Kristen with Jodie Foster in Panic Room

Most people remember her as a little diabetic kid, portraying Jodie Foster’s daughter in the suspense-thriller, Panic Room. Her breakthrough performance captivated everyone, and that opened up a million opportunities for her. Before she got her big chance on the big screen she had her first screen appearance in an Original Disney film called The Thirteenth Year, and afterwards she played Patricia Clarkson’s androgynous daughter in The Safety Of Objects. After the filming of Panic Room, she won a role in a dark thriller, starring Dennis Quaid and Sharon Stone, called Cold Creek Manor. The film’s successfulness was less than great. Her performance was duly noted, however, the story itself was a failure.

Kristen told WWDScoop of her parents’ reaction when she expressed an interest in acting at the age of eight. “They were like, ‘Really? This is something you want to do? Because you know what hell this is,’”

Hitting stardom:

The poster for Speak

In 2004, Stewart landed the big kahuna, meaning her first lead role in a film, in Catch that Kid, a story about a girl who is planning to rob a bank in order to pay her father’s operation. Costarring Corbin Bleu who has recently received a lot of attention following his roles in all three High School Musical films, this film captivated younger audiences and made the best efforts to highlight stardom to this new rising young actress.

The year 2005 was the year that she appeared in the Indie film, Speak, which was a best-selling novel by author Laurie Halse Anderson. Stewart managed to make the best performance as a quasi-mute girl with a painful past. Although the film didn’t appear in theaters, reviewers raved about Kristen’s brilliant performance as you could feel yourself in Melinda Sorvino’s shoes.

With Emilie Hirsch in Into the Wild

Later that year, she appeared in the family film Zathura, a follow up to the nineties family adventure Jumanji, as the cranky big sister to young actors Jona Bobo and Josh Hutcherson. The critics loved the lighthearted fantasy film, although it was an underperformer in sales. As the years progressed, she appeared in numerous films from Indies to cameos in major ticket-sellers.

Her small performance in the movie Into the Wild won her a nomination for Outstanding Role by the Screen Actors Guild, and the role in the new-to-come film Twilight, starring next to British actor Robert Pattinson. Catherine Hardwicke (Thirteen, The Nativity Story, Lords of Dogtown), while casting the main character of the film, went straight to Kristen Stewart not even minding of looking for other actresses in the process. “Kristen has a depth and dedication and toughness I’ve rarely encountered. Her career could be an amazing collision of characters. She has no limits…If the stars line up, Kristen could be winning the highest of accolades,” she told Moviefone.

Kristen as Bella in Twilight.

Kristen’s costars certainly seem to be happy with the decision. Sarah Clarke said of Kristen in a recent interview with Scifi.Com: “I think she’s just a phenomenal talent,; sweet and grounded despite having been in the business as long as she has. She’s a great actor and fun to work with.” While Cam Gigandet, the actor behind the villainous James said: “I think Kristen is kind of… unbelievable! I would love to work with her again.”

Michael Welch told Portrait: “I don’t see how you can get a better Bella and Edward than Kristen and Robert. Once I heard that Kristen was playing Bella, it seemed like it made the story fit. She’s so interesting and has a mysterious quality about her that’s perfect for Bella.”

The film will hit theaters on November 21, 2008.

What’s next?

Kristen and Robert at the MTV Movie Awards

Following the release of Twilight you can see Kristen in the films Adventureland, and Welcome to The Rileys. What just Happened? will also be released in October. Fans are of course hoping for sequels to Twilight. Author Stephenie Meyer commented the final book in the Twilight series; ‘Breaking Dawn’ could be adapted into two films, as is being done with the final Harry Potter, meaning there could be as many as three more Twilight films.

“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.” Kristen said of her acting career. Time will tell if she continues on this particular career

path. She has expressed interest in studying literature in collage and is an aspiring writer, perhaps influenced by her mother’s career as a screenwriter. “I definitely have a future in academics, but not right now.”

Kristen once told Vanity Fair magazine she wasn’t sure if she wanted to be a ‘professional liar’ for the rest of her life. But considering her talent, clever choices of films and strong fan base, if Kristen leaves the big screen it will undoubtedly be her choice and not due to a lack of opportunity..

Interesting Facts:

Kristen with boyfriend Michael Angarano