American actress Kristen Stewart is one of the hottest young female stars in Hollywood this year.

She is best known for her role as Bella Swan in The Twilight Saga. The latest film in the series, Breaking Dawn - Part 1 was released Friday. She has also starred in Panic Room (2002), Zathura (2005), In the Land of Women (2007), The Messengers (2007), Adventureland (2009) and The Runaways (2010).

Stewart was born and raised in Los Angeles, Calif. She began acting when she was eight years old and an agent saw her perform in her elementary school's Christmas play. She auditioned for different parts for a year and landed her first acting part in the film The Thirteenth Year, though the part was nonspeaking. She also played small parts in Flinstones in Viva Rock Vegas and The Safety of Objects.

In 2002, she had her first major breakthrough as the diabetic daughter of a divorced mother, played by Jodie Foster, in Panic Room. From 2002 onwards, she played major roles in a number of films and she was cat in her first starring role in the children's film Catch That Kid. Stewart began playing more difficult roles and, in 2004, she played a high school freshman who stops speaking after being raped in Speak, a television film made for Showtime. The film garnered Stewart rave reviews and to this point it is her most critically acclaimed role.

Stewart was cast as Bella Swan in 2007 to play the part in the adaptation of Stephenie Meyer's novels, The Twilight Saga. After the release of the series' first film, Twilight, Stewart won the MTV Movie Award for Best Female Performance. Her role in the Twilight series alongside Robert Pattinson helped her gain international commercial recognition. Stewart also played the lead female role in the next three Twilight films, New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn - Part 1 and she will reprise the role in Breaking Dawn - Part 2, set for release on Nov. 16, 2012.

The 21-year-old actress has played a number of other roles and was listed as the highest earning female actress in Hollywood in the 2010's Top Hollywood Top Earners List compiled by Vanity Fair. She earned an estimated $28.5 million for all her movie roles in 2010.

Stewart's next role will be the lead in Snow White and the Huntsman, set for release on June 12, 2012.

Kristen Stewart in 2002
Actress Kristen Stewart poses for photographs at the premiere of "Panic Room," in Los Angeles, California on March 18, 2002. Stewart starred along side Jodie Foster in the movie. REUTERS
Kristen Stewart in 2004
The cast and director of the film "Speak" (L-R) D.B. Sweeney, Elizabeth Perkins, Kristen Stewart and director Jessica Sharzer pose at the Premiere magazine party at the Sundance Film Festival, January 19, 2004 in Park City, Utah. The film tells the story of a girl in high school and the pressures she faces. REUTERS
Kristen Stewart in 2005
Actress Kristen Stewart arrives at the screening of the film "Fierce People," in which she performs, at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York, April 24, 2005. REUTERS
Kristen Stewart in 2007
Cast member Kristen Stewart attends the premiere of "Into the Wild" in Los Angeles September 18, 2007. REUTERS
Is Kristen Stewart a Fashion Pariah
Actress Kristen Stewart, one of the stars of the film "The Yellow Handkerchief" by director Udayan Prasad, poses as she arrives for the film's premiere at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, Jan. 18, 2008. REUTERS
Kristen Stewart and the Cast of Twilight in 2008
(L-R) Cast members from the film "Twilight," Robert Patterson, Cam Gigandet, Taylor Lautner and Kristen Stewart, pose for photographers at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles September 7, 2008. REUTERS
Is Kristen Stewart a Fashion Pariah
Cast member Kristen Stewart poses at the premiere of the movie "Twilight" at the Mann Village and Bruin theatres in Westwood, Calif., Nov. 17, 2008. REUTERS
Kristen Stewart in 2009
"Twilight" film star Kristen Stewart arrives at the Teen Choice 2009 Awards taping in Los Angeles, California August 9, 2009. REUTERS
Is Kristen Stewart a Fashion Pariah
Actress Kristen Stewart poses during a photocall to promote her latest film "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" in Madrid, Nov. 12, 2009. REUTERS
Kristen Stewart
Kristen Stewart REUTERS
Cast member Kristen Stewart
Cast member Kristen Stewart REUTESR
Kristen Stewart in 2011
Actress Kristen Stewart (R) and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (background) arrive at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Benefit celebrating the opening of Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty, in New York May 2, 2011. REUTERS
Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson in 2011
Could Hollywood's most photographed couple star in the film version of the hottest book around? REUTERS
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