It’s been a hot minute since everybody’s childhood crush, Emma Watson, who played Hermione Granger in the cult classic Harry Potter franchise, graced the silver screen. The actress was last seen in Greta Gerwig’s Little Women way back in 2019 as Meg March. The long hiatus has left Potterheads wondering if she has cast an “Evanesco” and given up the profession they watched her grow up in. Apart from the beloved Harry Potter franchise she’s most well-known for, we even saw her in fun projects like The Perks of Being a Wallflower and The Bling Ring, and she even played the role of Belle in Disney’s live-action remake of Beauty and The Beast.
She is also a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador and helped launch the UN Women campaign HeForShe — an initiative to include men in the conversation about gender equality. Watson is a philanthropist as well as an advocate for sustainable fashion. Having watched the actress since age ten, avid fans are keen to know where she has disappeared and if she has bid adieu to the entertainment industry. Let’s find out what Emma Watson has been up to ever since!
Emma Watson Took a Hiatus from Acting After Little Women
Last seen in Little Women, Emma Watson’s five-year Hiatus has left her fans missing her presence on the big screen. But one fails to understand that Watson has been hustling since the tender age of ten, so like most humans, she needed a well-deserved break. She stepped away from the glitz and glam to embark on a self-care endeavor as she learned to surf, ride horses, and even go to therapy. Watson also founded Renais with her brother, a gin brand that uses recycled wine grapes to make gin. She used this time to rediscover herself and what it means to be a woman while also adopting ahealthy eating habits.
In a Vogue “What’s in My Bag” video segment, Emma Watson explained that she has been sowing seeds for the past four or five years and went on to say, “You can’t always be in the reaping stage or the harvest stage in life. Life has seasons.” This possibly hints at exploring avenues outside her acting career — during which Watson described feeling “caged.” She also found it hard to continue to muster the authenticity to sell something she didn’t have control over, and how the lack of autonomy over film projects she represented left her battling with her own viewpoints.
Like most women, Emma Watson had a massive shift in perspective after hitting her 30s and the societal pressure she felt as a woman to “keep up.” The expectations that come as a woman when you turn a certain age to have a husband, home, and baby can be anxiety-inducing. She famously coined the term “self-partnered” to describe being happily single.
Emma Watson Went back to School to Pursue a Masters in Creative Writing
The Brown University graduate decided to return to school for her education in 2023, enrolling at Oxford University for a part-time Master’s degree in Creative Writing. Emma Watson developed an affinity for writing poetry during the lockdown and even penned a few essays on love and friendship. Watson will complete most of her degree online as it is a course meant for older adults, with a security team tailing her for the handful of times she will be required on campus.
She had earlier graduated from Brown University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature on May 25, 2014. However, it took her five years to finish her degree instead of four, owing to her busy acting schedule. She’s now happily finding the time to study what she loves, at her own pace!
Is Emma Watson Returning to The Big Screen?
Watson does intend to return to the big screen, although this time around, she sees herself behind the camera rather than in front of it. She has not written off the possibility of acting entirely, but rather, she has really been enjoying the process of writing and directing in recent times. Emma Watson became the face of Prada Beauty’s fragrance Paradoxe back in August 2022. Although she had a more significant role than just starring in the promotional ad campaign, she also directed, wrote, and narrated the short film, marking her directorial debut. Her bond with Prada strengthened as she became the face of the sustainable product line — Prada’s Re-Nylon collection — in January 2024.
Since her Harry Potter days, Watson has often been told that she should direct and produce. Thanks to encouragement from friends and family, opportunities to explore these possibilities knocked on her door as she dabbled in some photoshoots and video making. Having grown up on a film set, the concept of direction isn’t as alien to her as it might be for some other A-list actors. Watson already has another directing gig set up — in an interview with The Financial Times, Watson revealed that she’s doing a music video for an artist, only letting off that people would have “definitely heard of him.”
As far as acting goes, she intends to start shooting in 2024 if the right opportunity presents itself, as she only wants to dedicate her time to projects with which she genuinely resonates. After her hiatus, she also participated in Max’s Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts in 2022, which reunited her with her Hogwarts castmates, including Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Tom Felton. Here are 7 charms you need to know before the Harry Potter TV show arrives.
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