Emma Watson: Movie Star, Fashion Icon, Activist

Background:

Emma Charlotte Duerre Watson was born on April 15th, 1990, in Paris​ to Jacqueline Luesby and Chris Watson​. She grew up in Oxfordshire​, England, and had a fairly normal childhood. She attended the Dragon School and then went to acting school at the Stagecoach Theatre Arts​. Her first professional film role was the well-loved character of Hermione from the Harry Potter series when she was just 11. Now 28 years old, Watson has greatly matured from the adorable, frizzy-haired girl she played in Harry Potter to an intelligent woman who inturn became an activist for other women. In order to understand Watson as an activist, we must first look at her film, modeling, and fashion careers as they are an essential part of why she became so famous which boosted her opportunities as an activist and helped her make a difference. 

Emma Watson as Hermione in the Harry Potter series

Film Career:

Here I have complied a list of the roles Emma Watson has performed in film. Her acting career was what lead to her rise to fame and turned her into a cultural icon. Many of these films are ones that have won awards and are well-known to most people, leading to her becoming a household name. 

Film Roles:


Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone- Hermione Granger (2001)​
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)​
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)​
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)​
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)​
Ballet Shoes (TV Movie)- Pauline Fossil (2007)​
The Tale of Despereaux- Princess Pea (voice) (2008)​
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)​

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010)​Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)
My Week with Marilyn- Lucy (2011)​
The Parks of Being a Wallflower- Sam (2012)​
The Bling Ring- Nicki (2013)​
This Is the End- Emma Watson (2013)​
Noah- Ila (2014)​
The Vicar of Dibley (TV Series)- Reverend Iris (2015)​
The Colony- Lena (2015)​
Regression- Angela Gray (2015)​
Beauty and the Beast- Belle (2017)​
The Circle- Mae (2017)

Activism in her Film Career

When viewing the director's cut for the movie The Beauty and The Beast, Watson brought along her mother and well-known activist Gloria Steinem. She wanted to make sure that the movie meant something to those she cared about, and also that it did not conflict with her feminist ideals. Steinem loved the movie, which was reassuring for Emma, and even said,  "It was fascinating that her activism could be so well mirrored by the film... It’s this love of literature that first bonds the Beauty to the Beast, and also what develops the entire story.”. This points to the fact that Belle is a sort of feminist princess which is an interesting concept. 
Watson also helped to develop the character of Belle further, thus making her more feminist in her essence. In the original Disney cartoon Belle is her father's inventing assistant, but in the modern version she created her own washing machine so she has time to read more. This makes Belle herself an inventor, giving her more power as a female character. Watson also made sure that Belle had bloomers and riding boots instead of dresses and slippers as it was just ridiculously impractical and obviously only for looks. 

Modeling and Fashion Career:

Emma Watson's 2005 Teen Vogue Cover

Emma Watson's career in the modeling and fashion industry began in 2005 when she did a photo shoot for Teen Vogue. Watson was the youngest person to ever be on the cover. She then began to model for campaigns like Burberry (2009) and Lancome (2011), and helped created a line of clothing for People Tree in February of 2010. 

Incorporating her Activism Into Fashion: 

Watson wore a dress completely made of recycled water bottles to a Meta gala, and is reported to ask her fashion designers to fill out a form that tells her how the material for the piece of clothing is made, if it is good for the environment, and why is it is morally sound that she should wear the piece on the red carpet. 

"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. 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." - Emma Watson

Watson as an Activist

Watson has done A LOT of activist work, in order to cover my bases, I comprised another list below highlighting much of the work that she has done. The particular one I would like to focus on is her speech at the United Nations headquarters that began the United Nations Women campaign HeForShe, which asks men to get involved in the conversation of gender inequality. I have included a video of the speech she gave below, as I feel as though it truly speaks for itself, and shows Watson's passion for gender equality.

• Promoted education for girls while visiting Bangladesh and Zambia​
• July 2014- became a UN Women Goodwill ambassador​
• Delivered a speech at UN Headquarters to kick off the UN Women campaign HeForShe, this campaign asks for men to stand up for gender equality. ​
• Traveled to Uraguay to give a speech concerning women involvement in politics​
• Name Feminist Celebrity of the Year in December of 2014 by Ms. Foundation for Women​
• Spoke about gender equality at the Worlds Economic Forum in Jaunuary 2015​
• Number 1 on Ask Men “top 99 Outstanding Women 2015”​
• #26 on Time100's list of world’s most influential people​
• January 2016- began a feminist Goodreads book club called Our Shared Shelf 
• Interviewed Gloria Steinem on February 24th 2016 at the How to: Academy in London​
• Brought activist Marai Larasi as a guest to the 75th Golden Globe Awards in 2018

Why Emma Watson's Work is Important

Emma Watson is a movie star, model, fashion designer, but most importantly an activist. As a woman who has been in the public spotlight for quite some time she had a choice whether to leave her mark on history as just a celebrity, or as something more. Emma's careful decisions during her career and her actual work in activism show that she is much more than just a movie star, but also a woman of great wisdom with a sense of civic duty. Her activism is very relevant today, as she continues to fight for women's rights in career choices and personal decisions regularly.

Works Cited

“Emma Watson.” IMDb, IMDb.com, www.imdb.com/name/nm0914612/.​


Heforshe. “Emma Watson HeForShe Speech at the United Nations | UN Women 2014.” YouTube, YouTube, 22 Sept. 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0Dg226G2​


Blasberg, Derek, et al. “Cover Story: Emma Watson, Rebel Belle.” HWD, Vanity Fair, 25 May 2017, www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/02/emma-watson-cover-story.​


“Emma Watson.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 8 July 2017, www.biography.com/people/emma-watson-20660247.