Who is Kristen Stewart?
Kristen Jaymes Stewart (born April 9, 1990) is an American actress and filmmaker. The world’s highest-paid actress in 2012, her accolades include a BAFTA Award, a CĂ©sar Award, which she is the only American actress to win, and a nomination for a Screen Actors Guild Award . Born and raised in Los Angeles to parents who both worked in …
Kristen Jaymes Stewart was born on April 9, 1990, in Los Angeles, California, to entertainment industry workers. Her American father, John Stewart, is a stage manager and television producer who has worked for Fox and on the Comedy Central show @midnight. Her Australian mother, Jules Mann-Stewart, is a script supervisor and also directed the 2012 film K-11. Jules was adopted by a Jewish couple in California, Norma and Ben Urman, in 1953; a DNA test showed that one of Kristen’s biological maternal grandparents was Ashkenazi Jewish. Stewart has an older brother, Cameron B. Stewart, and two adopted brothers, Dana and Taylor. In 2012, her mother filed for divorce after 27 years of marriage.
Stewart returned to mainstream Hollywood with starring roles in the action comedy film Charlie’s Angels (2019) and the science fiction film Underwater (2020).
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.
Her performance in the film garnered 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 Stewart’s “spontaneous, agitated energy that makes her the most compellingly watchable American actress of her generation.” Robbie Collin of The Daily Telegraph described her portrayal as “sharp and subtle, knowable and then suddenly distant” and highlighted the “brilliant lightness of touch” in her approach to the film’s twist. For the performance, Stewart won the CĂ©sar Award for Best Supporting Actress, becoming the first American actress to receive a nomination in thirty years. She is the second American winner after Adrien Brody, who won the CĂ©sar Award for Best Actor in 2003. That same year, Stewart appeared alongside Julianne Moore in Still Alice, a drama film that premiered at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival. Critics commended her performance in the film. Peter Travers of Rolling Stone called her “wonderfully vibrant and contentious” and said: “Even when Still Alice sometimes slips into sentiment, Moore and Stewart are funny, fierce and glorious.
On November 16, 2007, Summit Entertainment announced that Stewart would play main character Bella Swan in the romantic fantasy film Twilight, based on Stephenie Meyer ‘s 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. Stewart described her approach to the role as “capturing … that first awakening, that ownership of your body and desire”. Twilight was released in the U.S. in November 2008. Stewart ‘s performance garnered mixed reviews, with Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly describing her as “the ideal casting choice” and praising her for conveying “Bella’s detachment, as well as her need to bust through it”, while Claudia Puig of USA Today criticized her acting for being “wooden” and lacking variety in her “blank” facial expressions.
For the performance, Stewart won the CĂ©sar Award for Best Supporting Actress, becoming the first American actress to receive a nomination in thirty years. She is the second American winner after Adrien Brody, who won the CĂ©sar Award for Best Actor in 2003.