NEW YORK: Harry Potter star Emma Watson, 18, is keen to go for higher studies and looks up to Natalie Portman, Jodie Foster and Meryl Streep for inspiration because they too pursued their education whilst working in movies. Watson has applied to a number of colleges, both in Britain and the US, and hopes to emulate the senior actresses’ academic success.

Imdb.com quoted Watson as saying, “I actually think going to university will make me a better actress. Look at Jodie Foster, Natalie Portman, Meryl Streep — they all educated themselves. It’s really important.”

Portman achieved a degree in psychology at Harvard College while she was working on the Star Wars films. Streep won a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Drama at Vassar College, New York in 1971, while Foster earned a BA in literature and graduated from Yale University, Connecticut in 1985.