortly thereafter, Watson began introducing a more adult side to herself in movies like
The Bling Ring and This Is the End.
"I'm not f------ around!"
"OOOOH"
Price of fame
In 2011, when 21-year-old Watson would be entering her third year at Brown University,
she decided to take a moment away from the American college, saying, "I was in denial…I
wanted to pretend I wasn't as famous as I was.
I was trying to seek out normality, but I kind of have to accept who I am, the position
I'm in and what happened."
She wasn't leaving higher education entirely, but would instead be attending school back
in the UK.
Although rumors swirled, she insisted she was never bullied at her university.
If anything, her problem was just the opposite — because Watson's fame apparently intimidated
the college boys.
"I'm sorry.
What just happened?"
She ultimately finished her degree in literature at Brown a few years later.
World of beauty
By 2012, the last Harry Potter film had been released and Watson felt more comfortable
to make big changes.
As she told The Independent, "As I've got older, and since I cut all my hair off, I've
felt a bit more liberated about trying different things out."
One of those different things was being the new face of Lancôme's "Rouge in Love" campaign,
with a focus on their lipstick.
Having this role with Lancôme helped fans see her in a more adult light, instead of
as the frizzy-haired, anxious wizard we'd all grown to love.
But even though she was growing into a more fashion-savvy celebrity, she also made an
effort to maximize her inner beauty as well.
After graduating from Brown University in 2014, the then 24-year-old British actress
was officially named the new Goodwill Ambassador for the U.N.'s gender-equality arm, U.N. Women.
It was there that she organized the buzzy HeForShe gender equality campaign and delivered
a speech that captivated audiences.
"Feminism, by definition, is the belief that men and women should have equal rights."
And Watson isn't slowing down anytime soon.
She continues to visibly pursue women's rights while accelerating her screen career quite
nicely.
Most recently, she cemented her status as a box office darling by starring in 2017's
biggest film, the live-action adaptation of Disney's Beauty and the Beast.
Just like Hermione before her, the character was a bookworm who valued substance over the
superficial, so it's no wonder Watson made it work.
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