Emma Watson Is Competing as a Coxswain on an Oxford Rowing Team

Emma Watson seems to have left her acting days behind her. The actress, who rose to fame when she was a child for her role as Hermione Grainger in the Harry Potter series, has been studying at Oxford University since 2023. She is reportedly getting her master’s degree in creative writing at Lady Margaret Hall, a college at Oxford, and is also reportedly pursuing a DPhil (the Oxford equivalent to a PhD).

While at Oxford, it seems Watson has tapped into her sportier side: Photographs show her competing as a coxswain on the New College women’s third team in the Oxford University Summer Eights rowing regatta on the Thames River. “You have to be very confident if you’re a coxswain, you have to be very loud if you’re a coxswain, you have to be very smart if you’re a coxswain,” TikToker Coach Jackie J said in a video about Watson’s athleticism. “We know Emma Watson is all of those things.”

Watson’s return to school has coincided with taking a break from her acting career. “Going into my 30s, I was in this moment of real change and [thinking] ‘What is going on?’” she told British Vogue about stepping back from acting. “And it was someone else who said to me, ‘Oh, this is normal. You’re going through your Saturn return.’ [I was] like, ‘What is that and why has no one warned me?!’ I’ve spoken to so many women and so many of my friends who said, ‘Oh, yeah, between 28 and, like, 30, 31, 32, that kind of age, everything shifted.’”

Watson continued, “Because I’m in a career that moves very quickly, the decision to take time to do these things felt like a very big decision. [Choosing] to go back and write and study and get behind the camera was terrifying for me because I’d never done it before. I had always been in front of the camera; I’d always been an actor.”

Watson attended Brown University, graduating in 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in English literature.

Emily Burack (she/her) is the Senior News Editor for Town & Country, where she covers entertainment, celebrities, the royals, and a wide range of other topics. Before joining T&C, she was the deputy managing editor at Hey Alma, a Jewish culture site. Follow her @emburack on Twitter and Instagram.