����ý

Emma Watson is taking legal action after dozens of private images of her appeared online.

A spokesman for the Beauty and the Beast star confirmed the pictures - which show her trying on various outfits - were stolen.

"Photos from a clothes fitting Emma had with a stylist a couple of years ago have been stolen," her publicist said.

"They are not nude photographs. Lawyers have been instructed and we are not commenting further."

News of the theft comes a week after Watson sparked fierce debate over whether she was anti-feminist for exposing part of her breasts in a Vanity Fair photoshoot.

The actress was previously threatened in 2014 with a leak of nude images, after a speech she gave on gender equality as a UN Ambassador for Women.

Speaking at a Facebook event in 2015, she said: "I knew it was a hoax, I knew the pictures didn't exist.

"The minute I stepped up and talked about women's rights I was immediately threatened - within less than 12 hours I was receiving threats."

Last month, a man in the US was jailed for nine months for hacking into the online accounts of celebrities, including Jennifer Lawrence, and stealing private information, including nude videos and photos.

Follow us on , on Twitter , or on Instagram at . If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.