Actors That Look Completely Unrecognizable Since Their First Movie Role

Kristen Stewart’s career began in the early 2000s after being spotted in a school Christmas play; small roles followed, but her big break came when she played Jodie Foster’s diabetic daughter in the David Fincher thriller “Panic Room.” Comparisons to Foster soon followed, as she was roughly the same age as Foster had been when she made “Taxi Driver” (a film Stewart had watched as a youngster), and the pair became lifelong friends and supporters. 

Over the next half decade, Stewart would appear in films from the good (“In the Land of Women”) to the bad (“The Messengers”) to the obscure “Undertow”). But it was her starring role as Bella Swan in Catherine Hardwicke’s “Twilight” that would make her a superstar. Alongside Robert Pattinson, Anna Kendrick and others, Stewart made headlines and multiple sequels. Her look at the time could perhaps best be described as low-maintenance and natural: messy brown hair, minimal makeup, casual clothes. The Bella/KStew look was subject to numerous parodies, as in one “Saturday Night Live” Digital Short.

Once the quadrilogy of “Twilight” films had concluded, Stewart’s career took several unexpected turns. Her tabloid-grabbing dalliances with the likes of Pattinson and “Snow White and the Huntsman” director Rupert Sanders gave way to a 2017 announcement that she was bisexual, followed by a vast change in style that seemed — at least to outsiders — to be a reflection of a newfound liberation. 

Stewart cut her hair short, dyed it blonde, and embraced queer fashion trends, most notably during red carpet appearances. It was enough of a change for Stewart to be labeled a queer fashion icon, particularly after a high profile 2019 “Saturday Night Live” hosting gig.

In recent years, Stewart has become positively chameleonesque. Look at her acclaimed work in “Spencer,” “Personal Shopper” and something like the 2019 would-be “Charlie’s Angels” reboot, and you could be forgiven for disbelieving it’s the same actor. Stewart was nominated for best actress in a leading role for “Spencer,” and despite losing, awards season gave her plenty of opportunities to flex new styles that seemed to further align with a Kristen Stewart more comfortable, confident and secure in her true self.