Emma Watkins facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Emma Watkins
Watkins in 2018
Born	Emma Olivia Watkins (1989-09-21) 21 September 1989 (age 35) Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Other names	Emma Wiggle Emma Memma
Occupation	Children's entertainer dancer television presenter
Years active	2009–present
Spouse(s)	Lachlan Gillespie ​ ​ (m. 2016; div. 2018)​ Oliver Brian ​ (m. 2022)​
Musical career
Genres	Children's
Instruments	Vocals drums guitar
YouTube information
Years active	2022–present
Subscribers	66 thousand

Emma Olivia Watkins (born September 21, 1989) is an Australian entertainer who creates fun content for children. She is a dancer, singer, author, and television presenter. Many people know her as the first female member of the popular children's music group, the Wiggles. She was part of the Wiggles from 2013 to 2021.

Because she was so popular, Emma even had her own TV show called Emma!, where she performed as a solo Wiggles character. After leaving the group, she started a new children's character named Emma Memma in 2022. She released her first solo children's music album in September 2022. This album won an ARIA Award for Best Children's Album in 2023. Emma has also appeared on TV shows like The Masked Singer and The Amazing Race Australia. She also hosted Teenage Boss: Next Level in 2024.

Emma's Early Life and Training

Emma Watkins started learning ballet when she was four years old. She was inspired by the Wiggles when she saw them perform Irish dancing. After that, she learned many other dance styles, including jazz, hip hop, tap, and contemporary dance.

Emma's Education and Skills

Emma went to The McDonald College, which is a school for performing arts. She also earned a scholarship to the Sydney Film School. She studied musical theatre at ED5 International in Sydney. Emma continued her education and earned a master's degree in Media Arts and Production. This was at the University of Technology Sydney.

Emma has taught dance to children since she was in high school. She has also performed in Bollywood films. She learned to play drums and other percussion instruments. In 2009, she was even crowned Miss Granny Smith Apples! By 2012, she was learning Auslan, which is Australian sign language. She was also doing research for her PhD on sign language and dance.

Emma's Career Journey

Emma's career has involved many exciting roles, especially in children's entertainment.

Becoming a Wiggle (2010–2021)

In 2010, Emma Watkins began working with the Wiggles. She first performed as Fairy Larissa. Then she played characters like Wags the Dog and Dorothy the Dinosaur. She also worked as a Wiggly Dancer. Emma used her film skills to help the group by making and editing videos during their tours.

In May 2012, the Wiggles announced that Emma would become the first female Wiggle. She took over from founding member Greg Page as the Yellow Wiggle. The original Wiggles members said they chose Emma because she was the most skilled. They also felt it was a good way to help the Wiggles reach new generations of fans.

Lisa Tolin from the Associated Press said Emma was a great role model for girls. She reported that Emma's fans would come to concerts dressed like her. They often gave her homemade bows, which became part of her special look. Because she was so popular, the Wiggles company created a new TV show called Emma!. This show featured Emma as a solo performer and started airing in 2015. At one point, up to 80% of the audience at Wiggles concerts would wear yellow, just like Emma. By 2021, about half of the Wiggles' merchandise was specifically for the "Emma" brand.

In September 2019, Emma started hosting weekend afternoon radio shows. These were on the smoothfm station in Sydney and Melbourne. In October 2020, Emma appeared in a music video for the song "Back 2 Back" by Samantha Jade. In November 2020, she joined other Australian women singers. They performed "I Am Woman" as a tribute to its singer, Helen Reddy. Emma announced she was leaving the Wiggles in October 2021. Tsehay Hawkins then took her place.

Emma Memma and Other TV Work (2022–Present)

In early 2022, Emma hinted on social media about a new children's character. This character was Emma Memma. The new character was created to include singing, dancing, and sign language. A company called Headspinner Productions partnered with Emma in July 2022. They planned to launch the character in a new TV series for preschoolers. The show is called Emma Memma: Sing. Dance. Sign. Emma was also an executive producer for the series through her company, Apricot Sea. The show began filming in early 2023 and was released later that year. The Emma Memma character and her design were officially shown in July 2022. Music videos were then released on YouTube. In February 2023, Emma released a book called Hello, Emma Memma to go with her character, music, and TV series.

During this time, Emma also appeared on the fourth season of The Masked Singer in Australia. She was disguised as "Zombie" and finished in eighth place. She also appeared as a celebrity on the 2022 Lego Masters Australia Christmas special. Emma narrated the ABC children's series Reef School in 2022. In June 2023, Emma released another children's story book called Emma Memma: How Are You?. She also released her first activity book, Emma Memma Sticker Activity Book. Later that year, Emma competed on the seventh season of The Amazing Race Australia with her sister, Hayley Watkins. They tied for first place with two other teams. In October 2023, she released her third kids' story book, Emma Memma's Alphabet Day. This book has a fun story and detailed pictures showing each letter of the alphabet in Auslan. She also released her second activity book, Emma Memma Craft Book. In late 2023, Emma won an ARIA Award for Best Children's Album for her first solo album, Emma Memma.

In February 2024, Emma released her first solo EP (a shorter music album) as Emma Memma. It was called Days of the Week. In March 2024, she released her third studio album as Emma Memma, titled Twirly Tunes. This album was nominated for best children's album at the 2024 ARIA Awards. This was Emma's second nomination in that category. Later in 2024, Emma hosted the third season of Teenage Boss. In December 2024, she released a Christmas story book called Emma Memma: Christmas Lights.

Emma's Personal Life

Emma Watkins and fellow Wiggles performer Lachlan Gillespie were married on April 9, 2016. They announced their separation on August 3, 2018.

In April 2018, Emma had to miss some shows because of pain from a condition called severe endometriosis. She had surgery after being diagnosed with Stage IV endometriosis. Her doctor, Professor Jason Abbott, believes that Emma talking about her diagnosis helped more people learn about the condition.

On April 5, 2021, Emma announced she was engaged to Oliver Brian. He is a musician who also worked with the Wiggles. They started dating in December 2019. On May 2, 2022, Emma and Oliver were married.

Emma's Music Albums

Studio Albums

Extended Plays

Emma's Filmography

Awards and Nominations

AIR Awards

The Australian Independent Record Awards (AIR Awards) celebrate the success of Australia's independent music artists.

ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards are annual awards that recognize great achievements in Australian music.

Australian Women in Music Awards

The Australian Women in Music Awards celebrate amazing women in the Australian Music Industry.