Kristen Jaymes Stewart (born April 9, 1990) is an American actress. She is known for roles in films such as Panic Room, Zathura, In the Land of Women, Adventureland, Into the Wild, The Messengers and Twilight.

Early life

Stewart was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. Her father, John Stewart, is a stage manager and television producer who has worked for Fox. Her mother, Jules Mann-Stewart, is a script supervisor originally from Maroochydore, Queensland, Australia. She has an older brother, Cameron Stewart.Stewart attended school until the seventh grade, and then continued her education by correspondence. She has since completed high school.

Career

Stewart’s acting career began at the age of eight, after an agent saw her perform in her elementary school’s Christmas play. Stewart’s first role was a nonspeaking part in the movie The Thirteenth Year. Then, she had another part in the movie The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegasas the “ring toss girl”. 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 had a major role in the Hollywood film Panic Room, playing the sullen, diabeticdaughter of a divorced mother (Jodie Foster). The film received generally positive reviews, and Stewart garnered positive notices for her performance.

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; the film generally failed at the box office. 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. To date, Stewart’s most critically acclaimed role may be in the 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 and who deals with enormous amounts of emotional turmoil. Stewart received great praise for playing the character, who had only a few speaking lines, but kept up a dark-witted commentary inside her head throughout the film.

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 movie 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 movie. 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 movie The Messengers.

In 2007, Stewart appeared as teenager Lucy Hardwicke in In the Land of Women, a romantic drama starring Meg Ryan and The O.C. star Adam Brody. The movie, as well as Stewart’s performance, received mixed reviews. That same year, Stewart starred 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 generally positive reviews. Salon.com considered her work a “sturdy, sensitive performance”, and theChicago Tribune noted that she did “vividly well with a sketch of a role.” Her performance was not without detractors, however; Variety’s critic Dennis Harvey wrote, “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 inWhat Just Happened, which was released in October 2008. She also co-stars in The Cake Eaters and The Yellow Handkerchief, both independent films that have only been screened at film festivals.

On November 16, 2007, Summit Entertainment announced that Stewart would play Isabella “Bella” Swan in the movie Twilight, based on Stephenie Meyer’s bestselling vampire romancenovel 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 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. After the release of Twilight, Kristen Stewart was awarded the MTV Movie Award for Best Female Performance for her portrayal as Bella Swan. Stewart will be reprising her role as Bella in the sequel, New Moon, in 2009. for the role, and hopes to be able to sing in the film.

Stewart will star in a movie called K-11 with Nikki Reed, also of Twilight, and Jason Mewes. The film, which is being directed by Stewart’s mother, takes place in a dorm of the Los Angeles County Jail, and will feature both Stewart and Reed as male characters. Stewart was also cast to portray Joan Jett in The Runaways, a biopic of the titular band from writer-director Floria Sigismondi. Stewart met with Jett over the 2008-2009 New Year to prepare for the role, and hopes to be able to sing in the film.

Personal life

Stewart currently lives in Woodland Hills in Los Angeles, California. In a 2008 interview with Vanity Fair, Stewart stated that she was dating actor Michael Angarano, her co-star from the movie Speak. Stewart 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.” 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.” Stewart is a guitar player and singer.

FACTS

Full Name: Kristen Jaymes Stewart

Nicknames: Kris, KStew

Age: 19

Height: 5′ 5″ (1.65 m)

Date of Birth: April 9, 1990

Birth Location: Los Angeles, California

Eyes:Green

Hair: Brunette

Family: Her father is John Stewart, a TV Producer who works at FOX TV. Mother is Jules Mann-Stewart, a script supervisor who is directing her first film K-11 (2010), which stars Kristen.

Relationship Status: In 2008, Kristen confirmed to Vanity Fair that she is dating actor Michael Angarano.

Job: Actress since the age of 8, first gig was was as a girl waiting for a drink in the movieThirteenth Year, her major breakthough performances are Panic Room and Twilight.

Favorites

• Films:The Shining, ET, Spaceballs
• Music: Preference for Classic Rock. Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Cars, The Band, The Doors. Also is a fan of Interpol
• Actresses: Jodie Foster, Evan Rachel Wood, Natalie Portman
• Actors: Emile Hirsch, Robert DeNiro
• Directors: Martin Scorcese, Michael Gondry
• A Huge Fan Of: Jodie Foster, Mary Stuart Masterson
• Hobbies & Interests: Traveling, Surfing, Writing (went through a poetry phase, and at one point wanted to write a novel or screenplay)
• Role Model: Her grandma, “For her strength and resilience.”

Quotes

• They covet Rob. I think half of them are so jealous that they hate me. Girls are scary. Big groups of girls scare the crap out of me. (about “Twilight” co-star Robert Pattinson and his female fans)
• Oh, I don’t know . Anything that’s beat up. I kind of like to look like a hobo. (on her favourite designer)
• [Twilight] Deals with the universe, and what life is about. You can make that cliché and bullshit and make it with everything being on the surface, [or] in this case make it a pretty triumphant love story.
• I don’t want to make movies for kids, and I don’t want to make movies for adults either.
• People like her, oddly enough, and she has no idea why. Then she falls in love with a vampire. What I like about it is that the characters are really unique. (on her “Twilight” character, Bella)
• When I got Panic Room I’m like, ‘Oh my God that’s huge! It’s bigger than huge.’ I was kind of freaked out at first.(about working on the 2002 movie, “Panic Room”, with Jodie Foster)
• Wearing pajamas for four months was weird, but very comfortable. (on wearing pajamas for so long while filming the movie “Panic Room”)
• I had to act in a school play when I was about ten years old. I really didn’t want to do it. But everyone had to do it so I didn’t have a choice. A talent agent came and watched it and later gave me some work. It’s funny because I’d always known that I wanted a movie career. I just didn’t think that I would be in the movies. (on how she started acting)
• I love it because I love to tell stories. I like being in movies that have a great story. I’m not so interested in being a Hollywood star. It’s a job, you know. When you wake up at six in the morning every day for a week, it feels like hard work. (on her love for acting)
• I’d like to. But that’s definitely not all I want to do. It’s not the most intellectually stimulating thing that you can possibly do. I want to go to college. I’m going to take four years off. I don’t want to miss that. I want to be a writer. I think that’d be awesome. (on pursing acting as a career)
• I would say Jodie Foster because she’s not just an actress. She’s a director, she’s a producer, she’s a writer. She’s conquered the business. You don’t see her much in the press. She’s very, very well respected, very professional. She’s awesome. (on acting role model)
• I think that it empowers kids, and kids like that because in real life when they’re at school teachers are kind of overbearing. Sometimes older people can kind of be patronizing. But when movies empower kids, I think they like it a lot. (on why spy movies featuring kids are so popular)
• I think it shows that if you have a best friend, you help them no matter what happens. I think kids can relate to that. (on the film, “Catch That Kid”)

Trivias

• Has an older brother named Cameron and two adopted brothers named Dana and Taylor. They reside with her parents in the Woodland Hills area of Los Angeles. Kristen purchased her own home in 2008 and divides her time between there and her parents’ residence.
• Her father is John Stewart, a TV Producer who works at FOX TV.
• Born in Los Angeles, California and then spent some of her early years in Colorado and has moved back to Los Angeles where she currently resides with her parents.
• Supporter and member of the Red Cross National Celebrity Cabinet.
• Was ranked #17 on Entertainment Weekly’s ’30 Under 30′ the actress list. (2008).
• Had to wear brown contact lenses for Twilight (2008/I) because she has naturally green eyes while Bella’s eyes are supposed to be brown.
• Nominated 3 consecutive years (2003-2005) for the Young Artist Award, but never won.
• Named The Movie Fanatic’s Hottest Young Actress. (2008).
• Has 3 dogs: Oz, a border collie mix, Jack and Lily who are mutts. Also has a cat named Jella.
• Was ranked #9 on Moviefone’s ‘The 25 Hottest Actors Under 25′(2008).
• Her mother is Australian.
• Reads novels by Charles Bukowski and Kurt Vonnegut Jr..
• Favorite book is “East of Eden” by John Steinbeck. Also likes the book “The Stranger” by Albert Camus.
• Mother is Jules Mann-Stewart, a script supervisor who is directing her first film K-11 (2010), which stars Kristen.
• Was introduced to Vegemite (an Australian spread) by her Maroochydore-born mum, and names Noosa Heads (a Queensland resort town) as one of her favorite places on the planet. Her Australian heritage also inspired the name of her dog, a border collie named Oz.
• Kristen is very close friends with with her Twilight co-star, Nikki Reed.
• Since 2006, Kristen has been dating Speak co-star, Michael Angarano.
• Kristen’s role as Bella Swan in the film, Twilight, earned her a total of $2 million. The sequel New Moon will earn her a total of $12 million.
• Kristen made her film debut alongside Glenn Close in the 2001 film, The Safety of Objects.
• Kristen wrote the song “Tracy’s Song” for her movie Into the Wild, and performed it for the soundtrack, along with the song “Angel from Montgomery”.
• List Rankings & Appearances:
  • 2008 – No.11, lovefilm.com’s Best Actress Under 30
  • 2009 – No.39, AIM’s 50 Hottest Redheads
  • 2009 – No.8, AIM’s 100 Celebs Under 25
  • 2009 – No.17, Entertainment Weekly’s 30 Under 30
  • 2009 – No.5, Premiere’s 40 Most Beautiful Hollywood Women
  • 2009 – No.9, lovefilm.com’s Best Actress Under 30
• Kristen is 5’6″ (1.68 m) tall. Her natural eye color is green.
• She wears brown contacts for her role as Bella Swan in the film, Twilight.
• Kristen loves to surf.
• Kristen’s character, Bella Swan, in the film, Twilight, will be made into an action figure, released by Tonner Doll Company in Spring, 2009.
• For the prom scene in Twilight Kristen suggested the song, ‘Flightless Bird, American Mouth’. The song was then both put into the movie and the soundtrack.
• She has three dogs named Oz, a border collie mix, and Jack and Lily, who are both mutts. Kristen also has a cat named Jella.
• She has appeared in a commercial for Porsche.
• Kristen was named Hottest Young Actress by The Movie Fanatic.
• She greatly admires actor Heath Ledger and actress Evan Rachel Wood.
• Kristen replaced Hayden Panettiere for the role of Sarah Altman in Panic Room, which also starred Jodie Foster.
• Kristen is a supporter and member of the Red Cross National Celebrity Cabinet.
• Kristen got a record player for her birthday because of her love for classic rock.