The Transformation Of Kristen Stewart From 11 To 33 Years Old

‌Kristen Stewart is one of those faces who seem to have been around forever — and that's partly because she has. The Los Angeles native's interest in films started out early, and after finding work as a child actor, Stewart found global fame as a teenager when she portrayed Bella Swan in the massively popular film series, "The Twilight Saga."

While Stewart is famous for her successful acting career, which has been marked by acclaimed performances in films ranging from mainstream blockbusters to independently financed projects, she has also attracted media attention for her personal life. Her relationship with "Twilight" co-star Robert Pattinson, for example, became a paparazzi sensation, and her subsequent relationships with women came under intense scrutiny. Still, Stewart has carved her own unique path along the way, always choosing to stay true to herself. When she came out as queer in her mid-20s, the actor quickly became an LGBTQ+ champion. Over the years, Stewart has come to welcome that responsibility and does her best to be as open as possible. "The whole issue of sexuality is so gray. I'm just trying to acknowledge that fluidity, that grayness, which has always existed. But maybe only now are we allowed to start talking about it," she told The Guardian in 2017.

After two and a half decades in the public eye, the actor-slash-director has fully embraced being herself, even when it was difficult at times. Let's take a closer look at the transformation of Kristen Stewart from childhood to 33.

"Twilight" star Kristen Stewart was born in 1990 to parents Jules Mann-Stewart and John Stewart. She grew up in California with her parents and three brothers, Cameron, Dana, and Taylor, but their upbringing was anything but typical, as they spent most of their time on movie sets. Both of Stewart's parents worked in the entertainment industry. Jules earned a living as a script supervisor, working on flicks like Disney Channel's "Halloweentown," action-thriller "xXx," and star-studded epic "Noah," before turning her hand to writing. Meanwhile, John crewed for a number of TV shows, even directing an episode of "On-Air with Ryan Seacrest." He has also worked as a stage manager at events like the Oscars and the Grammys.

Because of her parents' busy careers, the "Spencer" star ended up spending a lot of time on movie sets during her early childhood. "I remember being on the set of Little Giants when I was a kid and thinking it was the coolest thing ever," she fondly recalled to Newsweek. Stewart then discovered her affinity for acting and was signed by an agent when she was 8 years old. Stewart recalled the endless and often fruitless auditions and admitted: "I was just dying. I had one appointment left and my mom said, 'Have a little integrity and go to your last one.' And it was The Safety of Objects. If I hadn't gotten that, I would have been done.

A Year after playing Sam Jennings in "The Safety of Objects," Kristen Stewart got her first big break. She shared the screen with Jodie Foster in 2002's "Panic Room" when she was 12 years old and her performance put her on the map. Rolling Stone, for example, described how "Foster and Stewart — in a nuanced, no-bull turn — forge a bond that never feels cornball."

Stewart has a lot of love and respect for Foster and credits their movie for launching her career. However, her co-star couldn't have predicted how Stewart's career would pan out, especially since she didn't expect the child-star to pursue acting full time. "[Foster] was like 'you're probably going to direct movies or go back to school,'" Stewart admitted during an interview with Stellar (via the Daily Mail).

Surprising her co-star, Stewart went on to star in another thriller, "Cold Creek Manor," in 2003. She played the daughter of Sharon Stone and Dennis Quaid, and her performance earned her a Young Artist Award nomination. The following year, newly minted teenager Stewart starred in the made-for-TV movie "Speak," in which she plays a victim of rape. Her performance earned her major praise from The New York Times' Neil Genzlinger, who said, "Ms. Stewart creates a convincing character full of pain and turmoil — not an easy acting feat, since because of the nature of the story she has a limited number of lines." She continued to land these "quiet indie roles," as Vulture described, with films like "Fierce People" (2006) and "The Messengers" (2007).

Kristen Stewart is the first one to say that she had a pretty idyllic and privileged childhood. She spent a lot of time with her parents on film sets before making a name for herself as an actor. By the age of 18, she was well on her way to success, having starred in over a dozen feature films, including "Zathura: A Space Adventure," a spin-off of Robin Williams' 1995 classic "Jumanji."

Stewart's creativity and love of movies were nurtured at home by her parents, who decorated their house with elaborate "Alice in Wonderland" motifs. Nestled in the Woodland Hills area of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles, the Stewart family's five-bedroom property has fantastical art, such as a White Rabbit mural on the exterior wall, quotes, and other elements inspired by the classic story. Outside, the home had a pool surrounded by perfectly manicured hedges and giant board games.

Feeling so safe at home, Stewart felt comfortable inhabiting darker and more "intense" roles on the screen early in her career. "I love living in different worlds, because a lot of times mine is pretty nice and easy," she told Elle. Eventually, Stewart spread her wings and moved into her own Los Feliz pad and in 2013, her childhood home was put on the market as her parents Jules and John filed for divorce.

Kristen Stewart went from thriller teenage actor to a global star almost instantly after the release of "Twilight" in November 2008, the first film in the saga inspired by Stephenie Meyer's popular vampire-themed novels. The search for the perfect actor to bring Bella Swan to life wasn't a particularly hard one, director Catherine Hardwicke told E!. She said that Stewart's performance in "Into the Wild" (2007) captivated her, so she "didn't spend a lot of time auditioning other" actors. "She had done that scene in the trailer with Emile Hirsch, and I thought she just expressed this incredible longing, and so I was just like, 'Wow, she would be great,'" Hardwicke told the outlet.

After she was cast, Stewart quickly got comfortable playing Bella and even helped get Robert Pattinson cast as her love interest. Ahead of the movie's 2008 release, she told the Los Angeles Times that she was excited about her character and the future of the franchise. "With Twilight, I get to tackle something for a really long time and there's an end to it," she explained.

"The Twilight Saga" did indeed end after five movies, and Stewart has come a long way in her career since playing the reclusive teenager-turned-vampire more than a decade ago. Nevertheless, she still considers the project a major milestone. "Every part that I've ever played has shaped me in such a significant way ... I got a lot from it and it's made me who I am," she told E! in 2017.

In addition to playing the lead character in the global phenomenon that was "Twilight," Kristen Stewart also caused a media frenzy when she became romantically linked to Robert Pattinson, who portrayed Bella Swan's love interest, Edward Cullen, in the movies. Their relationship became public in August 2009 when they were spotted at a Kings of Leon concert in Vancouver.

However, Stewart and Pattinson's relationship suffered a sudden — and highly publicized — shock in July 2012 when reports surfaced that she was having an affair with the director of "Snow White and the Huntsman," Rupert Sanders. The cheating scandal damaged her career and caused a serious rift between Stewart and her beau. She quickly put out a statement of regret, 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" (via People). Stewart and Pattinson briefly reconciled a few months later before officially calling it quits in May 2013.

Years later, when Howard Stern told Stewart during an interview that dating a co-star is "the biggest mistake an actor can make," she stated that "there was nothing I could do." But Stewart admitted that she was "self-conscious" about being in love with Pattinson because she didn't want the public to think she was trying to seek "attention" because of it.

Kristen Stewart's other acting roles during and after "The Twilight Saga" were a seriously mixed bag, just as her roles before the vampire franchise had been. By starring in movies like the romantic comedy-drama "Adventureland," adventure drama "On the Road," war drama "Camp X-Ray," and fairy tale reimagining "Snow White and the Huntsman," Stewart proved she'd continue to do the unexpected. But she wasn't purposefully trying to diversify her filmography; it just happened naturally.

She previously explained back in 2008 that she was never worried about being typecast by "Twilight," especially after appearing in films like "Welcome to the Rileys." "I just came off of a movie where I play a homeless kid, like a really damaged and really broken little kid and she looks nothing like Bella. In fact, she's a stripper. So I'm not worried about [being typecast] and I never really was," Stewart told Collider. Stewart has always been more interested in pursuing independent movies and just hoped any "Twilight" fame would make it easier for her to keep doing that.

One of the indie movies Kristen Stewart made in between making "The Twilight Saga" was the 1970s rock band biopic "The Runaways." The movie sees Stewart transform into the teenage version of legendary rocker Joan Jett alongside her "Twilight" co-star Dakota Fanning as Cherie Currie.

‌Stewart, who became close with Jett while filming, loved exploring the "Cherry Bomb" singer-slash-guitarist as a younger character and seeing her journey to becoming the woman she knew in the present. "I thought it was cool to, like, see her become that and see the relationship between her and Cherie and see how sweet that is and it's just an interesting story," Stewart explained to Collider at the time of filming.

She impressed Jett with her commitment to the film, even chopping off her hair to portray a more accurate representation of the rock star. "She really soaked it in. When we were hanging out together on set, it was like I had a mirror image. Even just sitting around, we'd do the same thing at the same time. It was just great — and it wasn't creepy. It was wonderfully special," Jett gushed to Interview Magazine.

Kristen Stewart might have been starting to gain notoriety for her independent films like "The Runaways," which had critics praising her performance, in the early 2010s. However, it was bigger budget blockbusters like "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2" and "Snow White and the Huntsman" that were lining her deep pockets.

The fifth and final Installment of "The Twilight Saga," which was released in 2012, grossed $829.7 million worldwide, the highest of any film in the franchise. Stewart is believed to have taken home $12.5 million for the work in the movie, plus bonuses based on profits. The fairy tale epic "Snow White and the Huntsman" also had an impressive theater run, grossing $396.7 million worldwide.

While it's not clear exactly what Stewart earned for her role as the titular heroine, it must certainly have been a hefty sum because combined with her "Breaking Dawn – Part 2" earnings, it meant Stewart took home $34.5 million between May 2011 and 2012. This effort saw her shoot up to the top spot on Forbes list of Highest Paid Actresses in 2012 (bringing her up from fifth place the previous year). She was also the youngest star to claim that honor.

Although "The Twilight Saga" might not have been everyone's cup of tea, starring in the franchise gave Kristen Stewart what she wanted — a platform to make more independent movies. In 2014, she played Valentine in the French psychological drama "Clouds of Sils Maria." Stewart's performance, which saw her share the screen with Juliette Binoche and Chloë Grace Moretz, landed her an accolade she never could have dreamed of receiving. She earned a César Award, the French equivalent of an Oscar. "I really, really couldn't believe that they gave it to me, because those people rigidly dole out praise, especially to Americans. It felt really good," she admitted to The Hollywood Reporter.

The same year, Stewart worked with Julianne Moore and Alec Baldwin on another critically acclaimed indie flick. "Still Alice" is a heartbreaking drama about a woman's (Moore) family coping with an early on-set Alzheimer's diagnosis and the bond of her family as they come to terms with it. Stewart plays her daughter, an aspiring actor who's figuring out how to navigate young adulthood, which is something she felt very connected to. "I have very rarely stepped outside of myself to play a character that I couldn't fully understand ... I think the reason I was drawn to those characters was because I felt an unbelievable amount of myself in them, and undiscovered aspects of myself in them, which is more important," she told Collider.

Although Kristen Stewart never dreamed of winning an Oscar, or the French equivalent, she did dream about getting into directing. She officially made this dream a reality in 2014 when she co-directed the "Take Me to the South" music video for the band Sage and the Saints.

Afterward, Stewart was clearly keen to get back behind the camera, so she started working on directing her debut short. "Come Swim" stars Josh Kaye and is about the dark and painful emotions that collectively all humans feel but don't talk about. It was lauded as a powerful directorial debut for the "Twilight" star. But she admitted her fame played a part in getting her film a spot at Cannes. "People who are much more talented and inspired couldn't ever have the opportunity to make a short film for the amount of money I was given to make this," she admitted to The Guardian.

Aside from a couple more music videos, Stewart bided her time before jumping into the director's chair again. It wasn't until 2020 that she began working on her feature-length directorial debut with a screen adaptation of Lidia Yuknavitch's memoir, "The Chronology of Water," which she definitely feels is going to be a challenge. But, as she gets older, Stewart feels the need to expand her skill set, noting to Vanity Fair that she is now "more comfortable in the idea of making something from top to bottom, rather than giving myself to [it]."

Kristen Stewart likes to keep her personal life to herself, though the paparazzi and public interest have made it nearly impossible. Even the details about her highly publicized relationship with Robert Pattinson are hazy. In a 2019 interview with Harper's Bazaar, Stewart revealed that the former couple refused to address their romance because they wanted it to be theirs. "So much was taken from us that, in trying to control one aspect, we were just like, 'No, we will never talk about it. Never. Because it's ours,'" she said. Still, she tries.

Speaking with InStyle a year later, Stewart noted that she had been dating women since her early 20s, though she didn't publicly come out then because she wanted to keep her life private. However, she added that she understands that her actions might have been perceived as being "ashamed" of her sexual orientation and hurt people in the LGBTQ+ community. "The added pressure of representing a group of people, of representing queerness, wasn't something I understood then," she said. "Only now can I see it."

After she and Pattinson called it quits, Stewart was in a few high-profile relationships with women. She had an on-again, off-again romance with visual effects producer Alicia Cargile before she began dating Victoria's Secret model Stella Maxwell. The pair called it quits in 2018 after two years of dating. Stewart is now in a relationship with screenwriter Dylan Meyer, but more on that later.

Kristen Stewart knew exactly what she signed on for with "The Twilight Saga," given how popular Stephenie Mayer's book series was before the big screen adaptations. Nevertheless, that didn't fully prepare her for quite how famous she would become, and she never fully felt comfortable in the spotlight. She told Wonderland Magazine.

For years, Stewart tried to balance her work and life's purpose with privacy, but as she became more comfortable sharing details of her sexuality and took ownership of her status as an LGBTQ+ role model, she began to embrace her fame. "I used to sit in interviews and go, 'God, I wonder what they're going to ask me?' But now — literally — you can ask me anything!" Stewart admitted to Harper's Bazaar. Ultimately, the movie star just felt it was just better for her mental health to be more open. "I just wanted to enjoy my life. And that took precedence over protecting my life, because in protecting it, I was ruining it," she added.

Everyone changes as they grow up because getting older usually brings the wisdom of experience. That certainly was the case for Kristen Stewart, who finds that life in her 30s isn't as stressful and overwhelming as it was when she was on the precipice of adulthood and trying to establish her career.

With more than two dozen years in the entertainment industry under her belt, Stewart has learned how to navigate it a little better. "Every day I get older, life gets easier," she admitted to Harper's Bazaar. Where she once felt like she had to hide parts of herself and fit into a box in order to get a role and succeed in Hollywood, Stewart has realized that's not the case. Now she is able to unapologetically embrace who she is and put herself out for the world to see, but she doesn't really care what anyone thinks. "I just think we're all kind of getting to a place where — I don't know, evolution's a weird thing — we're all becoming incredibly ambiguous. And it's this really gorgeous thing," she noted. ‌

In 2019, actor-writer-director Elizabeth Banks brought Charlie's Angels back to the silver screen. The film stars Banks as the first female Bosley alongside Kristen Stewart as Sabina Wilson, Ella Balinska as Jane Kano, and Naomi Scott as Elena Houghlin. It's an unapologetic celebration of women and sisterhood, but it's also just an action movie that was meant to appeal to the masses. Unfortunately, marketing didn't quite get that message, and "Charlie's Angels" didn't do as well as expected at the box office, grossing $17.8 million domestically and $73.2 million worldwide on a budget of $48 million.

Critics also had lukewarm feelings about the movie, but one person who doesn't is Stewart, who stands by "Charlie's Angels" and her performance in it. "The movie is so warm. I'm proud of the way it makes me feel. I think if it makes other people feel like that, it's a good thing to have in the world," Stewart proclaimed during a conversation with Shia LaBeouf for Variety. The "Happiest Season" actor also explained that she felt a really strong connection with her character Sabina, an openly queer character who she brought to life on her own terms. "It's kind of rare when you don't play somebody who is very defined, and outside of yourself, and your job really is to just bring something natural and something true and something that reflects maybe closer to what you are," she explained to People.

Kristen Stewart went through a major screen transformation when she took on the role of the late Princess of Wales, Diana Spencer, in the 2021 biopic "Spencer." The movie chronicles the events of December 1991, when Diana contemplates divorcing Charles. Playing the people's princess required a ton of research and prep work. Stewart found herself doing everything from consuming biographies to mimicking Diana's voice at every opportunity.

Stewart was on a mission to know as much about the late princess as possible before becoming her on screen, and she believes, that in her search, she connected with her spirit. "I don't believe in ghosts, but I don't not believe in ghosts. I believe in a lingering energy. I took her in, whether or not it was my idea of her or there was some actual literal remnant of her," she told The Guardian. Nonetheless, whatever Stewart did obviously worked as the star was praised for her performance by critics.

When an actor grows up in front of the camera — especially during that transition from childhood to adulthood — the world often bears witness to every phase of their lives. While Kristen Stewart seemingly skipped over the typical awkward teen years and blossomed in front of our very eyes, she's had her fair share of fashion phases over her years. During her "Twilight" years, Stewart could be seen rocking sparkly dresses, heels, and her signature messy hair. Her fans definitely thought it was a look, but the "Love Lies Bleeding" star admitted she felt quite overwhelmed by the fashion world.

However, Stewart has clearly found her way through and experimented with her sense of style along the way. In terms of her hair, she's had various blonde stages and a buzz cut, but she, more often than not, dons her signature messy mullet. She's also shifted toward more androgynous fashion, though it still has an edgy, pop rocker element. Stewart admitted she got a lot of fashion inspiration from playing Joan Jett. "I liked her Rock 'n' Roll style so much that it really influenced me. I already liked jeans and leather jackets before playing [her], though, but my rock-n-roll style developed thanks to playing Joan," she told Hollywood Life (via Yahoo! news).

Kristen Stewart was convinced she was going to marry Robert Pattinson, but life clearly had other plans. More than a decade after their very public split, Stewart has agreed to walk down the aisle with none other than "Moxie" writer Dylan Meyer.

The pair have been dating since 2019, but they first met six years earlier. After reuniting, they quickly hit it off, with Stewart admitting they just had a lot of chemistry. And the "Charlie's Angels" star revealed that she was ready to propose after just a few months. Yet the couple ended up waiting until 2021 before making their commitment official, and Stewart wasn't actually the one to pop the question. "So I was like, 'Wait, well, I'm not the one for sure.' And so I was kind of joking for a bit, like, 'No, I want to be the one to propose, like, I want to be proposed to,' and then she just grabbed that bowl and made it happen. It was f***ing so cute," Stewart revealed on "The Howard Stern Show" (via People).

As of March 2024, Stewart and Meyer are yet to tie the knot, but it could happen at any moment, as Stewart can be quite impulsive. Regardless, it's clear the couple are on the same page about their future, which will include kids. "I want to have a kid. I really want that to happen," Stewart teased to Rolling Stone.