Emma Stone was determined to follow her dreams from a young age.
She began acting as a child in a 2000 theater production of The Wind in the Willows. As a teenager, she created a PowerPoint presentation to convince her parents to let her move to Hollywood. Her first big break came in 2004 when she won VH1’s In Search of the Partridge Family and was cast as Laurie Partridge for the pilot of The New Partridge Family.
Stone’s film career took off with roles in Superbad (2007) and House Bunny (2008). She became a star with Easy A (2010) and has since been nominated for three Academy Awards, winning Best Actress for La La Land (2016).
Playing an aspiring actress in that film, Stone said she related to the struggles, recalling, “When I was lucky, there were, like, five auditions a week. The worst part was not getting any auditions because that feeling of being ignored is somehow more brutal than rejection.”
Keep reading to see the highlights of Emma Stone’s career, from comedy star to accomplished actress.
#1. 2004
Stone first appeared on TV in VH1’s singing competition In Search of the Partridge Family, but her hopes of becoming a television star didn’t quite work out.
#2. 2007 to 2009
Stone’s first movie role was in the comedy Superbad (2007). Even though she’s naturally blonde, she dyed her hair red to play Jules, Jonah Hill‘s love interest.
After Superbad, Stone appeared in other funny movies like House Bunny (2008) and Zombieland (2009).
#3. 2010
In the popular rom-com Easy A, Stone played Olive, a high school student whose small lie spirals out of control. Nearly ten years after the movie came out, Stone revealed she still hadn’t watched it.
“I haven’t seen it. I’ve seen a few scenes,” she shared in 2018 during Variety’s “Actors on Actors” series. “But I went to a friends and family screening, and I had to leave. Who wants to watch themselves on screen for that long?”
#4. 2011 to 2014
Stone later took on more dramatic roles, including her performance as Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan in the Oscar-winning film The Help (2011).
For her role as Gwen Stacy in The Amazing Spider-Man series, Stone returned to her natural blonde hair. She also began dating her costar Andrew Garfield, but they broke up in 2015.
#5. 2014
Stone earned her first Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for her role as Sam in Birdman (2014), where she starred alongside Michael Keaton. The film was known for its long, continuous takes.
“It was tough,” Stone admitted to MTV News in 2014. “I messed up quite a few times. I’d be so nervous waiting for the scene, and then I’d come in too fast and ruin the take.”
#6. 2017
Stone won her first Golden Globe and Academy Award for her role alongside Ryan Gosling in the musical drama La La Land (2016).
In her Golden Globes acceptance speech, she encouraged fans to pursue their dreams, saying, “Hope and creativity are two of the most important things in the world. To anyone who’s had a door slammed in their face or feels like giving up, I share this with you.”
#7. 2018 to 2021
Stone continued to shine with roles in The Favourite (2018) and the Netflix miniseries Maniac (2018).
She returned as Wichita in Zombieland: Double Tap (2019) and played the title character in Disney’s live-action Cruella, a spin on One Hundred and One Dalmatians. Her performance earned her another Golden Globe nomination.
#8. 2020
Stone quietly married writer Dave McCary in September 2020. They met in 2016 when Stone hosted Saturday Night Live, where McCary was a writer and director. Stone revealed their engagement on Instagram in December 2019.
In August 2020, the couple launched their production company, Fruit Tree. The company produced two films, When You Finish Saving the World (2022) and Problemista (2023), as well as Stone’s TV series The Curse (2023) for Showtime and Little Films for HBO.
#9. 2021
In January 2021, Us exclusively revealed that Emma Stone was expecting her first child. Two months later, she and Dave McCary welcomed their daughter, Louise.
“Emma has been keeping a low profile at home with her husband and baby,” an insider told Us. “Her main focus is on raising a healthy baby and respecting their privacy.”
#10. 2024
Emma Stone won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy for her role in Poor Things. She began her acceptance speech with a heartfelt message to her husband, saying, “Dave, I have to start with you really quickly. I love you very much. Thank you for everything.”
Poor Things also won Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy at the 2024 Golden Globes. Stone was honored with Best Actress at the 2024 Critics Choice Awards and was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award. At the 2024 Academy Awards, she took home the Best Actress Oscar for her role in the film.
