With the premiere of the highly anticipated Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 just around the corner, we decided to take a closer look at the actor’s children and how they have fared since the start of the movie franchise.
Raising Children Since High School
Having already gone through a divorce, Robert Pattinson didn’t need to spend much time thinking about parenting. After adopting his daughters, Luna and Grace, from China back in 2012, the 42-year-old actor had little trouble falling back into his old habits, especially since he has a whole family to provide for now.
“[With] two kids, it’s way more interesting,” the actor, who is currently promoting Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1, tells Us Weekly. “[It’s] the best job in the world.”
The two-time Golden Globe nominee has been married to Kristen Stewart since 2009. The couple, who became best friends while filming Twilight, are proud parents to four-year-old Cosmo, and one-year-old Juniper. The children live with their parents in an 8,400 square foot mansion in Los Angeles, where they are surrounded by nannies, gardeners, and cooks. The high school sweethearts aren’t without help, either, as each of their kids has a staff member who looks after them 24 hours a day.
The couple has always been open about their children’s safety concerns and recently hired a tutor who meets with the kids once a week, to help them work through their curriculum. While they can’t always be there to protect their kids, they do their best to shield them from online predators and unwanted attention.
The Kids’ Early Years
The actor’s children were born into a world of luxury, with all of their needs catered for. In his 2011 book, Twilight: The Making of a Saga, Bill Condon, the film’s director, detailed how the couple’s parenting style differs from that of most celebrities. He explained that they don’t just leave their children in daycare, but instead take them out for walks, play dates, and family dinners.
“It’s a very hands-on approach and they spoil their children rotten,” Condon wrote. “They never ever turn their back on their kids or let them out of their sight. It’s amazing how much they love each other and how much they care for their kids.”
The film director also revealed that the couple never saw themselves as “celebrities,” adding that they prefer to be known as “Robert and Kristen,” the parents of Luna and Grace. But perhaps what is most striking is how little Condon saw this behavior as unusual. After all, he explained, “when you grow up in a house full of people who are mostly worried about your safety, and you’re the only one who seems to want to have fun, it’s not that surprising that the fun-loving kids would turn out to be the grown-ups.”
Luna’s High School Years
While Grace struggled with being the “baby” of the family for most of her young life, Luna embraced the role. The actress began starring in commercials and music videos at age 10, followed by a supporting role in the 2013 horror movie, What Lies Beneath. Since then she has gradually emerged as one of Hollywood’s most promising young stars, appearing in major blockbuster films, such as the upcoming Fifty Shades Darker and the Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.
Luna is set to begin the final season of her hit Netflix show, Master of None, on June 4. The actress, who is also one of the series’ stars, plays an aspiring actress in New York City, who leaves her comfort zone to broaden her acting portfolio. In the show’s trailer, she can be seen taking acting classes, auditioning for TV roles, and even performing in a play.
The actress is best known for her role as Billie in the Twilight series. In Breaking Dawn Part 1, she plays the younger version of Kristen’s character, Billie Jean. While her character is only four years old in the film, in real life, Luna is now 16 years old. As viewers will soon see, she is far more mature than her character was at that age.
Grace’s High School Years
Like her sister, Grace is following in her father’s footsteps, starring in commercials, music videos, and small roles in independent films. The actress made her big-screen debut at age 11 in the thriller, The Assignment. Since then she has regularly starred in films, most recently: The House with the Clock in its Walls and the horror film, The Girl in the Spider’s Web. In 2019, Grace began an online course in acting with Amy Poehler, which she is taking to help develop her public speaking skills. In the future, she would like to help children understand their feelings, so that they can speak up without fear.
Grace also has a blog, where she writes about bullying, body positivity, and feminism. She currently lives in London with her family, but often spends time in Los Angeles, where she is filming. In her spare time, she enjoys doing yoga and watching horror movies.
Will They Stay Children Forever?
With the spotlight at its peak, the fame and fortune that surrounded their parents at the height of the Twilight phenomenon, there was no reason to think that the children wouldn’t continue down that same path. That is, until they started acting. In 2015, Luna fell in love with a French aristocrat and began acting in French films, which lead to a major acting break. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, the actress said that she needed a change of pace, because “doing the same thing day in and day out gets tiring.”
The film star has been busy breaking hearts on the big and small screen since then. In addition to filming the final season of Master of None in New York City, she has starred in a number of independent films, including the upcoming drama, The Nightingale, as well as the horror film, The Mercy.
In a recent interview with Harper’s Bazaar, the actress said that despite her hectic schedule, she still checks in with her kids regularly, making sure that they are safe and keeping their heads above water. “Luna is a teenager, and Grace is a young woman. They are both independent, strong-willed and passionate. So, I need to make sure that I am there for them as much as I can,” she said. “Being a parent is challenging, but it is also the most rewarding thing you can do. It’s not just about you anymore. You have a responsibility to raise your children well, to be the best possible role models for them. It’s easy for me to say, since I have two kids and a full house, but nonetheless, it’s a must. They are young, so they need guidance and protection as much as anyone else. It is my job as a parent to make sure that they have the tools they need to succeed in life. I hope that they always feel that they can talk to me about anything, but particularly about their education and careers.”
Similarly, Grace began to see herself as more than just a child actor, and in 2019 she made her directorial debut, with the horror movie, The Spook’s Widow. She also starred in the film adaptation of Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery, playing the adult version of one of the main characters, Margaret. Since then, she has been hard at work on a number of projects, including a retelling of the Little Mermaid tale, in which she plays the prince’s sweetheart. In 2020, she will star in the upcoming psychological thriller, A Nightmare on Elm Street, opposite Lindsay Lohan.
Like her parents, Grace and Luna both want to be parents one day. When they do have children, they hope to raise them in a world that is as safe and nurturing as the one they were lucky enough to grow up in. After all, as Condon put it: “Being a parent is the best job in the world. It’s way more interesting.”