Emma had had no professional acting experience when, at the age of nine, she was chosen along with several other girls from her school to audition for a role in the Harry Potter films. Several months after the initial audition, Emma, along with future co-star Rupert Grint, was sat down in an office and told she’d gotten the part of Hermione Granger. Practically impossible to believe, but thrilling, and the beginning of a (very) new experience!

Emma has played Hermione in all eight Harry Potter films to date, from September 2000 to June 2010. Emma also played the role of Pauline Fossil in the BBC’s Ballet Shoes, during the summer of 2007 and voiced the role of the Princess in an adaption of Kate DiCamillo’s The Tale of Desperaux. Following the end of her involvement in the Harry Potter movies, Emma branched out into the indie films Perks of Being a Wallflower and The Bling Ring, playing the character of Sam alongside Logan Lerman, and in the biopic My Week with Marilyn as Lucy, alongside Eddie Redmayne and Michelle Williams.

She decided to take a gap year in 2009 to focus on filming and wrapping up on the final installments of Harry Potter. She expressed interest in attending university outside of the United Kingdom, particularly an Ivy League university, and between university scouting and filming, she also signed up to appear as the face of two consecutive ‘Burberry’ campaigns, posing alongside top British male models and even her own little brother!

In 2009 it was announced that she had been acting as a creative consultant for the ethical fairtrade fashion company, ‘People Tree’ and was working alongside them to produce a quirky and fun spring range to be released in February 2010. “Love from Emma” from People Tree became quite a hit with people in the under-25 demographic and Emma used her status to illuminate the unfairness and exploitation of third world workers. Emma went on to complete three campaigns with People Tree.

In September 2009, she started her first year at Brown University; she partook in the regular freshmen orientation activities and found residence on campus. While attending Brown University, Emma lives on campus and spends her holidays jetting between the Rhode Island campus and to apartment in London, England. As part of her studies at Brown, Emma spent her third year abroad in Oxford. While at Brown, she was cast in a school production of The Three Sisters and was one of the few freshmen cast in the production.

Following her final exams Emma returned to London to finish filming the Potter movies; the cast and crew held a fantastical farewell party in Leavesden Studios in early August 2010. Emma described the end of the Potter movies as “heartbreaking” and “devastating”, likening the end of the series as the “death of a friend”. However while the end of the Potter series closed one door in Emma’s acting career, it also opened up many doors in the fashion field as Emma returned once more to work alongside People Tree for their autumn/winter line, acting as an endorser, rather than a designer, for the campaign. Emma also starred in her very first music video, alongside good friend George Craig and his band ‘One Night Only’, for the single “Say You Don’t Want It”.

August 2010 also saw a fond farewell to Emma’s trademark locks; while in New York City for “Deathly Hallows” promotion, Emma was spotted around the city with what appeared to be a pixie crop – after hours of speculation, this was later confirmed by Emma herself on her Facebook and Twitter account. Emma described the move as “liberating” and “incredible”.

Emma took a break from studies in January 2011 to focus on her professional projects and finish promotions for the final part of the two-part epic finale of Harry Potter She returned to her studies in mid-2011 but not at the Brown campus, but rather abroad at Oxford University. Emma’s studies were paused once more in early 2012 when Emma became attached to the Sofia Coppola-directed docudrama The Bling Ring. In 2012, Emma became attached to two new projects: Beauty, with Guilhermo del Toro, and Your Voice in My Head with Potter-director, David Yates.

In late 2011 Emma became affiliated with the Parisian beauty house, Lancôme, and was The Face of the brand for three different campaigns, namely: Trésor Midnight Rose, Rouge in Love and Blanc Expert. Emma and Lancôme have both expressed an interest in having Emma as The Face of Lancôme for more campaigns in the coming years.

As of June 2012, Emma will have wrapped filming on location in Los Angeles for The Bling Ring and will return to finish her Bachelor of Liberal Arts course at Brown University at the end of 2013.