Kristen Jaymes Stewart (born April 9, 1990) is an American actress. She is best known for playing the protagonist Bella Swan in the popular The Twilight Saga romance fantasy film series, which has grossed over $3.3 billion in worldwide receipts and for her work in independent films. She starred in films from a range of genres in the 2000s, such as the thriller Panic Room (2002); the indie drama Speak (2004); the science fiction fantasy adventure Zathura (2005); the biographical drama survival film Into The Wild (2007); and the comedy-drama Adventureland (2009). In the 2010s, she starred in the music-themed drama The Runaways (2010); the dark fantasy action film Snow White and the Huntsman (2012); the adventure drama On the Road (2012); the dramas Camp X-Ray (2014); Clouds of Sils Maria (2014); and Still Alice (2015); and the science fiction romantic drama Equals (2015). She is also the face of Chanel and Balenciaga fashion brands.
In 2010, Stewart was listed as the highest-earning female actress in the Vanity Fair "2010's Top Hollywood Top Earners List", with an estimated earning of $28.5Â million for her movie roles in 2010. On December 6, 2011, Stewart was named number one on Forbes magazine's list of "Hollywood's Best Actors for the Buck". According to Forbes, Stewart was the highest paid actress in 2012, with total earnings of $34.5 million.
Early life
Stewart was born in 1990 and raised in Los Angeles, California by parents in the entertainment industry. Her father, John Stewart, is a stage manager and television producer who has worked for Fox. Her mother, Jules Mann-Stewart, is originally from Maroochydore, Queensland, Australia. She is a script supervisor and has also directed a film. She has an older brother, Cameron B. Stewart, and two adopted brothers, Dana and Taylor.
Stewart attended local schools until the seventh grade. As she became more involved in acting, she continued her education by correspondence until completing high school.
Career
1999â€"2003: Career beginnings
As she grew up with a family who worked behind the camera, Stewart thought she would become a screenwriter/director, but never considered being an actor.
"I never wanted to be the center of attention â€" 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."
She began acting at the age of eight, after an agent saw her perform in her elementary school's Christmas play.
After auditioning for a year, Stewart gained her first role in a small, nonspeaking role in the Disney Channel original film, The Thirteenth Year. Her next film was The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas, where she played the "ring toss girl". She also appeared in the independent film The Safety of Objects (2001), in which she played the tomboy daughter of a troubled single mother (Patricia Clarkson). Stewart also played a tomboy, diabetic daughter of a divorced mother (Jodie Foster) in the film Panic Room (2002). She was nominated for a Young Artist Award for her performance.
After Panic Room '​s success, Stewart was cast in another thriller, Cold Creek Manor (2003), playing the daughter of characters played by Dennis Quaid and Sharon Stone. She was nominated again for a Young Artist Award for her performance. About this time in her career, she started homeschooling because of her irregular schedule.
2004â€"07: Breakthrough
Stewart's first starring role was at age 14 in the children's action-comedy Catch That Kid (2004), opposite Max Thieriot and Corbin Bleu. That year Stewart also played the role of Lila in the thriller, Undertow (2004). Stewart starred in the Lifetime/Showtime television film Speak (2004), based on the novel by the same name by Laurie Halse Anderson. Stewart, 13 at the time of filming, played a high school freshman, Melinda Sordino, who after being raped nearly stops speaking. Her performance was widely praised, with The New York Times stating "Ms. Stewart creates a convincing character full of pain and turmoil."
Stewart appeared in the fantasy-adventure film Zathura (2005), playing the role of Lisa, the irresponsible older sister of two little boys. During their playing a board game, they turn their house into a spacecraft hurtling uncontrollably in outer space. The film was praised by critics, but Stewart's performance did not garner much media attention. Her character is immobilized during most of the film. The next year, she played the character Maya in Fierce People (2006), directed by Griffin Dunne. After that film, she received the lead role of Jess Solomon in the supernatural thriller film The Messengers.
Stewart appeared as teenager Lucy Hardwicke in In the Land of Women (2007), a romantic drama starring Meg Ryan and Adam Brody. The film, as well as Stewart's performance, received mixed reviews. That same year, Stewart had a small role in the Sean Penn-directed adaptation Into the Wild. For her portrayal of Tracy â€" a teenage singer who has a crush on young adventurer Christopher McCandless (played by Emile Hirsch) â€" Stewart received mixed reviews. While Salon.com considered her work a "sturdy, sensitive performance", and the Chicago Tribune noted that she did "vividly well with a sketch of a role", 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." After Into the Wild, Stewart had a cameo appearance in Jumper and also appeared in What Just Happened, which was released in October 2008. She co-starred in The Cake Eaters, an independent film that has been screened only at film festivals. Both the film and Stewart's performance received many positive reviews. Critics such as Bill Goodykoontz from The Arizona Republic said that Stewart "really shines.... She excels at both aspects of the performance, giving Georgia a strength that defies any sort of pity one might feel for her, without letting us forget her vulnerability".
2008â€"12: International success and The Twilight Saga
On November 16, 2007, Summit Entertainment announced that Stewart would play main character Isabella "Bella" Swan in the film Twilight, based on Stephenie Meyer's bestselling vampire romance novel of the same name. Stewart was on the set of Adventureland when director Catherine Hardwicke visited her for an informal screen test, which "captivated" the director. She starred alongside Robert Pattinson, who plays Edward Cullen, her vampire boyfriend. The film began production in February 2008 and finished filming in May 2008.
Twilight was released domestically on November 21, 2008. Stewart's performance garnered mixed reviews with some critics describing her as "the ideal casting choice" and praising her for conveying "Bella's detachment, as well as her need to bust through it;" others criticized her acting for being "wooden" and lacking variety in her facial expressions, which they described as "blank".
She received praise for her role in Adventureland (2009), a comedy-drama film written and directed by Greg Mottola, and co-starring Jesse Eisenberg. Critic James Berardinelli of Reelviews said, "Stewart is more than merely appealing in this role â€" she makes Em a fully realized woman, and some of the most intricate development results from what the camera observes in Stewart's eyes." Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan said Stewart was "beautiful, enigmatic and very experienced". and MSN Movies James Rocchi stated, "Stewart's vulnerable, spooky power is used to nice effect." 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."
On the other hand, Manohla Dargis from The New York Times said Stewart's "lonely-girl blues soon grow wearisome," and Billy Goodykoontz from The Arizona Republic stated "Stewart is a huge disappointment... She sucks the energy right out of the film". She reprised this role in The Twilight Saga: Eclipse.
At the 2010 82nd Annual Academy Awards, Stewart and Twilight co-star Taylor Lautner presented a tribute in honor of the horror movie genre.
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.
In 2010, Stewart portrayed rock star Joan Jett in The Runaways, a biographical film of the titular band of the same name from writer-director Floria Sigismondi. Stewart met with Jett over the 2008â€"2009 New Year to prepare for the role; she prerecorded songs in a studio for the film. She received praise for her performance: 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." Also, A. O. Scott of The New York Times noted "Ms. Stewart, watchful and unassuming, gives the movie its spine and soul." The same year, Stewart was listed as the highest-earning female actress in Vanity Fair's "2010's Top Hollywood Top Earners List", with an estimated earning of $28.5 million for her movie roles in 2010.
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn â€" Part 1 was released on November 18, 2011. 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." The Village Voice's Dan Konis said Stewart "beautifully underplays" the role. Some critics found Pattinson and Stewart's chemistry lacking and said that the relationship came off like a "charade" onscreen, or that none of the three leads was convincing in his or her role.
She concluded the role in the finale, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn â€" Part 2, in November 2012. The film, despite mixed critical reception, was a box office success, grossing nearly $830 million worldwide, becoming the 40th highest-grossing film, and the highest-grossing film of the Twilight series. At Rotten Tomatoes, the film currently holds a 48% rotten rating, based on 174 reviews with the consensus stating: "It is the most enjoyable chapter in The Twilight Saga, but that's not enough to make Breaking Dawn Part 2 worth watching for filmgoers who don't already count themselves among the franchise converts."
On December 6, 2011, Stewart was named number one on Forbes magazine's list of "Hollywood's Best Actors for the Buck". On January 13, 2012, she became the face of a new unnamed Balenciaga perfume; in June, its name was promoted as "Florabotanica".
Stewart starred as Snow White in the film Snow White and the Huntsman (2012). Stewart appears as Mary Lou in On the Road, the film adaption of Jack Kerouac's novel of the same name, which became a cult classic.
According to Forbes, Stewart was the highest paid actress in 2012, with total earnings of $34.5 million. She earned $12.5 million each for last two installments in the Twilight series, including royalties. She ranked #7 on AskMen's list of Top 99 Women for 2013.
2013â€"present
On 11 December 2013, Chanel announced that Stewart was its "new face" for a Western-inspired fashion collection. The campaign has been shot by Karl Lagerfeld and was released online in May 2014. In 2014, Balenciaga released a new fragrance, Rosabotanica, with Stewart remaining the face of the brand.
Camp X-Ray, her first film of 2014, was premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival on 17 January. Her portrayal of a young soldier stationed at Guantanamo Bay was met with positive reviews from the critics. David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter called it "her best screen work to date [playing the role of] an inexperienced military guard", while Xan Brooks of The Guardian said, "It's a role that reminds us what a fine performer she was in the likes of Into the Wild and Adventureland."
Stewart next appeared alongside Juliette Binoche and Chloë Grace Moretz in Clouds of Sils Maria. The film had its premiere at 2014 Cannes Film Festival. Her performance in the film earned her critical acclaim. Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter said that "Stewart’s habitual low-keyed style, which can border on the monotone, functions as effectively underplayed contrast." Peter Debruge of Variety praised her, saying that "Stewart is the one who actually embodies what Binoche’s character most fears, countering the older actress’ more studied technique with the same spontaneous, agitated energy that makes her the most compellingly watchable American actress of her generation." Robbie Collin of the Daily Telegraph praised her, saying "...it’s Stewart who really shines here. Valentine is probably her best role to date: she’s sharp and subtle, knowable and then suddenly distant, and a late, surprising twist is handled with a brilliant lightness of touch."
Stewart was cast in Tim Blake Nelson's Anesthesia, an ensemble about group of New Yorkers. She appeared alongside Julianne Moore in Still Alice, a drama film that had its world premiere at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival. From April to June 2014, she filmed American Ultra alongside Jesse Eisenberg. She will also co-star along with Nicholas Hoult in Drake Doremus' futuristic love story Equals. The filming took place in Japan and Singapore from August to September 2014.
Personal life
Stewart lives in Los Angeles. She is 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 â€" be a professional liar for the rest of my life."
In a November, 2008 interview with Vanity Fair, Stewart said that she was in a relationship at the time with Michael Angarano, her co-star from the 2004 film Speak.
Since meeting on the set of Twilight in 2008, Stewart was in a very low-profile relationship with co-star Robert Pattinson. For a long time, the two did not explicitly confirm a relationship, but paparazzi photographs and eyewitness accounts drove intense media and fan speculation and attention. However, Stewart officially acknowledged her relationship with Pattinson for the first time in July, 2012, when Us Weekly published photos of Stewart showing affection with her Snow White and the Huntsman director, Rupert Sanders, with what the Huffington Post called an "affair with...Sanders". The day that the photos were released, Stewart issued a public apology to Pattinson at People Magazine, saying, "I'm deeply sorry for the hurt and embarrassment I've caused to those close to me and everyone this has affected. This momentary indiscretion has jeopardized the most important thing in my life, the person I love and respect the most, Rob. I love him, I love him, I'm so sorry."
Filmography
Awards and nominations
References
External links
- Kristen Stewart at the Internet Movie Database
