Kristen Stewart’s first major film experience left her feeling let down, which led her to come to an unexpected realization about her gender expression. Her career took off when she was cast as the tomboy daughter of a divorced mother (Jodie Foster) in the suspense thriller Panic Room (2002). The then-11-year-old actress portrayed Sarah Altman, who became trapped with her mother inside a panic room during a home invasion. Even at that young age, her talent and dedication were obvious.
But the Jumper actress had lived most of her adult life avoiding seeing the $197.1 million film that made her famous. In fact, Stewart was “very embarrassed” by the “little-kid stuff”. She felt sufficiently pressured to get over her shyness and actually see what many queer people had already noticed about her.
Kristen Stewart’s Journey of Accepting Her Queer Identity
Kristen Stewart looks back on her time working on David Fincher’s suspense thriller Panic Room (2002) with a fresh perspective. In a conversation with Variety, she discusses how her view regarding this film has changed along with her public acceptance of her queer identity since she came out as bisexual (per The Guardian) in 2017.
Panic Room propelled the then 11-year-old California-born actress into the spotlight alongside established actors such as Jodie Foster. Stewart admits that she felt self-conscious when she saw herself in the film; perhaps it was her vulnerability or her innocence that unnerved her. She had no idea, though, that this exact unease would serve as a turning point in her quest to accept her actual self. She noted:
“Little-kid stuff makes me very embarrassed. Everyone was like, ‘Come on, this is such a trip, dude. You need to just remember..I was already going like, ‘Don’t f*ck with me.’ I was gay.”
As her career continued to flourish, so did the speculation surrounding her s*xual orientation. Despite having a quiet personal life, the media circus began hypothesizing about her s*xuality mainly because of her effortless ability to break away from stereotypes.
The Twilight Star Is Unapologetic About Her S*xuality
Kristen Stewart’s early fame was largely shaped by her relationship with Robert Pattinson. She maintained a somewhat private life for a while before disclosing information about her relationships with both men and women. She is bisexual and very forthright about her s*xual preferences; she revealed about it in a 2017 Guardian interview.
“The whole issue of s*xuality is so grey. I’m just trying to acknowledge that fluidity, that greyness, which has always existed. But maybe only now are we allowed to start talking about it. You’re not confused if you’re bisexual. It’s not confusing at all. For me, it’s quite the opposite.”
As a result of her acceptance of her s*xual preference and self-assurance, Stewart regrettably experienced some upsetting problems during her career. For the benefit of her profession, she claimed in a 2019 interview with Harper’s Bazaar that she was advised to be less affectionate with her partners in public.
“I have fully been told, ‘If you just like do yourself a [favor], and do not go out holding your girlfriend’s hand in public, you might get a Marvel movie.”
Thankfully, a lot of people no longer seem to hold that antiquated and disrespectful view, but, regrettably, Stewart’s love life was more or less questioned in the first place. On the work front, she will make her feature film directing debut by writing and directing a film version of Lidia Yuknavitch’s memoir, The Chronology of Water.
You can rent Panic Room on Apple TV.
