Here's Why You Don't Hear From Emma Watson Anymore

We were first introduced to Emma Watson as clever Hogwarts student Hermione Granger in 2001's "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone." When filming began, she was just 10 years old and had no clue as to how drastically her life was going to change. Emma Watson underwent a stunning transformation over the years as she grew up in front of the camera, eventually being named as Hollywood's highest paid female actor in 2010 and landing on Time's list of the 100 most influential people by 2014.

This level of fame wasn't easy for Watson to deal with. "I'm under a different microscope, a certain level of scrutiny, which I find really hard at times," she told Interview Magazine in April 2017. "And sometimes the fear of doing things is overwhelming. I get incredibly overwhelmed, and sometimes feel hemmed in by that, afraid of that," she said. "But I know that if I live in that fear, then my life as an artist, as a human being, really, is over." She continued her upward trajectory for a few years, but she eventually faded out of the spotlight. Here's why you don't hear from Emma Watson anymore.

Given that Emma Watson, along with her co-stars Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint, became huge movie stars when she they were just children, it's no wonder that they experienced some relief when "Harry Potter" wrapped once and for all. Watson, who was ready to quit the film franchise before the fifth installment, especially appreciated the sudden flexibility in her daily life. As she once told Entertainment Weekly, "I have such a structure when I'm working on 'Potter.' I get told what time I get picked up. I get told what time I can eat, when I have time to go to the bathroom. Every single second of my day is not in my power." 

As intense as it all could be at times, the "Harry Potter" films also had a positive impact on Watson. In a November 2021 Instagram post, she celebrated the 20th anniversary of the first movie by expressing how much the franchise meant to her. She wrote, "'Harry Potter' was my home, my family, my world. ... I think a journalist once said it was irritating how many times during an interview I mentioned how lucky I was and started counting... BUT I DAMN WELL KNEW!!! And still know."

By the time "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince" hit theaters, Emma Watson was unfortunately no stranger to being subjected to a creepy and inappropriate side of fame as a female child actor. She was being sexualized at every turn, including the online countdown ticking to the moment she turned 18 in 2008 and would be considered to have reached the age of consent in America.

During a HeForShe press conference back in 2016, Watson remarked (via Cosmopolitan), "On my 18th birthday ... photographers laid down on the pavement and took photographs up my skirt, which were then published on the front of the English tabloid [newspapers]. ... If they had published the photographs 24 hours earlier they would have been illegal, but because I had just turned 18 they were legal."

What's more, there've been many headlines that tried to paint Watson's post-"Potter" roles as far more scandalous than they actually are. As she told The Times in July 2016, "I'm 25 now. ... Me kissing somebody else shouldn't be risqué or horrifying, but I think that will continue for a long time. There have been lots of advantages to being part of that franchise, and playing that role for a long time, but inevitably there are obstacles and that's one of them."

For over a decade, "Harry Potter" was everything to Emma Watson. She spent a significant part of her childhood in front of the camera, and when the franchise started wrapping up after so many years, the actor finally had the opportunity to dive into higher education. "I think that there's always time for me to work, I hope," she told Urbanette. "But this is the time of my life when I need to really study and learn more about myself and the world around me. This was a really important thing to do and I'm really, really glad that I made the time for it."

Watson first enrolled at Brown University in 2009 to study English literature, but took a year off from her studies in 2011. She continued filming the final "Harry Potter" movies during this time, but she still managed to graduate after five years in 2014. As she told Elle at the time, "So many people told me it wasn't possible. I kept saying, 'I don't care.' This is what I want. And graduating will, for me, be really symbolic of all of that. I will be there. And I will be throwing a huge party. And getting very drunk."

In order to deal with some of the weight of fame Emma Watson suddenly had to deal with, she put an extraordinary amount of effort into activism, embodying her "Harry Potter" character even more. In speaking with British Vogue in December 2019, she explained, "I feel uncomfortable taking up as much space as I'm taking up and not speaking about [politics and social justice]. It just doesn't feel right anymore." However, where Hermione Granger advocated for the fair treatment of house-elves in the book series, Watson has fought tirelessly for gender equality for many years.

In 2014, she was appointed as UN Women Goodwill Ambassador and helped form HeForShe, a campaign that promoted gender equality. In addition, the "Harry Potter" star got involved with humanitarian efforts, spending time in Bangladesh and Zambia. She also became an ambassador for Camfed International, a nonprofit that promotes access to education for girls in Africa.

By the end of the "Harry Potter" films, Emma Watson was ready to say goodbye to Hermione. She bid the character farewell once and for all by cutting her hair short and pivoting toward the world of indie film.

Her second role following her departure from "Harry Potter" was as Sam in the feature film adaptation of "The Perks of Being a Wallflower." During an August 2012 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Watson described her emotional connection to the scene from the movie in which she stands in the back of a truck with her arms outstretched as it drives through a tunnel. "I started as Emma with some Hermione still left in my system. I went through the tunnel and I came out ready to start something new," she said.

There were other roles that proved to be challenging for Watson, including the character Nicki in 2013's "The Bling Ring." As she said to Empire Magazine in July 2013, "I definitely had my qualms about Nicki, but I think that's what's so cool about my job, is that I had to find a way to empathize. I had to find a way to understand who she was and what her motivation was coming from."

By 2017, it became apparent that Emma Watson's appearances on screen were becoming less frequent. There had only been a few years in which she hadn't starred in a movie since she began acting, including 2003 and 2016, but following her a couple roles in 2017, her filmography practically dried up. Watson did play Meg March in 2019's "Little Women," but this was her last feature-length appearance.

Perhaps things would be different for her career today if Emma Watson hadn't turned down "La La Land." Though there were rumblings that she'd been cast as Mia, those rumblings didn't hold water. (The part ultimately went to Emma Stone, and went on to win her first Oscar.) "It's one of these frustrating things where names get attached to projects very early on as a way to kind of build anticipation or excitement for something that's coming before anything is really actually agreed or set in stone," she told Vanity Fair in 2017. "Conflict-wise, it just didn't work out." Instead, Watson had already committed to her role in "Beauty and the Beast."

Even though Emma Watson was just a child when she was cast as Hermione Granger, and she couldn't have foreseen the monumental success the film franchise would be, she's admitted to feeling guilty about being a celebrity. Not only had she made millions of dollars from the franchise alone, but her global following skyrocketed quickly, and she felt at times that she didn't deserve it.

During an interview with British Vogue in December 2019, Watson was asked about whether she ever enjoyed the glamorous side to fame. "That's something I've sat in therapy and felt really guilty about, to be honest. Like, 'Why me?' Somebody else would have enjoyed and wanted this aspect of it more than I did," she said. "I've wrestled a lot with the guilt around that. Of being, like, 'I should be enjoying this more. I should be more excited.' And I'm actually really struggling. There's been moments when everything just got so big, where I almost had vertigo on my own life, and it's got so big I felt disconnected."

A couple years after her last film role, the rumor mill went into overdrive with the notion that Emma Watson had retired from acting. The Daily Mail claimed in February 2021 that the "Harry Potter" actor was planning to quit her career in favor of spending more time with her rumored fiancé at the time, Leo Robinton. Shortly after the gossip columns created a stir, Jason Weinberg, Watson's manager, stated to Entertainment Weekly: "Emma's social media accounts are dormant but her career isn't."

In response to the Daily Mail article, Watson herself spoke out to fans in May 2021 via X, formerly Twitter. "Rumors about whether I'm engaged or not, or whether my career is 'dormant or not' are ways to create clicks each time they are revealed to be true or untrue," she wrote. In a second post, she added, "In the mean time please assume no news from me just means I'm quietly spending the pandemic the way most people are — failing to make sourdough bread (!), caring for my loved ones and doing my best not to spread a virus that is still affecting so many people."

When Emma Watson was part of the wizarding trio, her future success as a movie star seemed like it was in the bag. She was beloved, viewed as a role model across the globe, and proved she had the acting chops time and time again. However, at one point, her career shifted and the public began seeing much less of the "Harry Potter" star. Watson's future seemed uncertain for a while, but she assured her fans in speaking with British Vogue in June 2022 that she wasn't done working yet — it would just be in a different capacity, as she'd joined Kering's board of directors to focus on sustainability in the fashion industry.

"If people notice a new quietness from me, it does not mean I am no longer there or do not care! I will just be doing my work in a different way (fewer red carpets and more conference meetings!) This is a unique moment in time and I intend to embrace the opportunity it presents for change. As my friend [artist and scholar] Dr Fahamu Pecou says — this work is a relay marathon, not a sprint, and I know I want to be in this for the long run and in the right place when it's time to run my relay," Watson said.

Emma Watson certainly isn't in the public eye like she once was, but that's not to say she's totally vanished from the spotlight. In August 2022, the actor was announced as the newest face of Prada, a brand she'd been wearing for well over the past decade. It seemed to be the perfect match, as Watson told Harper's Bazaar Australia at the time, Prada really resonates with her. "Something that really stuck out to me when I was sent the idea for the fragrance was that Prada is about upstream narratives. And I instantly thought, 'Oh my god, that's me, that's how I feel. I feel like I'm always running against the current,'" she said.

In addition to posing for the brand, Watson used the opportunity to take her first step behind the camera as well. In an August 2022 Instagram post, the actor wrote, "When Prada asked me to be the face of their new fragrance campaign, I asked if I could direct it. Months later, and I'm able to share the results of the faith they shared in me, with all of you. ... My directorial debut and Prada's newest refillable fragrance, coming soon."

In April 2023, Emma Watson spoke with the Financial Times about why she ultimately took a step back from acting and began focusing her energy on other endeavors. "I wasn't very happy, if I'm being honest," she said. "I think I felt a bit caged. The thing I found really hard was that I had to go out and sell something that I really didn't have very much control over. To stand in front of a film and have every journalist be able to say, 'How does this align with your viewpoint?' It was very difficult to have to be the face and the spokesperson for things where I didn't get to be involved in the process."

An actor's job can be restrictive, so it's understandable that Watson wasn't enjoying the lack of control she had in her career. The "Harry Potter" alum added that she'd decided she wanted to only get involved in projects that she truly believed in, so she could take accountability if it went poorly and vouch for it honestly if it went well.

Emma Watson's family has long been fans of the finer things; trips to Chablis and fine wines with dinner were a staple since the "Harry Potter" star was a child. While she was smashing box office records and building up her own career, Emma Watson's brother Alex Watson was dabbling in furthering his education, modeling, and hospitality, finally landing on an ingenious idea for a luxury gin brand. He decided to use the grape skins from wine production that would otherwise be wasted to add flavor to gin.

With Emma's film career slowing down, she finally had time to partner with her brother and father on this venture, and together they co-founded Renais. As she told the Financial Times in April 2023, "For me, getting involved with the creative side of the gin has been fun because I have a voice and I can bring everything that I've learnt to help. Alex is the expert on gin, and dad is the expert on wine, but it's really nice to be asked to be involved." She took over the creative aspect of the brand, including everything from the imagery to art direction. "I think it would have hurt my soul if it had been done in a way that didn't feel personal," she said. 

Like Hermione Granger, Emma Watson is clearly passionate about her education. In September 2023, she returned to school to complete her MA in creative writing at Oxford University. During the pandemic, the "Noah" star had begun writing poetry and essays, and this degree gave her the opportunity to explore her creative side further. A source told The Sun, "The course is for older adults and can be done on a part-time basis, which is perfect for Emma's schedule. She only has to be on site for four or five days a year because she can do the rest of the course online from home."

While the minimal days on campus is of course a plus for anyone with a busy schedule, it's also ideal for Watson because of the level of attention she draws. The source continued, "She'll have a security team looking after her whenever she has classes to go to. There have been a few incidents recently and she is taking every precaution necessary to ensure her safety."

Unfortunately, the need for security on campus has proven to be a necessity for Emma Watson as she's already faced a couple of frightening incidents. In early September 2023, a man named Chad Michael Busto, who had previously been known to authorities for stalking Drew Barrymore, was arrested for trying to break into the actor's dressing room at a New York fashion show. In July 2024, the same man was arrested at Oxford University after insisting on speaking with her.

As Busto told the press at the time (via The Independent), "They are illegally detaining me and I have no idea when I'll be allowed to leave. Police have my possessions. I'm on the run, there's a danger to my life." He pleaded not guilty to the charges and was shortly after released without bail. Given the disturbing events occurring in such a short stretch, it would be more than understandable if Watson was inclined to keep a low profile for the time being.