Emma Watson, known for her role as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter series, has been banned from driving for six months after being caught speeding.
The 35-year-old actress was recorded driving at 38 mph in a 30 mph zone in Oxford on the evening of July 31, 2024. Watson already had nine points on her licence before the offence. At a hearing on Wednesday, July 16, at High Wycombe Magistrates’ Court, she was fined £1,044. Watson did not attend the five-minute hearing.
Her lawyer, Mark Haslam, told the court that Watson is currently a student pursuing a master’s degree in creative writing at the University of Oxford and confirmed she was able to pay the fine.
Watson rose to fame with the release of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in 2001 and starred in all eight films of the franchise. She has also appeared in films such as Beauty and the Beast, The Bling Ring, and Little Women (2019). In 2023, she launched a sustainable gin brand with her brother.
In related news, Zoe Wanamaker, who played Madam Hooch in the Harry Potter films, was also fined £1,044 and banned from driving for six months after being caught speeding on August 7, 2024, on the M4 in Newbury, Berkshire. Wanamaker was driving at 46 mph in a 40 mph zone and, like Watson, had nine points on her licence before the offence.
Both women received three additional penalty points, pushing them over the 12-point limit and triggering their six-month driving bans, as confirmed by District Judge Arvind Sharma.
