To a generation of Gen Y muggles and their parents, she is best-known as Hermione Granger, the swottiest of the Harry Potter trio.
But this week, actor Emma Watson found herself in the spotlight alone, after she stepped up to deliver a speech at the UN about gender inequality.
Feminist appeals to men: Emma Watson delivers a speech to the UN. Credit: AFP
It prompted that very modern phenomenon – a celebrity internet furore – which started with the speech going viral on social media, a wave of breathless praise and then equally loud derision, ending in an apparent attack of the trolls and threats to release nude photos. Oh, for the quiet life of Hogwarts, with its Deatheaters, Dark Lord and literal troll attacks, she could have been forgiven for thinking.
The speech that kicked off the brouhaha was delivered as part of the launch of a UN campaign called HeForShe – a "Solidarity Movement for Gender Equality" that seeks to make men allies in the fight for gender equality.
"I decided that I was a feminist": Emma Watson. Credit: GC Images
In her address, Watson, a goodwill ambassador for the UN, described herself as a feminist.
"When at 14, I started to be sexualised by certain elements of the media, when at 15, my girlfriends started dropping out of their beloved sports teams, because they didn't want to appear 'muscle-y', when at 18, my male friends were unable to express their feelings, I decided that I was a feminist."
The 24-year-old actor then went on to describe how gender inequality was a problem for men too, and asked them to join a united movement for change.
"I've seen my father's role as a parent being valued less by society ... I've seen young men suffering from mental illness, unable to ask for help, for fear it would make them less of a man ... Men don't have the benefits of equality, either."
The plaudits came quickly. Publications including the Daily Mail and Vanity Fair labelled it a "game-changing" speech. "Emma's simple but eloquent speech has shaken feminism" declared the Mail, praising her particular focus on welcoming men into the movement.
Within a few days, more than 100,000 people had signed on, surpassing the campaign's goal.
But critics were reluctant to heap such praise on a vague "movement" that seemed the latest example of celebrity driven feel-good "slacktivism".
The website asks you to "Take Action" by simply clicking to agree with the campaign's principles, sharing that statement on social media or posting selfies with the campaign hashtag #HeForShe.
As feminists such as Fairfax Media's Clementine Ford argued too, "men have always been welcome to 'participate in the conversation', and the suggestion that inviting them to play a role in improving equality is new or radical is tosh".
Healthy debate turned vile when threats surfaced – originally purporting to be from users of the 4chan message board – to release nude photos of Watson as retaliation for identifying as a feminist.
While that threat is now believed to be a hoax, it was enough to make the front page of at least one big newspaper and inspire trolls. It could also make other women think twice about sticking their necks out on political issues.
"Threats still cause harm and still have a chilling effect ... and the harm from those threats persists even if no photos are released. The site reminded every woman that this is something that could be done to them by hackers, if the hackers so chose," wrote Amanda Taub at news website Vox.
The whole episode couldn't be more different to the relatively easy pass given to actor Leonardo DiCaprio for speaking out on climate change – also at the UN this week.
While there was a little chatter about his new beard and "man bun", there were none of the same deeply personal attacks, perhaps proving the cause of gender equality, however it is fought, is still a worthy one.