Emma Charlotte Duerre Watson (born 15 April 1990)  is an English actress, model, 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 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 the 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 (2008). After the final Harry Potter film, she took a role in My Week with Marilyn (2011), before starring in The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012) opposite Logan Lerman and The Bling Ring (2013) alongside an ensemble cast, both to critical acclaim. In 2014, Watson played the titular character’s adoptive daughter in the biblical epic Noah and was honored by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, winning British Artist of the Year. She starred as Belle in Beauty and the Beast (2017), which ranks among the highest-grossing films of all time, and Meg March in the coming-of-age drama Little Women (2019). Other notable film roles include This Is the End (2013), Regression, Colonia (both 2015), and The Circle (2017). From 2011 to 2014, Watson split her time between working on films and continuing her education, graduating from Brown University with a bachelor’s degree in English literature in May 2014. In the same year, she was appointed a UN Women Goodwill ambassador and helped launch the UN Women campaign HeForShe, which advocates for gender equality. Watson was appointed to a G7 advisory body for women’s rights in 2019, consulting with leaders on foreign policy. Her modelling work has included campaigns for Burberry and Lancôme. She also lent her name to a line of clothing for sustainable brand People Tree. In 2020, she joined the board of directors of Kering, a luxury brand group, in her capacity as an advocate for sustainable fashion.