The Twilight franchise first stole our hearts through the books and then on the big screen with Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson as the co-protagonists. It’s been 13 years since its premiere in 2008, and that’s why we decided to learn about the lives of the actors who appeared in it and how they look today after putting aside their vampire costumes.
1. Kristen Stewart — Bella Swan
Although Kristen began acting as a child — at the age of 12 she was Jodie Foster’s daughter in Panic Room, and its success opened doors for her in Hollywood — it was her starring role in the Twilight Saga that undoubtedly made her worldwide famous. During the filming of the saga, Kristen participated in another film: Snow White and the Huntsman, where she played the naive princess. Some of her latest works are the films Crimes of the Future and Spencer.
2. Robert Pattinson — Edward Cullen
Without a doubt, his starring role in the Twilight saga brought Pattinson to stardom. However, the English actor was already known at the time. At the age of 15, he started acting in the London theater club, and, some time later, he was chosen to play Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. In 2022, he incarnated a new Bruce Wayne in The Batman, a film in which he stars alongside Zoë Kravitz.
3. Billy Burke — Charlie Swan
Before becoming an actor, Burke was a musician; at the age of fifteen he played music in bands and it was a record label deal that drove him to move to Los Angeles. He became known for participating in the television series 24 and for acting in Gilmore Girls and Fringe, a science fiction series. His most recent work is Fire Country where he gives life to Vince Leone.
4. Sarah Clarke — Renée
Before playing Renée, Bella Swan’s immature mother, Clarke worked alongside Billy Burke in the series 24. But her screen debut was in the world of advertising, in a Volkswagen commercial called Synchronicity. While the Twilight saga was being filmed, she ventured into crime and espionage as the CIA agent Lena Smith in the series Secret Affairs. Her last appearance was in the film Alchemy of the Spirit.
5. Justin Chon — Eric Yorkie
In the saga, Chon played Eric Yorkie, Bella’s classmate. But Chon has explored different terrain beyond the world of acting. Since 2015, he has been writing and directing — one of his films, Gook, received several awards, one of them for best director —, he has a YouTube channel and is a member of BgA, a group that parodies K-pop, a popular South Korean genre. Nevertheless, he has never left the screen and can be seen in his latest series The Casagrandes.
6. Michael Welch — Mike Newton
Before becoming Mike Newton, the friend in love with Bella, Michael Welch was known for his role as Luke Girardi in the series Joan of Arcadia. He has appeared in very famous series such as CSI: Las Vegas, Bones, and Criminal Minds. In 2022 he acted in the film Hot Seat and in the series Quantum Leap.
7. Anna Kendrick — Jessica
Contrary to most of Kendrick’s colleagues in the saga, her role as Jessica, one of the main character’s friends, is far from being the most important in her career. Anna has shared the screen with celebrities such as George Clooney, Meryl Streep, and Ben Affleck. She has even written an autobiographical book, Scrappy Little Nobody. Her last work was in the film Alice, Darling.
8. Christian Serratos — Ángela Weber
Apart from the role of Bella’s best human friend, her most important role was undoubtedly that of Rosita Espinosa in The Walking Dead. Then she played Selena Quintanilla in the Netflix series Selena, based on the life of the popular singer. In her personal life, the actress promotes a vegan lifestyle and is in a relationship with David Boyd, the lead singer of the Danish rock band New Politics, with whom she has a son named Wolfgang.
9. Nikki Reed — Rosalie
Nikki Reed became known in 2003 for playing one of the lead roles in the movie Thirteen. She co-wrote the screenplay with Catherine Hardwicke, who also directed the first movie of the Twilight saga. The film is based on Reed’s own life and earned her the award for best debut and several other nominations. The actress had her first child with another vampire, actor Ian Somerhalder— star of The Vampire Diaries —, whom she married in April 2015.
10. Kellan Lutz — Emmet
After the famous saga, he played very well-known (and strong) characters. He was Poseidon in Immortals, he was the voice of Tarzan in the animated film Tarzan, and was Hercules in The Legend of Hercules. His most recent work is in The Guardians of Justice series playing King Tsunami.
11. Ashley Greene — Alice
Before getting the role, she was not known in the movie industry. While the saga was being made, she starred in suspense and horror films, such as Summer’s Blood and, in 2012, The Apparition. In 2022, she appeared in two other movies: Wrong Place, where she plays Chloé, and The Immaculate Room in which she is Simone.
12. Jackson Rathbone — Jasper
Jackson’s career is divided between the world of movies and series and that of music. On the screen, he can be seen in films such as The Guardians of Justice and Until We Meet Again. In the music business, the actor was part of the band 100 Monkeys. As a solo artist, he released the album American Spirits Blues, where he shows his skills with different instruments, such as guitar, harmonica, banjo, and mandolin.
What is your favorite movie in the Twilight saga? And your favorite character?
Why Aishwarya Rai Decided to Put Her Career on Hold and Proved She’s More Than Just a Pretty Face
Aishwarya Rai turns 50 in 2023. The popular Indian actress who worked her way into Hollywood suddenly faced the harshest criticism when she became a mother. Yet she bravely overcame adversity and stayed true to herself. We are sure her story will inspire many women.
Aishwarya began modeling while still in college, and in 1994, she won the title of Miss World. Surely, filmmakers immediately noticed this charismatic beauty. The woman quickly became a movie star in India, and then in the Western part of the world too. The media even called Rai “the most beautiful woman in the world.”
1994. Aishwarya is 21 years old.
In 2006, the woman played opposite a popular Indian actor, Abhishek Bachchan. On the set, a spark of love flashed immediately between them, and in 2007, the lovers got married.
In 2010, the actress suddenly decided to abandon her career and took a 5-year-long sabbatical. In early 2011, everyone found out why — the couple was expecting a child. Given that Aishwarya was 38 years old at the time, the pregnancy was considered geriatric.
Many women in this situation would have preferred a C-section, but the actress chose a traditional birth and even refused to have anesthesia. According to one of her relatives, Rai wanted a normal delivery.
On November 16, beautiful Aardhya was born while Aishwarya was hit by a powerful wave of hatred. The photos of the former Miss World where she was 5 months postpartum caused a stir on social media.
Of course, there were those who defended the actress and said that people’s fixation on someone’s weight is disgusting. There were both ordinary social media users and famous fashion designers among them.
2012. Aishwarya is 39 years old.
It wasn’t easy for her to stay strong under social pressure. However, Aishwarya had always been known for living by her own rules and not paying attention to stereotypes. It was probably her integrity and positive outlook on life that helped her go through body shaming with dignity, and enjoy motherhood to the fullest.
When asked if she was depressed by the way society treated her, she confidently replied, “When I became a mother, it was the most beautiful feeling in the world. There were several hormonal changes within, but it didn’t change anything. There was never a point of self-doubt. I’m so happy in my own life with Aaradhya around and the positivity as well as clarity that I have in my head about myself. Nobody else is dictating or telling me how to be and what to do.”
At a comfortable pace, without trying to please fans or producers, Rai regained her former shape, and then began filming again. It took her 4 years.
In 2023, the Indian actress impressed everyone by a spectacular appearance in a Sophie Couture dress at the Cannes Film Festival. At the same event, she gave a short interview about how to feel comfortable in your own body and not to judge others and yourself.
“Don’t go around attaching your judgement on others who make their choices. I think that’s just the way it should be. It’s a free world: live and let live,” she said. “I think when people tend to do that, it probably stems from insecurity. If you’re comfortable in your skin, and you’re comfortable being you, you really wouldn’t even expend that energy in being judgmental. It’s as simple as that.”
It is nice to see that despite the troubles Aishwarya had to go through, she didn’t lose her positive outlook on life. By the way, so did another famous Indian beauty, Priyanka Chopra, who faced serious criticism because she had her baby via surrogate.
Preview photo credit Dinodia Photos / Alamy Stock Photo, AFP/EAST NEWS, Vianney Le Caer/Invision/East News
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