In The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, she is described as having been a "young, pretty wife" when she arrived at Uncle Henry's farm, but having been "grayed" by her life there, implying that she appears older than her years.

After confessing to Dorothy that their farm was facing imminent foreclosure, they all move to the Land of Oz to live for good in the Emerald City.

In this book, unlike in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, her speech patterns and accent indicators are very similar to Sairy Ann Bilkins, the title character of Baum's Our Landlady who was also shown to be quite set in her ways.

In this film she is referred to as "Auntie Em" (real name Emily), and urges Dorothy not to bother them with her concerns when she and Uncle Henry (Charley Grapewin) are counting chicks.

She is seen during the tornado calling for Dorothy after she ran away, but seeks shelter with Henry who ends up losing his hat when the storm approaches their farm.

Unlike Zeke (Lion's alter ego), Hickory and Hunk also lose their hats as they struggle to pry open the cellar door.

She reunites with Uncle Henry, their three farm workers, and Professor Marvel (Wizard's alter ego) when Dorothy awakens from being unconscious.

Theresa Merritt portrayed Aunt Em in the film adaptation of the Broadway musical where the character was originally played by Tasha Thomas.

Piper Laurie plays Aunt Em, portrayed as a comely, blonde woman of perhaps fifty years — a physical depiction very different from Baum's worn and grayed original character.

Aunt Em makes a comment on Dorothy not being much help to her from her lack of sleep at night, and scolds her for wasting time on Oz before taking her to shock therapy which is administered by Dr. J.

Aunt Em mentions her sister, Garnet, who has offered to lend the money to pay for Dorothy's therapy.

Aunt Em was played by Queen Latifah in the ABC made-for-television movie The Muppets' Wizard of Oz where this character owned a diner.

In the VeggieTales episode The Wonderful Wizard of Ha's, Aunt Em and her husband Uncle Henry were substituted by a father (Dad Asparagus) to retell The Prodigal Son, a biblical parable from the Gospel of Luke.

Lucie Arnaz performed this character in The Wizard of Oz in Concert: Dreams Come True (based on the 1939 MGM film) to benefit the Children's Defense Fund.

Later on while meeting with Zelena, Hades dumped Aunt Em's watery remains into the River of Lost Souls.

Aunt Em was voiced by Frances Conroy in the direct-to-video animated film Tom and Jerry and the Wizard of Oz.

Aunt Em appears in the crossover video game Lego Dimensions voiced by Karen Strassman.