Stewart’s most iconic role — one that spurred many parodies (and even the fan-fiction-turned-film-franchise behemoth 50 Shades of Grey) — spans five movies in the vampire romance Twilight saga. Based on the book series by Stephenie Meyer, Stewart plays Bella, a high school student so in love with a vampire (aka Robert Pattinson’s shimmering Edward Cullen), she decided to be one herself. There was also a love triangle with a werewolf (the often topless Taylor Lautner), a CGI baby, vampire clan wars, and a lot of K. Stew’s now-signature chin acting. Watch all films in order: Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn 1, and Breaking Dawn 2.

Stewart and her Twilight co-star Dakota Fanning took a vampire hiatus to play teenage bandmates Joan Jett and Cherie Currie in the rock biopic The Runaways (2010). Directed by Floria Sigismondi, the film following the rise and fall of the ’70s all-girl rock band is mostly based on Currie’s autobiography Neon Angel: A Memoir of a Runaway. In heavy eyeliner and a mullet, Stewart plays the spunky Jett and rocks out to the group’s iconic hit “Cherry Bomb.” In an interview with MTV, the rock legend herself raved about Stewart, saying, “She's an actress of weight, honesty, integrity, and depth, and she's very serious. She takes it as art.”

Directed by the disgraced Woody Allen, Café Society is set in the ’30s and stars Stewart as Vonnie, the secretary and mistress of Hollywood’s big shot talent agent Phil (Steve Carell). Her easy-going ways also capture the heart of Jesse Eisenberg’s Bobby, Phil’s Los Angeles transplant nephew. It’s a tale of illicit affairs, heartbreak, and love lost (to Blake Lively) for Stewart’s Vonnie, and she holds her own in the 2016 art-house dramedy.

Stewart finally added a rom-com to her film credits in 2020 with Happiest Season, a queer-centered Christmas film. She plays Abby, whose plans of proposing to her girlfriend Harper (Mackenzie Davis) are thwarted by the revelation that Harper still hasn’t come out to her family. Stewart’s comedic skills shine as she “acts straight” while portraying Harper’s “orphan roommate” in front of her family, and her craft brings emotional depth to a struggle all too familiar to queer couples. Directed by Clea Duvall, the film also stars Dan Levy, Alison Brie, and Aubrey Plaza.

At just 12 years old, Stewart starred as Jodie Foster’s diabetic daughter Sarah in the 2002 thriller Panic Room. A pair of burglars (Jared Leto and Forest Whitaker) force the mother and daughter into a panic room, and at one point, Sarah is held hostage and suffers a seizure. It’s a high-octane, claustrophobia-triggering movie that’s sure to leave viewers at the edge of their seats.

Stewart broke barriers as the first-ever queer agent in one of Hollywood’s most recognizable spy franchises, Charlie’s Angels. Written and directed by Elizabeth Banks, Stewart stars in this 2019 reboot as Sabina Wilson, the party-going agent with a rap sheet in the triumvirate of super spies with Jane Kano (Ella Balinska) and Elena Houghlin (Naomi Scott). It’s especially fun to watch her slip into several disguises, including a flirty blonde on a date. Don’t miss a (short) choreographed dance number where she sashays in a sparkly dress.

Based on Savannah Knoop’s memoir Girl Boy Girl: How I Became JT LeRoy, which details the story behind the fake persona that disrupted the literary world in the ’90s, this 2019 film follows Laura Albert, the writer who dreams up fictionalized JT LeRoy and publishes a novel in his name. Played by Laura Dern, Laura persuades Stewart’s Knoop to pretend to be JT in public — but the lie gets complicated when Knoop falls in love.

Be forewarned — this is no happily-ever-after story. K. Stew stars as Snow White, a princess with a death sentence in Snow White and the Huntsman. Like in the popular fairy tale, her stepmom, who also happens to be an evil sorceress (Charlize Theron), envies the princess’ unrivaled beauty and sends a huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) to kill her. But unlike the helpless cartoon damsel, Stewart goes from distress to wielding her own sword in iron-clad armor as she fights for her life in this action-packed film.

In Underwater, which seems to pull directly from our collective aquatic nightmares, Stewart plays engineer Norah as she works on a project at the bottom of the ocean. Evoking terrifying Titanic-meets-Aliens memories, her crew must walk (yes, walk) at the bottom of the deep blue. While the monster thriller wasn’t met with favorable critical reviews, it’s notable because Stewart lobbied to get rid of the “final girl” trope in the film — a tired horror and thriller movie ending where only one woman makes it out alive.

Stewart won the prestigious French César award for her performance in the 2015 drama Clouds of Sils Maria. She portrays Valentine, the assistant and love interest of aging actress Maria (Juliette Binoche), whose star is dimmed by the arrival of a much younger actress named Jo-Ann Ellis (Chloë Grace Moretz). Though she was snubbed by American awards shows, Stewart is a revelation in this Olivier Assayas-directed film, which also earned nominations at film festivals worldwide.

Julianne Moore plays the titular Alice, a professor diagnosed with early-onset dementia after her 50th birthday, in 2014’s heartbreaking Still Alice, based on Lisa Genova’s 2007 novel of the same name. In what’s likely her most harrowing role to date, Stewart plays her daughter, Lydia, who takes care of Alice as she lives with familial Alzheimer’s disease.

Speaking about Stewart, Moore told IndieWire, “What was a pleasure for me, working with her, is to witness somebody that’s got that enormous reserve of emotion at their fingertips.” Adding that she initially met Stewart when her husband Bart Freundlich cast her in 2004’s Catch That Kid, Moore continued, “She has a tremendous amount of feeling. It was a joy to sit there and watch her access it.”