Emma Watson: Willingness Towards Controversy

Yewon Jo

March 20, 2026

Emma Watson is an award-winning, global actress known best for her starring role as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter series. What some do not know, however, is the fact that she is more like Hermione in real life than one would have thought. Not only that, her actions and accomplishments inspire girls of future generations to be bold and smart like Hermione too. This similarity is three important traits that Watson showcases through her background and original demeanor.

First, her continuous pursuit towards education despite her successful acting career. It is often the case that one scales back their academic career if they have another that is highly successful, whether that is in athletics or in the arts. This is mostly due to the issue that arises with time management, and the near impossibility to successfully balance it all. However, recent trends have been showing that celebrities and athletes are often pursuing their academic careers just as hard as people who do not have a separate committed career, and Emma Watson is one of the leading figures of this relatively recent development. Watson graduated from Brown University with a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature in May 2014. She also studied at Oxford University and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Creative Writing, which demonstrates a strong, ongoing commitment to intellectual growth. By doing so, she inspires other women to be active in their pursuit in education too, no matter what the personal circumstance may be. She believes that education is a definite source of empowerment, and advocates for other girls to be able to experience it as well.

Which leads us to her second factor: her fearless advocacy and transparency towards gender equality and feminism. Watson has been very steadfast and public in many of her statements that she is a feminist, and in her 2014 UN speech - which made global headlines -  defined the term as it is around a time when feminism was highly stigmatized and criticized as being overly “woke”. Her speech also argued for equal pay, reproductive rights, and female representation. As a result, she contributed to make gender equality a trending topic online, as it still is today. Even outside of the iconic speech, Watson has continuously mentioned gender equality throughout many public events, and this has solidified her position as a global gender equality advocate as time went on. Although this caused her critics to shun her for her open stance and her values and for not being so discreet, her indifference towards these critiques showcases her confidence in what she believes in. It inspires other girls to be unafraid in revealing and actively standing for what they truly believe in as well, and not being afraid to use one’s social influence to deliver a message one believes is crucial.

The last factor is the fact that she not only says that she believes in these values, but proves her firm beliefs through continuous action. Appointed as a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador in 2014, Watson launched the HeForShe campaign, urging men and boys to act as advocates for gender equality. This went against the public image that feminism is “hating men” by promoting cross-gender solidarity rather than condemnation and insult. Additionally, with her experience and her investment in women’s education, she has supported girls' education in rural Africa as an ambassador for Camfed International and has traveled to countries like Zambia and Bangladesh to promote the essential need for it to young women around the world.

Emma Watson is a contemporary global icon of feminism and women’s rights, and it stems from her standing firm with her beliefs no matter what others thought of her, even though her career and public image as an actress may have been impacted by her doing so. Her actions show that it is not what other people think of you that is important, but what you do to contribute to this world for a cause you believe in, especially for the people who need it the most. Her bravery is indicative of the sheer audacity - the fearlessness towards controversy - that more people, more women, more girls should hold in the current world.