Born on November 6, 1988 in Scottsdale, Ariz., Emily Jean "Emma" Stone launched her career in television after she won the role of Laurie Partridge on VH1's "In Search of the Partridge Family." Although the show, "The New Partridge Family," was cancelled after only one episode, Stone went on to appear in several television hits, such as "Medium," "Malcolm in the Middle" and "Lucky Louie." Prior to her small screen success, Stone was part of the Valley Youth Theater, with whom she performed on numerous productions, including "The Wind in the Willows," "The Princess and the Pea," "Cinderella," "The Wiz," "Titanic," "Honk!," "The Little Mermaid," "Schoolhouse Rock Live!," "Alice in Wonderland" and "Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat." In the spring of 2007, Stone appeared in the role of Violet Trimble in the short-lived Fox drama series, "Drive." She then her big-screen debut in the Seth Rogen-directed film "Superbad," starring as "Jules."
She then went on to star in The House Bunny as Natalie and in The Rocker as Amelia.
Early life
Stone was born in
Scottsdale,
Arizona, the daughter of Jeff Stone, a
contractor, and Krista Stone. She has a brother, Spencer, who is younger by two years. She was a member of the
Valley Youth Theatre while growing up, a
regional theater in
Phoenix, Arizona, where she appeared in her first stage production,
The Wind in the Willows, at the age of 11. Stone attended Sequoya Elementary School and then
Cocopah Middle School for
sixth grade. She was
home schooled for two years, at which time she appeared in 16 productions at Valley Youth Theatre, including:
A Winnie-the-Pooh Christmas Tail,
The Princess and the Pea,
Cinderella,
The Wiz,
Titanic,
Honk!,
The Little Mermaid,
Schoolhouse Rock Live!,
Alice in Wonderland, and
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and performed with the theater's
improv comedy troupe. Stone attended
Xavier College Preparatory, an all-girl
Catholic high school, as a freshman for one semester. She gave a
PowerPoint presentation to her parents, set to the
Madonna song "
Hollywood", to convince them to let her move to
California for an acting career. She dropped out of high school and moved with her mother to
Los Angeles in January 2004, at the age of fifteen.
Career
Stone launched a career in television after winning the role of Laurie Partridge on
In Search of the New Partridge Family (2004), a
VH1 talent competition
reality show.
[8] The resulting show,
The New Partridge Family (2005), only produced a
pilot episode. Stone next had appearances in the television series
Medium,
Malcolm in the Middle and
Lucky Louie. In 2007, she had a regular role on the
Fox drama
Drive, playing
Violet Trimble, until the series was cancelled. Stone made her
feature film debut in the teen comedy
Superbad in 2007, playing Jules, the
love interest of lead character Seth (
Jonah Hill). In 2008, she appeared in the comedy
The Rocker, with
Rainn Wilson. Stone played Amelia, the
bassist in a band featuring singer
Teddy Geiger. Stone learned to play
bass for the role. Also that year, Stone appeared in
The House Bunny, starring
Anna Faris, alongside
Katharine McPhee,
Rumer Willis and
Colin Hanks. Stone played the president of a sorority and sang on a
single from the film, "I Know What Boys Like", a cover version of the 1982 song by
The Waitresses. In 2009, Stone appeared in
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, a
romantic comedy directed by
Mark Waters, the director of
Mean Girls (2004), starring
Matthew McConaughey and
Jennifer Garner.
[13] Stone played "The Ghost of Girlfriends Past", a takeoff of the
Ghost of Christmas Past from
Charles Dickens'
A Christmas Carol. She starred in the
horror/comedy Zombieland, along with
Woody Harrelson and
Jesse Eisenberg. The project, her third comedy for
Columbia Pictures, began shooting in
Atlanta in February 2009. Stone played Wichita, a survivor/
con artist from
Wichita, Kansas, traveling across the U.S. with her younger sister Little Rock (
Abigail Breslin).
Stone stars in
Paper Man, alongside
Jeff Daniels,
Ryan Reynolds and
Lisa Kudrow, directed by
Kieran and Michele Mulroney. In the film, a middle-aged novelist, Richard (Jeff Daniels), has an imaginary friend named Captain Excellent (Ryan Reynolds) and also suffers from writer’s block. Stone plays Abby, a babysitter Richard hires after moving to
Long Island. Stone began filming the independent comedy on
Veterans Day, November 11, 2008, in
Montauk, New York, using well-known local locations. Stone will star as a high school student in
Easy A with
Amanda Bynes, a comedy directed by
Will Gluck. Stone's character divides the strictly moral students and teachers against the liberals in her school after a false rumor circulates that she's sexually
promiscuous. The script contrasts the novel
The Scarlet Letter and its heroine,
Hester Prynne, to the life of the protagonist in the film. Stone also has a voice role in an upcoming film adaptation of the comic strip
Marmaduke. Stone will star in an as-yet untitled
Steve Carell comedy, alongside
Julianne Moore,
Ryan Gosling and
Marisa Tomei. The
Warner Bros. film, about a husband (Steve Carell) with marital problems and difficulties with his children, began shooting on April 16, 2010 in
Los Angeles. Stone will also star in an adaptation of
Kathryn Stockett’s best-selling novel
The Help, a period piece set in
Jackson, Mississippi in the 1960s. She plays an aspiring writer and plans to employ a
Southern dialect for the role. Stone joined the voice cast of
The Croods, a 3D computer animated caveman comedy by
DreamWorks Animation. She will voice the role of Eep, the oldest daughter of Grug (
Nicolas Cage) and Ugga (
Catherine Keener).
Ryan Reynolds voices Gy, the love interest to Stone's character. The film is scheduled for release on March 30, 2012. Stone has stated that she would eventually like to venture into
film production, producing her own films, and would like to appear on
Saturday Night Live.
Personal life
Stone was living on her own in Los Angeles in 2007. She moved to
Greenwich Village,
New York City in 2009. Stone has stated that she was really into
HTML and
web design when she was younger. Stone was romantically linked to
singer-songwriter and actor
Teddy Geiger, her co-star in
The Rocker, at the time the film was being promoted in July 2008. Although known as a
redhead, Stone was a
brunette when film producer
Judd Apatow had her change the color for her role in
Superbad. She is naturally a
blonde. Stone is close friends with country-pop singer
Taylor Swift.
