Emma Charlotte Duerre Watson is an English actress and activist. She has gained recognition for her roles in both blockbusters and independent films, as well as her women's rights work. Watson has been ranked among the world's highest-paid actresses by Forbes and Vanity Fair, and was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine in 2015.
Born in Paris and raised in Oxfordshire, Watson attended the Dragon School and trained in acting at the Oxford branch of Stagecoach Theatre Arts. As a child, she rose to stardom after landing her first professional acting role as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter film series, having acted only in school plays previously. Watson also starred in the 2007 television adaptation of the novel Ballet Shoes and lent her voice to The Tale of Despereaux. After the final Harry Potter film, she took on a supporting role in My Week with Marilyn, before starring as a flirtatious, free-spirited student in The Perks of Being a Wallflower to critical success. Further acclaim came from portraying Alexis Neiers in Sofia Coppola's The Bling Ring and the titular character's adoptive daughter in the biblical epic Noah.