Emily Jean "Emma" Stone was born on November 6, 1988, in Scottsdale, Arizona, to Krista Jean Stone (née Yeager),a homemaker, and Jeffrey Charles "Jeff" Stone, the founder and CEO of a contracting company. Her ancestry is a rich blend of Swedish, German, and British Isles heritage.
As a child, Emma began her acting journey as a member of the Valley Youth Theatre in Phoenix, Arizona, making her stage debut in a production of Kenneth Grahame's "The Wind in the Willows". She continued to appear in numerous productions throughout her early teens, eventually deciding at the age of fifteen that she wanted to pursue acting as a career.
The official story behind Emma's decision to drop out of school and move to Los Angeles is that she created a PowerPoint presentation, titled "Project Hollywood", set to the backdrop of Madonna's hit song "Hollywood". The presentation was a convincing argument, and she successfully persuaded her parents to allow her to pursue her dreams. Emma and her mother relocated to LA, where she completed her schooling at home while spending her days auditioning for roles.
Emma's breakthrough in television came when she landed the part of Laurie Partridge in the VH1 talent/reality show "In Search of the Partridge Family" in 2004. This led to a string of small TV roles in the following years. Her movie debut was in the 2007 film "Superbad", and her subsequent performances cemented her status as a rising star. Her leading role as Olive in the 2010 film "Easy A" further solidified her position as a Hollywood leading lady.