date of birth: April 9, 1990
place of birth: Los Angeles, California
After a talent scout caught her grade school performance in a Christmas play at the age of eight, she appeared on television in a few small roles. Her first significant role came when she was cast as Sam Jennings in “The Safety of Objects” (2001). Soon after that, she starred alongside Jodie Foster in the hit drama, “Panic Room” (2002) and was nominated for a Young Artist Award.
Praised for her Panic Room performance, she went on to join the cast of “Cold Creek Manor” (2003) as the daughter of Dennis Quaid and Sharon Stone. After appearing in a handful of movies and a Showtime movie called “Speak” (2004), Stewart was cast in the role of a teenage singer living in a commune in Sean Penn's Into the “Wild” (2007), a critically acclaimed biopic. She also appeared in Mary Stuart Masterson's “The Cake Eaters” (2007) that same year.
Just 18, Stewart took on the starring role in “Twilight” (2008/I) opposite Robert Pattinson who plays the vampire lead, Edward Cullen. Stewart played the role of Bella Swan in all four movies.
She's also taken on a number of indie projects such as “Adventureland” (2009) and “Welcome to the Rileys” (2010). And she took on the daunting task of playing rocker Joan Jett in Floria Sigismondi's “The Runaways” (2010) alongside Dakota Fanning as well as the film adaptation of the classic novel by Jack Kerouac, “On the Road” (2011).