Early life
Stewart was born and raised in Los Angeles, California.
[1][2][3] Her father, John Stewart, is a stage manager and television producer who has worked for
Fox.
[4] Her mother, Jules Mann-Stewart, is a script supervisor originally from
Maroochydore,
Queensland, Australia.
[3][5][6][7] She has an older brother, Cameron Stewart, and an adopted brother, Taylor.
[8][9] Stewart attended school until the seventh grade and then continued her
education by correspondence.
[3] She has since completed high school.
[10]
Career
Early work
Her whole family all worked behind the camera and Stewart thought she
would become a writer/director, but never considered being an actor. "I
never wanted to be the center of attention – I wasn't that 'I want to
be famous, I want to be an actor' kid. I never sought out acting, but I
always practiced my autograph because I love pens. I'd write my name on
everything."
[11] Stewart's acting career began at the age of eight, after an agent saw her perform in her elementary school's Christmas play.
[12] After a year of auditioning, Stewart's first role was a small nonspeaking part in the film
The Thirteenth Year.
[4] Then, she had another part in the film
The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas as the "ring toss girl".
[4] She subsequently appeared in the independent film
The Safety of Objects, in which she played the
tomboy daughter of a troubled single mother (
Patricia Clarkson). Stewart also played a tomboy in the film
Panic Room, playing the
diabetic daughter of a divorced mother (
Jodie Foster). She was nominated for a
Young Artist Award for her performance.
[13]
After
Panic Room's success, Stewart was cast in another thriller,
Cold Creek Manor, playing the daughter of
Dennis Quaid's and
Sharon Stone's characters. She was again nominated for a
Young Artist Award for her performance.
[13] It was revealed that at about this time in her career, she had to be
homeschooled
due to her irregular schedule, which was affecting her grades. She
said, "I started homeschooling because my teachers were failing me. I
think it was just resentment – I made more work for them. But
homeschooling is great; you can study what you want, which allows you to
get more excited about what you're doing".
[13]
2004–07
Her first starring role followed, in the children's action-comedy
Catch That Kid, opposite
Max Thieriot and
Corbin Bleu. Stewart also played the role of Lila in the thriller
Undertow. Stewart starred in the
Showtime television film
Speak (2004), based on
the novel by
Laurie Halse Anderson.
Stewart, 13 at the time of filming, played high school freshman Melinda
Sordino, who stops almost all verbal contact after being raped.
In 2005, Stewart appeared in the fantasy-adventure film
Zathura,
playing the role of Lisa, the irresponsible older sister of two little
boys, who turn their house into a spacecraft hurtling uncontrollably in
outer space by playing a board game. The film received praise by
critics, but Stewart's performance did not garner much media attention,
as it was noted that her character is immobilized during most of the
film.
[14] The following year, she played the character Maya in
Fierce People, directed by
Griffin Dunne. After that film, she received the lead role of Jess Solomon in the
supernatural thriller film
The Messengers.
In 2007, Stewart appeared as teenager Lucy Hardwicke in
In the Land of Women, a romantic drama starring
Meg Ryan and
Adam Brody. The film, as well as Stewart's performance, received mixed reviews. That same year, Stewart appeared in
Sean Penn's critically acclaimed adaptation film
Into the Wild. For her portrayal of Tracy – a teenage singer who has a crush on young adventurer
Christopher McCandless – Stewart received mixed reviews. While
Salon.com considered her work a "sturdy, sensitive performance",
[15] and the
Chicago Tribune noted that she did "vividly well with a sketch of a role",
[16] Variety's critic Dennis Harvey said, "It's unclear whether Stewart means to be playing
hippie-chick Tracy as vapid, or whether it just comes off that way."
[17] After
Into the Wild, Stewart had a cameo appearance in
Jumper and also appeared in
What Just Happened, which was released in October 2008.
[18] She also co-stars in
The Cake Eaters an independent film that has only been screened at film festivals.
2008–present
On November 16, 2007,
Summit Entertainment announced that Stewart would play
Isabella "Bella" Swan in the film
Twilight, based on
Stephenie Meyer's bestselling
vampire romance
novel of the same name.
[19] Stewart was on the set of
Adventureland when director
Catherine Hardwicke visited her for an informal screen test which "captivated" the director.
[20] She stars alongside
Robert Pattinson, who plays
Edward Cullen, her character's vampire boyfriend. The film began production in February 2008 and finished filming in May 2008.
Twilight was released domestically on November 21, 2008.
[21]
Her performance garnered mixed reviews with some critcs calling her
"the ideal casting choice" and praising her for conveying "Bella's
detachment, as well as her need to bust through it"
[22]
while others criticized her acting for being "wooden" and lacking
variety in her facial expressions which they described as "blank".
[23]
Stewart reappeared as Bella in the sequel,
The Twilight Saga: New Moon, once again receiving mixed reviews for her performance. Jordan Mintzer from
Variety
called Stewart "the heart and soul of the film" and praised her for
giving "both weight and depth to dialogue...she makes Bella's
psychological wounds seem like the real deal"
[24] Manohla Dargis from
The New York Times said Stewart's "lonely-girl blues soon grow wearisome" throughout the film
[25] and Billy Goodykoontz from
The Arizona Republic stated "Stewart is a huge disapointment... She sucks the energy right out of the film".
[26] She reprised this role in
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse.
Kristen Stewart at the 2010 Academy Awards.
At the 2010 82nd Annual Academy Awards, Stewart and
Twilight co-star
Taylor Lautner presented a tribute in honour of the horror movie genre.
[27]
In 2009, Stewart starred in
The Yellow Handkerchief, which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival and was released into theaters in 2010 by
Samuel Goldwyn Films. She also starred alongside
James Gandolfini in
Welcome to the Rileys, which premiered at the
Sundance Film Festival in January 2010.
Stewart most recently portrayed rock star
Joan Jett in
The Runaways, a biographical film of
the titular band from writer-director
Floria Sigismondi.
[28]
Stewart met with Jett over the 2008–2009 New Year to prepare for the
role and ended up prerecording songs in a studio for the film.
[29] She received praise for her performance as the
Metro Times
wrote, "It turns out that Stewart is actually really good at capturing
Jett's icy, tough-but-cool girl swagger, adding the needed touches of
vulnerability that transform it into a pretty terrific performance...
Stewart is a genuine rock star here."
[30] Also,
A. O. Scott of
The New York Times noted "Ms. Stewart, watchful and unassuming, gives the movie its spine and soul."
[31]
She has been cast in the role of Mary Lou in an
upcoming film adaptation of
Jack Kerouac's cult classic novel
On the Road. Shooting began in August 2010.
[32]
Stewart was listed as the highest earning female actress in Hollywood
in the "2010's Top Hollywood Top Earners List" compiled by
Vanity Fair. Throughout 2010, Stewart earned an estimated $28.5 million for all her movie appearances.
[33]
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1
was released on November 18, 2011. The film was successful in the box
office making $283.5 million its opening weekend. Though the film
received negative reviews, Stewart's performance was praised. Gabriel
Chong called Stewart's performance "mesmerising" and said that she
"makes [Bella's] every emotion keenly felt that runs the gamut from joy,
trepidation, anxiety, distress and above all quiet and resolute
determination"
[34] and the
Village Voice's Dan Konis saying Stewart "beautifully underplays"
[35]
the role. However, some critics found Pattinson and Stewart's chemistry
lacking and said that the relationship came off like a "charade"
onscreen
[36] or that none of the three leads were convincing in their roles.
[37]
In March 2011, it was confirmed that Stewart will be playing
Snow White in the film
Snow White and the Huntsman.
[38] Filming began on August 15 and is set to be released on June 1, 2012.
[39]
On December 6, 2011, Stewart was named number one on Forbes magazine's list of Hollywood's Best Actors for the Buck.
[40]
She was named the new face of an unnamed Balenciaga perfume on January 13, 2012.
[41]
In May 2012, Stewart was cast in the thiller titled
Cali, directed by
Nick Cassavetes. She will begin shooting the film at the end of this summer.
[42]
Stewart plays one half of a troublesome pair of San Fernando Valley
lovebirds who decide to sell a fake snuff film and permanently ditch
with the cash. Years later, Stewart's character runs into a dilemma when
she's compelled to return to Los Angeles to help out the little sister
she left behind. After faking her own death, she must explain her
dramatic decision to not only her closest family members but to the
angry former business partners she left behind.
Personal life
Stewart currently lives in
Woodland Hills, Los Angeles. She has expressed a desire to live and work in Australia, saying, "I want to go to
Sydney University in Australia. My mom's from there."
[43]
Apart from acting, she is also interested in attending college in the
near future, saying, "I want to go to college for literature. I want to
be a writer. I mean, I love what I do, but it's not all I want to do –
be a professional liar for the rest of my life."
[44] In Vanity Fair, Stewart acknowledged that she was in a relationship with
Michael Angarano, her costar from
Speak.
[45]
Since meeting on the set of
Twilight, Stewart has been romantically linked to co-star
Robert Pattinson.
[46]
Though they have never explicitly confirmed a relationship, paparazzi
photographs and eyewitness accounts have driven intense media and fan
speculation and attention, making "Robsten" the subject of wide media
coverage.
[47] In an interview with
GQ,
when asked why she remained reluctant to talk about the relationship
despite evidence of it being accessible online, Stewart replied, "Yeah, I
know it is...So much of my life is so easily googled. I mean, it's
like, come on guys, it's
so obvious!"
[47]
When asked why she refuses to talk about her life, Stewart replied "I'm
selfish. I'm like, 'That's mine!' And I like to keep whatever is mine
remaining that way. It's a funny little game to play and it's a slippery
slope. I always say to myself I'm never going to give anything away
because there's never any point or benefit for me. I guarantee whenever I
get married or have a baby, everyone is going to want to know my kid's
name and I'm not going to say it for ages."
[47]
Filmography