New Hollywood 2011

You'd never guess that Emma Watson spent the first five years of her life in Paris, thanks to her upper-crust British accent. When her parents, both British lawyers working in France, divorced in 1995, Emma moved with her mother Jacqueline and younger brother Alex to Oxfordshire, England. While growing up, the aspiring actress learned to sing, dance and act at the Oxford branch of Stagecoach Theatre Arts.

emma watson gets cast in harry potter and the sorcerer's stone

Emma Watson starred in a number of school plays from age six to nine, but no films of the Hollywood variety. In fact, she had no films at all on her resume. When casting began for the film adaptation of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Emma's theater teacher directed casting agents to the budding actress. Eight auditions later and Watson, along with her then-future castmates Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint, landed the leading roles that would soon change the course of their lives. Sure, that might sound cliche, but when you're nine years old and you star in the highest grossing film of the year, life takes you by the hand and says, "Guess what, you're not going to be like anyone else you've known up until this point. Take a mental picture now and brace yourself."

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone went on to make $975 million worldwide, en route to becoming one of the most lucrative movies of all time. Emma Watson reclaimed her role as bookworm Hermione for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005). How many people get to watch not only themselves but their character grow up on camera?

emma watson and teen vogue

Along the way, Emma Watson has been featured on the cover of Teen Vogue a total of three times, acted with luminaries like Richard Harris and Gary Oldman and has become a regular on the talk show circuit. In 2007, she starred in the fifth installment, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

emma watson in harry potter and the half-blood prince

After lending her voice to the animated flick The Tale of Despereaux, which costarred Dustin Hoffman, Sigourney Weaver and Matthew Broderick, Emma Watson began Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which came out in July of 2009. Prior to the opening of The Half-Blood Prince, the Potter flicks had already taken in over $4.5 billion worth of ticket sales.

emma watson finishes filming the harry potter series

Emma Watson recently wrapped up filming Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I (out in 2010) and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II (out in 2011). Where will you see her post-Potter? University, most likely. "Until something comes along that I feel as strongly about as I did Hermione -- like, I felt that it was life or death -- I don't want to act again," says the young actress who plans to study English literature and art at an Ivy League school this fall.

emma watson and burberry

Emma Watson won't be completely out of the limelight any time soon, and not just because Harry Potter films will be in theaters until 2011. Emma will star in Burberry's Fall/Winter 2009, shot by none other than world-renowned photographer Mario Testino.

Gaining more and more attention as a style icon, one of Emma Watson's favorite fashion houses is Chanel and, given that she herself admits she has enough money never to work again, we can understand why. The actress had the opportunity to meet Chanel's head honcho, the eccentric Karl Lagerfeld, when he recently photographed her for French magazine. "I'd met Karl a few times before, at parties or something where we really couldn't talk," says Emma. "But this was a dream come true." Yes, she gets to call him "Karl."