Top 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsMost Popular Video GamesMost Popular Music VideosMost Popular Podcasts
    Release CalendarBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersEmmysSTARmeter AwardsSan Diego Comic-ConNew York Comic-ConSundance Film FestivalToronto Int'l Film FestivalAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
Sign In
New Customer? Create account
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Biography
  • Awards
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

Emily Watson(I)

  • Actress
  • Producer
  • Soundtrack
IMDbProStarmeter
Top 5,0001068
Emily Watson
In a windswept fishing village, a mother is torn between protecting her beloved son and her own sense of right and wrong. A lie she tells for him rips apart their family and close-knit community in this tense, sweepingly emotional epic.
Play trailer2:23
God's Creatures (2022)
93 Videos
99+ Photos
Emily Watson was born and raised in London, the daughter of Katharine (Venables), an English teacher, and Richard Watson, an architect. After a self-described sheltered upbringing, Watson attended university for three years in Bristol, studying English literature. She applied to drama school and was rejected on her first attempt.

After three years of working in clerical and waitress jobs she was finally accepted. In 1992, she took a position with the Royal Shakespeare Company where she met her future husband, Jack Waters. Continuing stage work, Watson landed her first screen role as Bess McNeill in Breaking the Waves (1996) after Helena Bonham Carter pulled out of the role. For this initial foray into movies, Watson was nominated for an Academy Award. She continued to gain success in Britain in the leading roles in Metroland (1997) and The Mill on the Floss (1997), but her first popular film in the United States came in 1997 when she played Daniel Day-Lewis's long-suffering love interest in The Boxer (1997).

In the next two years she won critical acclaim for her portrayal of cellist Jacqueline du Pré in Hilary and Jackie (1998) and landed a small part in the ensemble cast of Tim Robbins's Cradle Will Rock (1999). Critical acclaim and North American success came together for Watson in 1999 with the release of Angela's Ashes (1999), the film adaptation of Frank McCourt's bestselling book of the same name. She achieved top billing as Angela McCourt, the hardworking mother of several children and wife of a drunken husband in depression-era Ireland. After less-celebrated roles in 2000's Trixie (2000) and The Luzhin Defence (2000), Watson again returned to an ensemble cast in Robert Altman's Gosford Park (2001).

Watson's status as a leading actress in major Hollywood productions was cemented in 2002 with her roles in Red Dragon (2002), the third installment of Thomas Harris' Hannibal Lechter series; the futuristic Equilibrium (2002); and, most notably, in Paul Thomas Anderson's Punch-Drunk Love (2002), playing opposite Adam Sandler. While returning to the stage in 2002 and 2003 on both sides of the Atlantic, Watson has expressed interest in again working with Anderson. Emily Watson lives in London, England, UK, with her husband, Jack Waters.
BornJanuary 14, 1967
  • More at IMDbPro
    • Contact info
    • Agent info
    • Resume
BornJanuary 14, 1967
IMDbProStarmeter
Top 5,0001068
  • View contact info at IMDbPro
  • Nominated for 2 Oscars

Photos190

Emily Watson and Paul Mescal in God's Creatures (2022)
Geoffrey Rush, Emily Watson, and Sophie Nélisse in The Book Thief (2013)
Adam Sandler and Emily Watson in Punch-Drunk Love (2002)
Emily Watson in Chernobyl (2019)
Emily Watson in Premio Donostia a Emily Watson (2015)
Emily Watson in The Happy Prince (2018)
Richard E. Grant, Emily Watson, and Michael Gambon in Gosford Park (2001)
Robert Altman, Emily Watson, and Michael Gambon in Gosford Park (2001)
Emily Watson and Dominic West in Appropriate Adult (2011)
Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson in Genius (2017)
Geoffrey Rush, Emily Watson, and Vincent Kartheiser in Genius (2017)
Emily Watson in Genius (2017)

Known for

Gosford Park (2001)
Gosford Park
7.2
  • Elsie
  • 2001
Emily Watson in Breaking the Waves (1996)
Breaking the Waves
7.8
  • Bess McNeill
  • 1996
Punch-Drunk Love (2002)
Punch-Drunk Love
7.3
  • Lena Leonard
  • 2002
Anthony Hopkins and Edward Norton in Red Dragon (2002)
Red Dragon
7.2
  • Reba McClane
  • 2002

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actress

  • Dune: The Sisterhood
    • In Production
  • Late in Summer
    • Pre-production
  • Midas Man
    • In Production
  • Quicksand
    • Pre-production
  • Fortunate Sons
    • (rumored)
    • In Development
  • The Legend of Ochi
    • Post-production
  • God's Creatures (2022)
    God's Creatures
  • Emily Watson, Jason Isaacs, Nick Frost, Jessica Brown Findlay, and Emily Carey in Monster Family 2 (2021)
    Monster Family 2
    • (voice)
  • Emily Watson and Denise Gough in Too Close (2021)
    Too Close
  • Jude Law, Emily Watson, Naomie Harris, and Katherine Waterston in The Third Day (2020)
    The Third Day
  • Chernobyl (2019)
    Chernobyl
  • Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson, Emily Watson, and Florence Pugh in King Lear (2018)
    King Lear
  • Rupert Everett and Colin Morgan in The Happy Prince (2018)
    The Happy Prince
  • Kathryn Newton, Maya Hawke, Willa Fitzgerald, and Annes Elwy in Little Women (2017)
    Little Women
  • Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Mark Strong, Channing Tatum, and Taron Egerton in Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017)
    Kingsman: The Golden Circle
  • Saoirse Ronan and Billy Howle in On Chesil Beach (2017)
    On Chesil Beach
  • Emily Watson, Nick Frost, Paul Stone, Dirk Stollberg, Jan Makino, and Ethan Rouse in Monster Family (2017)
    Monster Family
    • (English version, voice)
  • Cynthia Erivo in Genius (2017)
    Genius
  • Emily Watson in Apple Tree Yard (2017)
    Apple Tree Yard
  • Anthony Hopkins and Ian McKellen in The Dresser (2015)
    The Dresser
  • Everest (2015)
    Everest

Producer

  • Emily Watson and Denise Gough in Too Close (2021)
    Too Close

Soundtrack

  • Cradle Will Rock (1999)
    Cradle Will Rock

Videos94

How "Chernobyl" Splits Atomic Facts from Fiction
Clip 3:38
How "Chernobyl" Splits Atomic Facts from Fiction
After Devastation of "Chernobyl," What to Watch Next
Clip 3:54
After Devastation of "Chernobyl," What to Watch Next
"Come Have a Beer" from Cemetery Junction
Clip 1:31
"Come Have a Beer" from Cemetery Junction
"Door to Door" from Cemetery Junction
Clip 1:16
"Door to Door" from Cemetery Junction
"Two Jobs" from Cemetery Junction
Clip 0:46
"Two Jobs" from Cemetery Junction
Cold Souls: "Soul Extraction"
Clip 1:14
Cold Souls: "Soul Extraction"
Say Something Awful
Clip 0:52
Say Something Awful
Massive Theater Piece
Clip 1:28
Massive Theater Piece
Massive Theater Piece
Clip 0:48
Massive Theater Piece
In and Around Synecdoche, NY  Incredibly Complicated
Clip 1:31
In and Around Synecdoche, NY Incredibly Complicated
I Follow You
Clip 0:50
I Follow You
Everybody Here
Clip 0:45
Everybody Here

Personal details

Edit
    • January 14, 1967
    • Islington, London, England, UK
    • Jack Waters1995 - present (2 children)
  • Other works
    Her Royal Shakespeare Company credits include: Violenta in "All's Well That Ends Well" (1992), Mrs. Ruth Banks-Ellis in "The Taming of the Shrew", Middleton & Rowley's "The Changeling", and Amie in Brome's "A Jovial Crewe" (all 1993).
  • Publicity listings
    • 8 Interviews
    • 9 Articles
    • 5 Pictorials
    • 5 Magazine Cover Photos

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    One of only a few performers to get an Oscar-nomination for their debut performance.
  • Quotes
    "The first Oscarcast, I was definitely functioning in a surreal mode. It was like I was watching myself watch the ceremony. Yet I had a good time. Hey, wearing a beautiful dress and being surrounded by beautiful people is not a terrible way to spend an evening. And I had a great time at all the parties. The second Oscarcast, I just went and planned on enjoying myself. People think of me as such a serious actress, but I find myself behaving like a gadabout." - On her sudden success and America's award shows.

Related news

Contribute to this page

Suggest an edit or add missing content
  • Learn more about contributing
Edit page

More to explore

Recently viewed

Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
Get the IMDb App
  • Get the IMDb App
  • Help
  • Site Index
  • IMDbPro
  • Box Office Mojo
  • IMDb Developer
  • Press Room
  • Advertising
  • Jobs
  • Conditions of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Your Ads Privacy Choices
IMDb, an Amazon company

© 1990-2023 by IMDb.com, Inc.