Vampires: Everyone else gets older, but they stay the same age.
Kristen Stewart, a child actress who rocketed to stardom after winning the role of Bella Swan in the Twilight franchise over dozens of other actresses, basically grew up in the public eye—hence her bemusement when it comes to the very idea of fame. "I did Twilight when I was 17," she said on The Hollywood Reporter's Awards Season podcast in 2015. "It came out when I was 18 and my life was never even remotely the same."
But unlike some actresses who get trapped in the role for which they became world-famous, Stewart has taken that Hollywood capital she earned practically overnight and invested it in doing movies that mean something to her and projects that have broadened her skills as an actor.
Though Bella was made immortal at 19 by her beloved vampire husband Edward Cullen—played by Robert Pattinson, Stewart's then-boyfriend—the star has continued to grow up, as have the rest of her co-stars in the five-film saga, based on Stephenie Meyer's best-selling novels.
But just because she's over it, doesn't mean we aren't allowed to still be, like, a little bit still obsessed.
"Every part that I've ever played has shaped me in such a significant way...I know from an outsider's perspective you might have something to say about that like in general," Stewart explained to E! News in 2017. "But I kind of view it as every other thing that I've invested in and really loved. And I'm lucky to have had that experience."
See? It's fine, she wouldn't have changed a thing.
Now, we're checking in on the stars of the franchise, which all started when Meyer had a dream about an ordinary girl and a sparkling vampire boy having an intense conversation in a meadow, and you can see what they looked like then and now:
This story was originally published on Thursday, April 9, 2020 at 3 a.m. PT.