Emma Stone
Emma Stone is a two-time Academy Award-winning actress and film producer. Raised in Scottsdale, Arizona, she began acting on stage with the Valley Youth Theatre to manage childhood panic attacks. At 15, she pitched a move to Los Angeles to her parents using a PowerPoint presentation set to Madonna. Her feature debut arrived with Superbad in 2007. Leading roles followed quickly. She headlined the 2010 comedy Easy A, played Gwen Stacy in The Amazing Spider-Man, and earned an Oscar nomination for Birdman. In 2016, she won her first Best Actress Academy Award for the musical La La Land. Stone later formed a celebrated partnership with director Yorgos Lanthimos, starring in The Favourite and Poor Things, the latter earning her a second Best Actress Oscar as both star and producer. She has also produced indie films and starred in television series like Maniac and The Curse. Married to director Dave McCary, Stone keeps her personal life out of the spotlight.
Emma Stone won two Academy Awards for Best Actress for her performances in La La Land and Poor Things. She broke out in the 2007 comedy Superbad and took her first leading film role in Easy A. Her career covers major studio franchises, Broadway revivals, television dramas, and a creative partnership with filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos.
Personal life
Stone married writer and director Dave McCary in 2020. The two met in December 2016 when she hosted Saturday Night Live, where McCary worked as a segment director. They announced their engagement in December 2019. In March 2021, Stone gave birth to their daughter, Louise Jean McCary. The child shares her middle name with Stone's grandmother Jean Louise.
She previously dated her Amazing Spider-Man co-star Andrew Garfield from 2011 to 2015. Stone maintains a strict boundary between her work and her private life. She does not maintain public social media accounts, having deleted her Twitter profile after it was hacked.
Early life and Project Hollywood
Emily Jean Stone was born on November 6, 1988, in Scottsdale, Arizona, to Krista Jean Stone and Jeffrey Charles Stone. Her father founded a general-contracting company, and her mother was a homemaker. She has a younger brother, Spencer. Her family's surname was anglicized from Swedish roots when her paternal grandfather immigrated to the United States.
As an infant, Stone suffered from baby colic. Six months of chronic crying left nodules and calluses on her vocal cords, producing her husky speaking voice. During childhood, she struggled with severe panic attacks. Acting provided relief. She joined Phoenix's Valley Youth Theatre at age 11, appearing in 16 stage productions, including The Wind in the Willows and Alice in Wonderland.
School was brief. She attended Xavier College Preparatory, an all-girls Catholic high school, for one semester before deciding to pursue acting full-time. To persuade her parents, the 15-year-old created a PowerPoint presentation titled "Project Hollywood," set to Madonna's song "Hollywood." The pitch worked. In January 2004, she moved to Los Angeles with her mother and completed her schooling through home study.
Early television and breakthrough in Easy A
Stone secured her first on-screen break by winning the 2004 VH1 reality competition In Search of the New Partridge Family. She sang Pat Benatar's "We Belong" to land the role of Laurie Partridge. The series never went beyond a pilot. Still, it gained her representation. She booked guest appearances on Malcolm in the Middle, Medium, and Lucky Louie before joining the short-lived drama series Drive in 2007.
Her film debut came that same year in the high school comedy Superbad. Producer Judd Apatow suggested she dye her natural blonde hair red for the part. The look stuck. She followed it with roles in The Rocker, The House Bunny, and the 2009 box-office hit Zombieland.
Her breakthrough came with the 2010 teen comedy Easy A. Stone played Olive Penderghast, a high schooler caught up in a web of rumors. The performance brought Stone her first Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress.
Major studio success and first Oscar win
In 2011, Stone starred in the drama The Help and the romantic comedy Crazy, Stupid, Love alongside Ryan Gosling. She then joined Marc Webb's superhero reboot The Amazing Spider-Man in 2012, playing Peter Parker's love interest Gwen Stacy opposite Andrew Garfield. She returned for the 2014 sequel.
Stone expanded into darker material with Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's 2014 satire Birdman. Playing a recovering drug addict, she earned her first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. That winter, she made her Broadway debut as Sally Bowles in Cabaret.
Two years later, she reunited with Gosling for Damien Chazelle's musical La La Land. Stone played Mia Dolan, an aspiring actress navigating auditions in Los Angeles. The film earned 14 Oscar nominations. Stone won the Academy Award, BAFTA, and Golden Globe for Best Actress.
Collaborations with Yorgos Lanthimos and producing
Stone formed a close creative collaboration with Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos starting with the 2018 period piece The Favourite. Her portrayal of Abigail Masham earned her a third Academy Award nomination. In 2023, Stone starred in and produced Lanthimos's surreal comedy-drama Poor Things. Her role as Bella Baxter brought her a second Academy Award for Best Actress, alongside a BAFTA and a Golden Globe.
She has also expanded her work as a producer and television actor. She starred in the 2018 Netflix limited series Maniac and headlined the 2023 Showtime series The Curse with Nathan Fielder. As a producer, she backed projects including Problemista, I Saw the TV Glow, and A Real Pain. In December 2023, she hosted Saturday Night Live for the fifth time, joining the program's "Five-Timers Club" as its youngest member.
Quick facts
- Colic as an infant caused six months of chronic crying, creating calluses on her vocal cords that gave her a distinctive husky voice.
- She convinced her parents to let her move to Los Angeles at age 15 by making a PowerPoint presentation titled "Project Hollywood" set to Madonna's music.
- She was homeschooled for two years during childhood to help manage severe panic attacks.
- She broke both of her hands at age seven after falling off gymnastics bars.
- Her natural hair color is blonde, but director Judd Apatow suggested she dye it red for her film debut in Superbad.
- She made her screen debut after winning the 2004 VH1 talent competition In Search of the New Partridge Family.
- She turned down a role in the action comedy 21 Jump Street to star as Gwen Stacy in The Amazing Spider-Man.
- She discovered she had asthma after suffering an asthma attack while filming the comedy Easy A.
- She became the youngest host to enter Saturday Night Live's "Five-Timers Club" when she led her fifth episode at age 35.
FAQs about Emma Stone
What has Emma Stone been diagnosed with?
Stone experienced severe panic attacks and anxiety throughout her childhood, which led to two years of homeschooling and prompted her parents to enroll her in youth theater. She also discovered she had asthma after suffering an asthma attack while filming the 2010 comedy Easy A.
How many children did Emma Stone have?
Stone has one child, a daughter named Louise Jean McCary, born in March 2021 with her husband Dave McCary.
Is Emma Stone from a wealthy family?
Stone was raised in Scottsdale, Arizona, by her mother Krista, a homemaker, and her father Jeffrey Charles Stone, who was the founder and chief executive officer of a general-contracting company.
Why does Emma Stone have a husky voice?
Stone developed baby colic as an infant. Six months of continuous crying caused nodules and calluses to form on her vocal cords, resulting in her naturally low, raspy tone.
Also view
Suggest an edit to this profile
Spotted something wrong or missing? Tell us what should change and, if you can, where you saw it.