Watson was born in Paris, the daughter of British lawyers Jacqueline Luesby and Chris Watson.[11][12][13] Watson lived in Paris until the age of five. Her parents separated when she was young; following their divorce, she moved back to her mother's native country, England, to live in Oxfordshire, spending weekends at her father's house in London.[11][14] Watson has stated that she speaks some French, though "not as well" as she used to.[15]
After moving to Oxford with her mother and brother, Watson attended the Dragon School in Oxford, remaining there until 2003.[11] From the age of six, she wanted to become an actress,[16] and trained at the Oxford branch of Stagecoach Theatre Arts, a part-time theatre school where she studied singing, dancing, and acting.[17] By the age of ten, she had performed in various Stagecoach productions and school plays, including Arthur: The Young Years and The Happy Prince,[18] but she had never acted professionally before the Harry Potter series. Following the Dragon School, Watson moved on to Headington School.[11] While on film sets, she and her peers were tutored for up to five hours a day.[19] In June 2006, she took GCSE school examinations in ten subjects, achieving eight A* and two A grades.[11][20]