Kristen Stewart Has a Lot on Her Mind

CO-EDITORS-IN-CHIEF

Cynthia Littleton

The last time Kristen Stewart graced the cover of Variety, she had a whole new joie de vivre. Clad in Chanel and headed to the 2016 Cannes Film Festival to promote “Personal Shopper,” her latest collaboration with favorite auteur Olivier Assayas, the 26-year-old star known for playing the ingénue in the “Twilight” franchise was owning the spotlight — and her identity as a queer woman. “I’m not hiding shit,” she told us. “And I’m very obviously ...” She trailed off without finishing that sentence.

Now, at 33, with an Oscar nomination to her name for 2021’s “Spencer,” Stewart is no longer speaking in ellipses. She’s fully claimed her place in the industry as a grown-up movie star who still makes art her own way. (And yes, she still reps Chanel, putting a punky spin on the house that Coco built.) Her spirit of independent, effervescent creativity — as well as her two new films, the post-apocalyptic romance “Love Me” and the queer crime thriller “Love Lies Bleeding” — make her the perfect cover subject for our Sundance 2024 issue. Our story marks the beginning of what will be a special festival for Stewart: She will also accept the festival’s Visionary Award for bringing a dozen movies to Sundance over the course of her career.

Ramin Setoodeh

In Adam B. Vary’s revealing interview, Stewart talks about where her career stands right now, as she’s trying to pull together financing for her first feature as a director. It’s just another evolution for the star we’ve been watching since, at 11, she appeared in David Fincher’s “Panic Room” opposite Jodie Foster. And so far she has avoided every pitfall. “She feels like a daughter to me,” Foster says. “I worried that the job would swallow up what was best about her, because I worried about that for myself. There was a sort of unconscious similarity between us. I guess that’s why I’ve always felt so protective of her, because I wanted her to grow into the person she was meant to be.”

Foster was one of the many stars we spotted at last weekend’s Golden Globes, where “Oppenheimer” swept with five wins, including best picture drama. Next up: Our newsroom is gearing up for 2023’s delayed Emmys on Jan. 15, hosted by Anthony Anderson, where “Succession” ends an Emmy run and “The Bear” likely begins one. At Variety, no one loves awards more than our reporters, and we invite you to follow along as we chronicle every win, speech and (of course) red-carpet look.