As Hermione Granger, she helped to shield Harry Potter from the Hogwarts bullies.
But it seems Emma Watson was herself in need of some protection during her time at a top U.S. university, amid claims she was taunted by classmates.
The actress – who has a fortune estimated at £10million – announced last month that she was putting her studies at Brown University on hold, claiming she could not juggle her degree with her acting commitments.
Taunts: Emma Watson, pictured here at Brown University last year, has been the subject of teasing by her fellow students, it has been claimed
But reports claim another reason behind the decision was that the 21-year-old was picked on at the Ivy League institution by fellow students.Miss Watson is said to have been the subject of frequent jibes whenever she answered questions in lectures.
A source told the New York Daily News: ‘They would respond with a quote from Harry Potter. The most popular choice was, “Three points for Gryffindor!”’
Gryffindor is one of the competing houses at Hogwarts, the franchise’s school of wizardry. Miss Watson’s peers at the university in Rhode Island also shouted phrases from the film at her as she watched an American football game, it is alleged.
Miss Watson, who was studying European women’s history and drama, has admitted being ‘scared’ that she wouldn’t fit in when she arrived at the university in September 2009.
She said of her peers: ‘I was afraid they’d think, “You’re famous. You’re given free handbags. Why should you deserve to be normal?”’
And in a more glamorous pose: But Emma Watson had fears about fitting in when she arrived at the university
A spokesman for Miss Watson was unavailable to comment last night.
Watson's peers also shouted phrases from the film at her as she watched an American football game, the newspaper reported.
Last month Watson, 21, announced she was putting her studies at the Providence, Rhode Island institution on hold.
'I will still be working towards my degree... it's just going to take me a semester or two longer than I thought,' she wrote on her website.
'As you know, I love Brown and I love studying pretty much more than anything but recently I've had so much to juggle that being a student AND fulfilling my other commitments has become a little impossible.'
Watson is now busy working on a number of fashion projects before she turns her attention to the promotion trail when Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 is released in July.
It has been claimed that she is planning to leave Brown and transfer to another U.S. university, possibly in New York.
Before her classes began in 2009, Watson was hopeful that she would be treated like any other student.
She said at the time: 'I do hope that it will be only a short time before I am known as "Emma Watson, the student from the UK" rather than "Emma Watson who starred in those Harry Potter films".'
Determined to fit in: The actress, pictured here during her first semester at the school in 2009, wanted to be treated like any other student
Taking leave: Emma has putting her studies at Brown University on hold while she finished work on the Harry Potter movies
Brown University is one of the top colleges in the United States, boasting alumni including former presidents, diplomats, royalty and a heavy sprinkling of celebrities' offspring.
It was number 1 for America's 'Happiest College Students', according to the Princeton Review 2010 rankings.
It has also been named 'the most fashionable school in the Ivy League' by the fashion trade journal Women's Wear Daily.
Watson achieved straight As in her A-levels before landing a place at the university.
A spokesperson for the actress was unavailable for comment when contacted by Mail Online.
Studious: The actress became a household name playing bookworm Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter series