Having started her career as a prolific child actor, Kristen Stewart rose to stardom through the success of the Twilight movies, an immensely popular teenage fantasy-romance romp that spearheaded society’s craze for vampires in the late 2000s and early 2010s. In the eyes of many moviegoers, Stewart’s career has been intrinsically linked to the role of Bella Swan, which is a real shame as the actress has amassed a versatile and layered filmography that even consists of an Oscar-nominated performance.

Her best films are a credit to her appetite to contribute to intriguing stories with roles that are nuanced and complex, even if mainstream appeal and Hollywood glamour have to be sacrificed in that pursuit. With a filmography that is best described as undervalued, ambitious, and eclectic, Stewart’s greatest achievements include everything from supernatural thrillers to quaint romantic comedies.

10 'Happiest Season' (2020)

Directed by Clea DuVall

A progressive and modern Christmas rom-com drama that uses genre tropes to its advantage and contains plenty of laughs and drama along the way, Happiest Season has become a cult hit of festive fun. Directed and co-written by Clea DuVall as a semi-autobiographical story, it follows Abby (Stewart) as she plans to propose to her girlfriend, Harper (Mackenzie Davis) in front of her family having been invited to celebrate Christmas with them. However, when Harper reveals she hasn’t come out to her conservative parents, the holiday season becomes a lot more complicated.

Poignant and insightful where it needs to be, and sweet and charming everywhere else, Happiest Season is an enjoyable flick that uses its Christmas setting brilliantly as it focuses on themes of family acceptance and being true to oneself. Stewart and Davis lead the rom-com with assurance, while they are supported by an all-star cast that includes Alison Brie, Aubrey Plaza, Dan Levy, and Mary Steenburgen.

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9 'Adventureland' (2009)

Directed by Greg Mottola

Another noteworthy rom-com that sees Stewart play the love interest with heart-warming results, Adventureland is a nostalgic and underrated hit about coming-of-age love. Taking place in 1987, it follows James (Jesse Eisenberg), a recent college graduate whose plans for a dream trip to Europe are abruptly canceled. Forced to take a job at a local amusement park, he embarks on what is certain to be the worst summer of his life. However, his outlook changes when he meets his co-worker, Emily (Stewart).

Hilariously funny at some stages, and painfully awkward at others, Adventureland is a tender romance that beautifully encapsulates the mystery and the might of young love. Greg Mottola is wise to place plenty of weight on the lowkey yet sweet and engrossing chemistry between Eisenberg and Stewart. Also featuring Bill Hader, Ryan Reynolds, and Kristen Wiig in supporting roles, it has aged quite wonderfully as an underrated gem of teen rom-com cinema.

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8 'Panic Room' (2002)

Directed by David Fincher

Panic Room was just Kristen Stewart’s third feature film, and it served as her major breakout in the industry as a young and rising star. The David Fincher thriller focuses on a single mother and her diabetic daughter as they hide in their house’s panic room when intruders break in. However, when it is revealed the invaders want something stored in the panic room and will stop at nothing to get it, a deadly game of cat-and-mouse unfolds as Meg (Jodie Foster) tries everything to protect her daughter.

While the premise isn’t as sharp as some of Fincher’s other films, Panic Room still shines as a wonderful example of the director’s ability to craft palpable tension while also functioning as yet another brilliant showcase of Foster’s power as a leading woman. The suspenseful and brutally violent thriller hinges on the emotional core of the central mother-daughter relationship to thrive, with Foster and an inexperienced Stewart excelling at bringing the integral element to the screen.

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7 'Personal Shopper' (2016)

Directed by Olivier Assayas

An enthralling supernatural thriller that saw Stewart truly distance herself from her Twilight image, Personal Shopper sees her star as Maureen, a personal shopper in Paris with an ability to communicate with dead spirits. As her twin brother died in Paris, she is set on staying in the city until she makes contact with him, but her aspirations of a reunion grow complicated when she starts receiving ambiguous texts from an unknown messenger.

It was an attention-snatching outing from Stewart, who commands the screen with a powerful performance in which she presents Maureen as a conflicted figure who goes from being quietly nervous and mousy to erupting in rage. More than just a pivotal vehicle for Stewart though, Personal Shopper excels as an eerie and atmospheric thriller that defies easy categorization yet flaunts an unnerving punch that made it one of the most underrated films of the 2010s.

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6 'Certain Women' (2016)

Directed by Kelly Reichardt

While it divided fans and critics with its strong thematic focus, Certain Women still stands as an intriguing drama that pays close attention to women in the modern world. With a star-studded cast, it follows three loosely connected women living on the plains of the American Northwest. The ties between them strengthen as they each try to pave their own way while being confronted by sexist issues in their professional and personal lives.

A mesmerizing display of the immense power of narrative minimalism, Certain Women doesn’t aspire to flaunt an awe-inspiring story but instead drifts through a rich thematic journey that comes to a rewarding finale in the third act. Stewart has an authority and conviction imbued in her role and is able to stand firm among an incredible cast that includes Lily Gladstone, Laura Dern, Michelle Williams, and Jared Harris.

Watch on AMC+

5 'Clouds of Sils Maria' (2014)

Directed by Olivier Assayas

While there are a few claimants to the title, Kristen Stewart might just be the patron saint of underrated, women-focused films of the 2010s. Yet another overlooked gem she co-stars in, Clouds of Sils Maria tells an engaging and intriguing story as it follows Maria Enders (Juliette Binoche), an acclaimed actress who made her break in a stage play 20 years prior, as she appears in a revival of the production in a different role. When a young, problematic American actress, Jo-Ann Ellis (Chloë Grace Moretz), takes the role that was once Maria’s, the aging actress shares her complicated thoughts with her assistant, Valentine (Stewart).

An intrinsic and absorbing look at the effect of passing time, the vulnerabilities of women, and complicated interpersonal relationships, Clouds of Sils Maria is a contemplative drama that offers a masterclass in acting. Stewart was particularly phenomenal as the overburdened personal assistant to Maria who forges an intimate yet undefined bond with the actress.

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4 'Still Alice' (2014)

Directed by Richard Glatzer & Wash Westmoreland

A deeply moving drama about the devastating impact Alzheimer’s Disease has on those diagnosed with it and their families and friends, Still Alice thrived off the back of its strong cast, with Julianne Moore winning an Academy Award for her lead performance. Moore stars as Alice Daly Howard, a linguistics professor at Columbia University who is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s just after her 50th birthday. Her family’s bonds are strained as her condition rapidly deteriorates.

Stewart makes the most of her supporting role as Lydia, Alice’s daughter who is an aspiring actress and, despite being viewed as something of a black sheep by her siblings, steps up to be her mother’s carer when it becomes too emotionally taxing for her father. She puts in a deft performance of delicate yet powerful honesty that makes for one of the most memorable elements of the film. As a whole, Still Alice has been celebrated as a meaningful film that addresses its central themes with both insightful authenticity and a respectful sensitivity.

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3 'Spencer' (2021)

Directed by Pablo Larraín

After years of proving her brilliance in underrated films that struggled to break into mainstream awareness, Kristen Stewart finally got a chance to showcase the true breadth of her talents in Spencer, and the actress did not disappoint. With Stewart portraying Princess Diana, the whimsical, fantastical biopic explores a difficult festive season as her marriage to Prince Charles (Jack Farthing) struggles. Going against royal customs, Diana decides to end her marriage as she finds her mental health deteriorating.

It cannot be overstated what Stewart achieved with her performance, delivering a flawless impersonation of Princess Diana while still handling the film’s fictitious and sensationalized beats with the impact they necessitated. While some were critical of Spencer’s story and thematic focus, Stewart earned universal admiration, with the actress receiving an Oscar nomination for her performance.

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2 'Love Lies Bleeding' (2024)

Directed by Rose Glass

Love Lies Bleeding is an intoxicating and zany movie, even by the usual standards of A24, with the meshing of lesbian romance, gritty action spectacle, crime-drama, and stylized violence making for a delirious, sensual, visceral, white-knuckled thrillfest of pure entertainment. Lou (Stewart) is a reclusive gym manager who falls into a romance with Jackie (Katy M. O’Brian), a bodybuilder whose career is on the rise. Their relationship soon leads to violence, however, when the duo becomes embroiled amid the aspirations of Lou’s criminal family.

An all-American fable of hot-blooded lust and ultra-violence, Love Lies Bleeding feels like it should be impossible to contain to a spritely 104-minute runtime, especially with Lou and Jackie’s impassioned love story serving as the film’s beating heart. Stewart and O’Brian prove to be a fantastic pair, with both actresses drawing audiences into their characters’ romance while still embracing the awe-inspiring carnage erupting all around them.

1 'Into the Wild' (2007)

Directed by Sean Penn

Into the Wild is an outstanding achievement from writer-director Sean Penn, who transforms Jon Krakauer’s non-fiction book into a harrowing yet resonant character study. The biographical drama follows Christopher McCandless (Emile Hirsch), the privileged son of wealthy parents, as he chooses to immerse himself in nature following his graduation from Emory University. Giving up all his possessions, and donating his savings to charity, he sets out into the Alaskan wilderness.

While readers familiar with the book would have had an awareness of where the film would end up, the film is still a brilliant viewing experience as it immerses audiences into McCandless’ naturalistic yet complicated worldview. Hirsch is sensational in the leading role, but Into the Wild also leans heavily on its impressive supporting cast to explore McCandless’ character in great depth. No character was as vital as Kristen Stewart’s Tracy Tatro, a 16-year-old girl smitten by McCandless who he turns down on account of her age.

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NEXT: Every Movie in 'The Twilight Saga,' Ranked