Emma Memma (Emma Olivia Watkins)

Background

Emma Watkins was born on September 21, 1989, in Sydney, Australia. She began ballet at four and developed interests in Irish, jazz, hip-hop, tap, contemporary dance, musical theatre, and film. Her early performance training took place within Sydney’s specialist performing-arts education system.

She attended The McDonald College of Performing Arts, a Sydney school combining secondary education with intensive training in disciplines including dance, drama, and music. During high school, a serious dance injury temporarily interrupted her training, but she continued developing interests in filmmaking and children’s performance. She later received a scholarship to study filmmaking at Sydney Film School.

Education

Watkins attended The McDonald College of Performing Arts in Sydney, a specialist performing-arts school that integrates academic study with professional training. She subsequently received a scholarship to Sydney Film School, where she developed an interest in filmmaking and editing, and completed a certificate in musical theatre at ED5 International in Sydney.

She completed a Master of Media Arts and Production at the University of Technology Sydney in 2012. UTS is a major Australian university with a strong emphasis on applied, industry-connected education; Watkins used this training in film editing and post-production during her work with The Wiggles.

Watkins later undertook doctoral research at Macquarie University in Sydney on the artistic integration of sign language, dance, and film editing for children’s screen media. She completed a Doctor of Philosophy and also studied Auslan and interpreting through Deaf Connect, an Australian organisation providing education, training, and services connected with the Deaf community.

Career

Watkins began working with The Wiggles in 2010, initially appearing as Fairy Larissa and later as Wags the Dog, Dorothy the Dinosaur, and a Wiggly Dancer. Her filmmaking skills also supported the group’s touring and production work, including video editing and post-production. The Wiggles, founded in Sydney in 1991, developed a distinctive form of children’s entertainment built around music, movement, early-learning themes, and live family performance.

In 2012, Watkins was announced as the Yellow Wiggle, becoming the first woman in the group’s principal lineup. She performed internationally, sang and played percussion, and incorporated Auslan into selected performances and recordings. Her work with Deaf artists and organisations contributed to a broader use of visual communication in the group’s children’s entertainment. She left The Wiggles at the end of 2021 to focus on postgraduate study, family life, and work with the Deaf community.

From 2022, Watkins developed Emma Memma, a children’s entertainment character and production combining songs, dance, movement, visual storytelling, and Auslan. The project was created with Deaf collaborators including Elvin Lam and Sue Jo Wright and presents sign language as an integral part of the performance rather than an auxiliary service. Watkins has also worked in television, including as host of Teenage Boss: Next Level and as narrator of Reef School.

Achievements

• Watkins became the first female member of The Wiggles’ principal lineup when she assumed the Yellow Wiggle role, bringing singing, dance, percussion, film production, and Auslan communication into the group’s international children’s entertainment work.

• She developed Emma Memma as an inclusive children’s entertainment project integrating dance, music, filmmaking, and Auslan with the participation of Deaf artists.

• Watkins completed doctoral research at Macquarie University on the artistic integration of sign language, dance, and film editing for children’s screen media.

Works

• album

  • Emma Memma

    (Debut Emma Memma studio album, released under Watkins’s i...)

    2022

• children’s album

  • Dance Island Party

    (An Emma Memma children’s album centred on playful songs, ...)

    2025

  • Ballet Time

    (An Emma Memma children’s music release built around balle...)

    2024

• picture book

  • Emma Memma: How Are You?

    (A children’s picture book by Watkins under the Emma Memma...)

    2023
  • Hello, Emma Memma

    (The introductory Emma Memma picture book, created by Watk...)

    2023

Views

Watkins’s creative philosophy centres on combining movement, music, and visual communication so that children with different sensory and linguistic experiences can participate together. Her work with Emma Memma treats Auslan as a creative language embedded in songs, dance, storytelling, and screen media.

Her public statements also emphasise listening to Deaf collaborators and avoiding tokenistic representation. In her children’s entertainment work, play, inclusion, friendship, and accessible communication are recurring principles.

Membership

Watkins has served as an ambassador for Endometriosis Australia, a national organisation that promotes awareness, education, research, and support relating to endometriosis. She has also participated in public advisory work concerning children’s needs and family services through the Australian Government’s Early Years Strategy.

• Serves as a New South Wales ambassador and publicly raises awareness of endometriosis.

  Endometriosis Australia , Australia

  2020 - present

• Serves on an advisory board focused on children’s needs and family services.

  Australian Government Early Years Strategy , Australia

Personality

Watkins has described the importance of persistence, self-reflection, and learning from Deaf artists and communities in developing her inclusive performance work. Public accounts by family members and colleagues have characterised her as highly driven from childhood, while her own interviews have emphasised humility and a willingness to revise her approach after receiving feedback from Deaf audiences.

Physical Characteristics: Watkins is widely associated with the yellow costume, red wig, and large bow worn in her Emma Wiggle character.

Quotes from others about the person

• Anthony Field has described Watkins as an exceptionally popular Wiggles performer and a major connection between the group and its young audience. Lisa Tolin of the Associated Press reported that children attending Wiggles concerts dressed as Watkins and brought handmade bows associated with her character.

Interests

• Auslan, Deaf-community advocacy, children’s media, filmmaking, film editing, dance, and visual storytelling.

• Music & Bands

  Children’s music, singing, percussion, and musical theatre are central to Watkins’s professional interests.

Connections

Watkins is the daughter of Richard Watkins and Kathryn Watkins and the sister of Hayley Watkins. Her family has spoken publicly about her early commitment to dance and performance.

She was previously married to fellow Wiggles performer Lachlan Gillespie; the marriage ended in divorce. Watkins married musician Oliver Brian in 2022. Brian has collaborated with her on Emma Memma music and production.

Father:

Richard Watkins

Has spoken publicly about Watkins’s childhood dance injury and early development as a performer.

Mother:

Kathryn Watkins

Has described Watkins as highly driven and active from childhood.

husband:

Oliver Brian

Musician and producer who collaborates with Watkins on Emma Memma music and production; they married in 2022.

former husband:

Lachlan Gillespie

Fellow Wiggles performer; Watkins and Gillespie were married from 2016 until their divorce in 2018.

Sister:

Hayley Watkins

Has spoken publicly about Watkins’s lifelong commitment to dance and performance.

Collegue :

Elvin Lam

Deaf dancer and artist who collaborates with Watkins in Emma Memma performances and creative work.

Collegue :

Sue Jo Wright

Deaf artist and Auslan collaborator involved in the development of inclusive Emma Memma screen and performance work.

References

• University of Technology Sydney alumni profile Documents Watkins’s Master of Media Arts Production, filmmaking and post-production work with The Wiggles, advocacy for inclusive communication, and doctoral research.
• Powerhouse Collection: The Wiggles costume worn by Emma Watkins Provides biographical and career information about Watkins’s early dance training, education, work with The Wiggles, and research at Macquarie University.
• Australian Broadcasting Corporation: Yellow Wiggle Emma Watkins leaves The Wiggles Documents Watkins’s decision to leave The Wiggles at the end of 2021 and her plans to focus on family, postgraduate study, Auslan, dance, film editing, and work with the Deaf community.
  2021
• Penguin Books Australia author profile Documents Watkins’s Emma Memma publishing program and her books for young children.
• ARIA Awards 2023 Documents Emma Memma as the winner of the ARIA Award for Best Children’s Album.
  2023
• Endometriosis Australia ambassador profile Documents Watkins’s ambassadorship and public advocacy concerning endometriosis.
  2020