Emma Watkins

Emma Watkins
Watkins at the 2014 ARIA Music Awards, Sydney, 26 November 2014
Background information
Born	(1989-09-21) 21 September 1989 (age 27) Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
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 in Sydney) is an Australian actress and singer, best known as the first female member of the children's group The Wiggles.

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. 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. 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.

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. She used her film skills during tours with the group, providing them with video and editing services. In May 2012, The Wiggles announced that Watkins would replace founding member Greg Page as the Yellow Wiggle and the first female Wiggle. The original members stated that they chose Watkins because she was the most qualified for the job, also commenting that it was "a strategy for marketing The Wiggles into the next generation".

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. 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.

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 8 April 2016 at Hopewood House in Bowral in New South Wales, Australia.