Kristen Stewart

Kristen Stewart was born on April 9, 1990, in Los Angeles, California. Her parents worked in entertainment: her father was a television stage manager and producer, while her mother worked as a script supervisor. Stewart began acting as a child after being noticed by a talent scout at a school performance.

Her first substantial film role came in David Fincher’s “Panic Room” (2002), in which she played Sarah Altman, the diabetic daughter of Jodie Foster’s character. Stewart subsequently appeared in films including “Cold Creek Manor,” “Speak,” and “Zathura: A Space Adventure.” In 2007, she played Tracy Tatro in Sean Penn’s “Into the Wild,” a performance that helped establish her beyond family-oriented and thriller roles.

Stewart became internationally famous as Bella Swan in the “Twilight” film series, adapted from Stephenie Meyer’s novels. Beginning with “Twilight” in 2008, she portrayed Bella through four sequels, ending with “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2” in 2012. The series made her one of the most recognizable actors of her generation, but she also pursued smaller and more unconventional projects during that period. These included Greg Mottola’s “Adventureland,” “The Runaways,” in which she played musician Joan Jett, and “Welcome to the Rileys.”

After “Twilight,” Stewart moved toward independent cinema and international productions. She played a military guard at Guantanamo Bay in “Camp X-Ray” (2014), an assistant confronting grief and celebrity in Olivier Assayas’s “Clouds of Sils Maria” (2014), and a woman experiencing supernatural disturbances in his “Personal Shopper” (2016). For “Clouds of Sils Maria,” she became the first American actress to win France’s César Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Her later work includes “Still Alice,” “Certain Women,” “Lizzie,” “Seberg,” and the holiday romantic comedy “Happiest Season.” In Pablo Larraín’s “Spencer” (2021), Stewart portrayed Diana, Princess of Wales, during a difficult Christmas weekend at Sandringham. The role earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.

Stewart has also directed. Her short film “Come Swim,” a poetic piece about desire and exhaustion, premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. She co-wrote and directed the music video “Ride ’Em On Down” for the Rolling Stones. In 2024, she starred opposite Katy O’Brian in Rose Glass’s romantic crime thriller “Love Lies Bleeding,” playing a secluded gym manager whose relationship becomes entangled with violence and organized crime.