The world watched Emma Watson transform from excited young actress in her first 2001 role as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter film franchise to a wiser young woman. Together with a young, wide-eyed actor named Daniel Radcliffe, Emma became someone who Harry Potter fans adored.
But now, just like Daniel, Watson is seeking to break free from that character in multiple ways. Among them is fighting for gender equality with the HeForShe campaign , reported the Daily Mail .
At 24, the actress and United Nations Goodwill Ambassador is working worldwide in her efforts for women’s equal rights. Emma even traveled to Argentina, where she garnered support for her feminist work and posted her thanks.
“I LOVED Argentina. Truly. Thank you to my incredible Argentinian fans! So lovely to get to meet and speak to you. E xx”
For Emma, fighting for feminism is personal, she told the United Nations in a speech. It all began when she was 8 and labeled “bossy” for her desire to direct school plays.
“At 15 my girlfriends started dropping out of their sports teams because they didn’t want to appear ‘muscly’…at 18 my male friends were unable to express their feelings.”
The HeForShe solidarity movement’s goal focuses on getting 100,000 men and boys involved in the fight to achieve gender equality.
Watson also was recently named Feminist Celebrity of 2014, reported Cosmopolitan . She spoke passionately about her vision for the men targeted by the campaign.
“I want men to take up this mantle so their daughters, sisters, and mothers can be free from prejudice, but also so that their sons have permission to be vulnerable and human too — reclaim those parts of themselves they abandoned and in doing so be a more true and complete version of themselves.”
Emma recently graduated from Brown University, tweeting her joy with a photo of herself.
Watson earned a bachelor’s degree in English literature. And based on her character in Harry Potter , Hermione would approve, according to the Harry Potter Wikia.
Harry Potter: “But why’s she got to go to the library?”
Ronald Weasley: “Because that’s what Hermione does. When in doubt, go to the library.”
But that’s not her only degree, according to Elle Australia . Always passionate about yoga , Emma now is certified to teach. She views it as a way to feel safe emotionally.
“I was like, ‘I need to find a way to always feel safe and at home within myself.’ Because I can never rely on a physical place.”
Many celebrities praise yoga for the way that it helps them feel better emotionally and physically, including Christina Aguilera, as the Inquisitr reported. A source revealed that she used yoga to center herself during her pregnancy and then to lose her post-baby pounds.
“She is very dedicated to yoga. So much that she has never stopped practicing it. She did yoga the entire time she was pregnant. And Christina has already been working hard on getting her bod back in shape! She is doing private yoga sessions and loves how it makes her feel.”
As for her adult film roles, Watson is seeking to distinguish herself from the public’s image of herself as a Harry Potter actress , reported Fox News . Her recent roles have included The Bling Ring and Noah .
In addition, a 2015 film called Regression will include Emma, according to IMDb. The film’s plot focuses on a mystery.
“A young girl is sexually abused by her father. Thus, begins the disturbing tale of a father and daughter torn apart, thrown into the center of a conspiracy that shocks the nation.”
[Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images]