Emma Watson has often been cited as a role model, though she shies away from the term, stating that “it puts the fear of god into her”, Her impact on teenage girls’ view of women’s rights has been referred to as the “Emma Watson effect”, with respondents from a National Citizen Service survey stating that her work in activism had inspired them to label themselves feminists.
In her initial post-Harry Potter career, she was noted to focus on smaller films rather than big-budget studio films.
Adam White of The Independent states that Watson’s acting style possesses “a very human sensitivity and quiet strength.”
Describing the star’s off-screen persona, Derek Blasberg of Vanity Fair has called her “shy”, “friendly, intelligent, and down to earth.” Steinem has described her as “way more like a real person than a movie star”, while author Bell Hooks considers her to be part of “a very different, new breed of actors who are interested in being whole and having a holistic life, as opposed to being identified with just wealth and fame.”
In March 2009, she was ranked sixth on the Forbes list of “Most Valuable Young Stars: and in February 2010, she was Hollywood’s highest-paid female star, having earned an estimated €19 million in 2009.
Watson was found to be the sixth most admired woman in the world in global surveys conducted by YouGov in 2020.
