THE WOMAN BEHIND THE FAMOUS BOW
She’s studying for a PHD, is a trained ballerina and has endured endometriosis. As Nadia Salemme writes, there is a whole lot more to the Yellow Wiggle Emma than most of us know.
In full Wiggles mode, Emma Watkins is a PG rock star. Super sleek on top, her deep auburn hair is neatly pulled into coiled curls on either side of her face. Atop sits a dandelion-yellow-and-black bow, a tactile point of amazement for any toddler lucky to get close enough to their ballet
dancing idol. Her bumblebee-like shoes are polished, and her glossy black-and-yellow ballerina skirt is teamed with a metal belt embossed with The Wiggles’ trademark motif, and of course that skivvy.
But who is Watkins, 31, outside of her most famous entertainment role?
“I consider Emma Wiggle her own character. I think in my mind, I separate myself between me and Emma Wiggle,” Watkins said.
“They are intertwined … it’s your name, you bring your own passions and interests to the role.”
One of her interests — and a key to her personal brand — is ballet.
Raised in Sydney, Watkins is a trained ballerina who started dancing at four years old and has been teaching it since she was a teenager.
She started Irish dancing after seeing it on an episode of the original Wiggles. “As a child watching The Wiggles, I wanted to start Irish dancing because I saw Irish dancing on The Wiggles,” she revealed.
Watkins attended a performing arts high school and later, Sydney Film School, before completing a master’s degree in media arts and production at Sydney’s University of Technology.
Now, Watkins is undertaking a PHD at Macquarie University. “A lot of my personal work (is) exploring different ways of integrating dance, film and sign language,” she said.
It was ballet that led her to the role, joining the children’s entertainment juggernaut as a “ballet-dancing fairy”, then reaching Yellow Wiggle status in 2012.
FASHION CHOICES
With the tulle ruffles on her skirt splayed across the bench, Watkins shows the Saturday Extra one of her favourite stage outfits — a custommade golden “Emma” tutu.
Made of sunrise-toned satin and lots of lace, the sleeved outfit features intricately beaded flowers and, of course, bows.
As the new generation of Wiggles, now being almost 10 years in the role, it’s nice to explore different shades of yellow, especially with the tutu.
“When we worked with the Australian Ballet, they came with huge cases of costumes and I think I spent half a day going through the racks,” she said.
Watkins helped design this tutu, which was crafted by an Australian Ballet courtier.
“He would send me pictures of different overlays and lace and he’d say, ‘I’m thinking about this satin satin. Do you think this yellowis yellow is right?’,” Watkins said.
Her custom tutu isn’t the only designer piece in her wardrobe — Watkins is a fan of Australian designers such as Aje, Camilla and Zimmermann.
CHARACTER PLAY
Demi-plies, among other poses, are central to her Wiggles persona.
“When I first joined, there was a realisation that I wasn’t going to fit into Greg’s outfit — like, ‘OK that shirt is too big for you!’,” she said, referring to her Yellow Wiggle predecessor, Greg Page.
“I think the introduction of a female Wiggle … was quite exciting to bring a feminine element to the group. “I was asked about what I was going to wear for my costume because I don’t tend to wear pants. I don’t own a pair of jeans, I am not trendy enough.”
WEDDING BELLS
For Watkins, the Wiggles are quite literally family.
Last month, she announced her engagement to band member Oliver Brian.
“When life gets more sparkly,” she wrote on Instagram.
The pair confirmed their romance in 2019 — they had
known each other for four years before their first date.
“He’s a very calm and thoughtful person and I’ve always been interested in his mind and his take on life, and his morals,” Watkins previously told Stellar magazine.
This will be Watkins’ second marriage — she and Purple
Wiggle Lachy Gillespie were married for two years (the former couple still work together and remain friends).
WIGGLES EMPIRE
With a growing fashion influence and line of merchandise — from Emma dolls to replicas of her ballet-esque costume — Emma is having a say in The Wiggles’ empire.
She has penned books (Emma’s Ballet Alphabet and Emma’s Swan Ballet, among the titles) and had a spin-off series, Emma!.
There’s even a Wiggles song about her, Emma (With The Bow In Her Hair).
She is hands-on when it comes to the books and TV shows in which she — or her animated likeness — appears. “Maybe it’s an idea that has come from them (a licensee) and they’ll run it past us, and I’ll be like, ‘add a bow to that’,” Watkins said.
SHOWTIME
The audience at a Wiggles concert is a sea of yellow and black.
“To see people dressed up it’s like, ‘whoa, that’s amazing!’. It’s not just the children that come dressed up, (there are) parents and grandparents,” she said.
And not just girls, either.
“A lot of the boys are coming to the show with the entire (Emma) get-up on with bows in their hair, bows on their shoes, bow ties,” Watkins said.
“Children are going to come in whatever they feel like, they don’t come with any kind of judgment.”
On tour, Watkins does her own hair and makeup (Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk foundation is in her kit), revealing that it takes about half an hour backstage to style herself head to bow in her costume.
“Normally, our day is so busy and we don’t tend to have a lot of time. A good half an hour to do my makeup and the wig, the costume and my microphone,” she said.
Her day really is busy, consisting of up to four shows.
“I feel fortunate that I am young, I haven’t had that many issues except when I had endometriosis, and I had quite a lot of fatigue with iron loss and all the rest of it,” she said.
“It sounds like a lot; once you’re onstage and in the first kind of five minutes, the energy from the audience is so joyous that you kind of forget about yourself.”
ROLE MODEL
Asked how she approaches being a role model, Watkins is visibly moved.
Yes, she is Emma Wiggle — the character — but she is also Emma Watkins, the person. It’s clear she feels a responsibility towards her young fans, especially around technology and screen time.
“The way that we’re approaching social media is to invite parents to engage with the brand in a positive way,” she said.
“For us, it’s about how to make that active so that the children are participating.
“Sometimes, children will watch and be very passive watchers and listeners, and later go and replicate the game outside.
“It’s finding ways for them to be active because we understand the challenge on parents.”
A lot of the b oys are coming to the sho w with the entire (Emma) g et-up on … bows in their hair , bows on their sho es, bow ties.”