Pauline Fossil is a fictional character in the 1936 children's book Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild. In the 2007 film adaption she is played by Emma Watson.
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When she was just a baby, she was adopted by Professor Matthew Brown. He found her during his travels, in a shipwreck. He took her home and adopted her in the name of his great-niece Sylvia Brown. She was given the name 'Pauline' after the Apostle Paul, who was also rescued from a shipwreck. With blonde hair and blue eyes, Pauline is seen as the 'beauty' of the family, and as the eldest, she is often the one who takes the lead.
Pauline lives in London, England. When she was six, she started going to school, but she had to leave because her guardian could no longer pay the school fees. She was then tutored by Dr. Jakes and Dr. Smith, who were boarders in the house. Another boarder, Theo Dane, suggested that all three girls enrol at the Children's Academy of Dancing and Stage Training in order to bring in some money when they were old enough to work. Pauline was enrolled with her sisters Petrova and Posy at the age of 10. She showed some talent for dance, but not as much as her talent for acting. She soon became the best actress in her academic year. Her first role was Tyltyl in the Maurice Maeterlinck's theatre play The Blue Bird. When she was 12, she got her permission to work, and auditioned for her first professional role, Alice in the theatre play Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Although another student, Winifred, did a better audition, the director cast Pauline purely because she looked right for Alice, embarrassing Pauline and upsetting Winifred. Winifred became Pauline's understudy. Pauline became very famous in the role, but the special treatment she was given as the lead actress meant that she also became egotistical, bossing her sisters around and expecting them to pick up after her. This backfired on her after she ended up being rude to the director, who punished her by replacing her with Winifred for that night's performance. This taught Pauline a lesson in humility and after Alice, she became a successful theatre actress, acting as Peaseblossom in A Midsummer Night's Dream and King Edward IV in Richard III.
Her performance in Richard III led to Hollywood showing some interest. She screentested for the role of Henrietta Anne of England in the hit film about King Charles II but found it difficult to adapt to film after being trained for the stage. Despite this, Pauline eventually convinced the director that she could act. After the film, Pauline returned to the theatre for the last time, playing the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella. After Cinderella, Pauline signed a contract with a Hollywood studio and moved to California, accompanied by Sylvia.