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Emma Watson's teenage fame struggle

Jan 4, 2013, 4:01 GMT

Emma Watson

Emma Watson struggled with fame as a teenager.

The 22-year-old actress - who gained worldwide success playing brainy boffin Hermione Granger in the 'Harry Potter' film series - found growing up in the limelight a difficult experience and is grateful she didn't let the media attention go to her head.

Emma explained: 'It just intensifies the whole thing. I think going through adolescence in the spotlight probably wasn't the easiest, but when I feel insecure I just focus on the work, on what I'm doing. I try not to get too caught up in it.

'Because a lot of photographs are taken, you're constantly evaluating your appearance, which most people don't really have to do. It can be tough. It's just part of the job. I've never really known anything else. It all happened when I was so young.'

The brunette beauty stays grounded by keeping her personal and public lives separate and has learnt to ignore how other people perceive her and concentrate instead on herself.

She told the new issue of Britain's Marie Claire magazine: 'That's just something I've come to realise. That there's a public persona - and I have to accept that I can't control that persona, because it's created by other people. I just keep in mind that that's what they're projecting onto me.

'I try to remember that there are two separate people: the professional me and the private me. Both different. I try to draw a line between the two.'