Emma Watkins
Emma Watkins | |
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File:Emma Watkins 2014.jpg
Watkins at the 2014 ARIA Music Awards, Sydney, 26 November 2014
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Background information | |
Born | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
21 September 1989
Genres | Children's music |
Occupation(s) | Actress, singer |
Instruments | Vocals, Drums |
Years active | 2010–present |
Associated acts | The Wiggles |
Emma Watkins (born 21 September 1989[1] in Sydney)[2] is an Australian actor and singer, best known as the first female member of the children's group The Wiggles.
Early life
Watkins started ballet when she was four. She saw The Wiggles perform Irish dancing and later studied other styles of dance, including Irish, jazz, hip hop, tap, and contemporary.[2] She attended The McDonald College of Performing Arts, won a full scholarship at the Sydney Film School, and completed a certificate specialising in musical theatre at ED5 International in Sydney. Watkins earned a master's degree in Media Arts in Communication at the University of Technology Sydney. She has taught children dance since she was in high school.[2] She has also performed in Bollywood films, played drums and percussion instruments, was learning Australian Sign Language in 2012, and was crowned Miss Granny Smith Apples in 2009.[2]
Career
In 2010, Watkins began performing with The Wiggles, first as Fairy Larissa and then as Wags the Dog, Dorothy the Dinosaur, and as a Wiggly Dancer.[2][3][4] She used her film skills during tours with the group, providing them with video and editing services.[2] In May 2012, The Wiggles announced that Watkins would replace founding member Greg Page as the Yellow Wiggle and the first female Wiggle.[3] Although the original members insisted that they chose Watkins because she was the most qualified for the job, they admitted that it was "a strategy for marketing The Wiggles into the next generation".[5]
Lisa Tolin of the Associated Press called Watkins a strong role model for girls, and reported that her fans came to concerts dressed like her and that they gave her homemade bows, which had become part of her signature look.[6] Because of her popularity, she starred in the children's program on ABC Kids titled Emma!, consisting of episodes that are five minutes long, that premiered on 1 June 2015.[7]
Personal life
In March 2015, Watkins and fellow Wiggles performer Lachlan Gillespie publicly acknowledged their romantic involvement, after 2 years of dating. In May 2015, the couple announced their engagement. They married on the 9th of April 2016 at Hopewood House in Bowral in New South Wales, Australia.[8][9]
References
- ↑ Birth date references:
- Twitter acknowledgement confirming 21 September: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- Chicago Rosemont theater concert date: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- Birth year: 1989 based on Daily Telegraph article.Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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External links
- Wiggles website
- Emma Watkins on Facebook
- Emma Watkins on TwitterLua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 28: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
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- Use dmy dates from April 2015
- Use Australian English from January 2014
- All Wikipedia articles written in Australian English
- Pages with broken file links
- Articles with hCards
- Pages using Template:Infobox musical artist with unknown parameters
- Australian children's musicians
- Living people
- The Wiggles members
- 1989 births
- Singers from Sydney
- Australian singer stubs