Emma Watson’s Parents Kept Her Realistic About What Fame Meant

There aren’t many real cases of becoming an overnight celebrity. Most actors work for several years before they get cast in the show that makes the famous. However, Emma Watson is a prime example of someone actually garnering a tremendous amount of fame overnight without having any prior professional credits. Almost immediately after it was announced that Watson had booked the sole female lead in the Harry Potter movies, the paparazzi camped outside her parents’ homes to learn more about the young actor.

Emma Watson is the child of two English lawyers

Unlike Watson’s fellow Harry Potter co-star, Daniel Radcliffe, Watson’s parents had no prior experience in the entertainment industry. The Beauty and the Beast star was raised by lawyers who had zero interest in celebrity culture and minimal interest in movies. In fact, Watson can recall having access to only four movies in her childhood home.

The ‘Harry Potter’ alum gets candid about how her parents helped her stay realistic about fame

But even though Watson’s parents didn’t know much about being a professional actor, they were able to help her navigate fame. In an interview with NPR, the Noah actor explained that her parents taught her to look at fame as a double-edged sword. This gave her a sense of understanding about how she could realistically tackle her life as one of the world’s most famous faces.

“My parents were always realistic with me about what fame meant, that basically it has these amazing upsides, opportunities, experiences,” Watson explained. “But at the same time, it restricts your freedom in some ways. I’m not able to just do whatever I want, spontaneously.”

Watson tried to ignore her fame in her teenage years

Of course, Watson had to learn some of her parents’ teachings the hard way. The Brown University alum admits that she tried to minimize or even ignore her fame into her late teens. She even took the public bus for a long time. However, after she realized that she could cause a spectacle with the most mundane tasks, she had to come to terms with her celebrity status.

But just how did someone as famous as Watson ever consider herself normal after living so much of her life in the spotlight? Again, Watson credits her parents for helping her stay grounded. In an interview with GQ UK, Watson shared that her parents weren’t quick to rain lavish compliments on her even when she was attending star-studded events. This helped her feel more like a normal person who just had bursts of fame during particular times of the year.

The ‘Beauty and the Beast’ alum feels her parents kept her grounded

“I think my parents were very focused on keeping me down to earth,” Watson shared, reflecting on her fame. “The biggest compliment I’ve ever had, getting ready for a premiere or whatever, is that I scrub up all right. I don’t know. I didn’t fully understand what it all meant. I really didn’t have any perspective of it. I was actually just incredibly naive about the whole thing.”

Watson’s parents’ approach seems to have fared pretty well for the Harry Potter alum. Especially given the stats about child actors, Watson seems to be navigating the entertainment industry pretty well.