Kristen Stewart, who reached global fame with the $3.35 billion-grossing Twilight franchise a decade-plus ago, has landed her first Best Actress Oscar nomination for her portrayal as Princess Diana in Pablo Larrain’s Spencer.
Oscar buzz for Stewart’s sublime turn as the late British royal was immediate after Spencer‘s world premiere at the Venice Film Festival. To date, Stewart has racked up noms for the role from the Critics Choice Awards in the Best Actress category and the Golden Globes in the Best Actress Drama nom slot. However, Stewart was snubbed by the BAFTAs and the SAGs.
Spencer follows Diana during a Royal Christmas at Sandringham as she struggles with the “house rules” during the breakdown of her marriage to Prince Charles. Written by Steven Knight (Locke), the story follows her as she rails against everything from the imposed dress code to strict dinner times, while facing an eating disorder and seeing visions of past queens.
How Kristen Stewart & Pablo Larraín Brought ‘Spencer’ To Life: “It Felt Like Taking Drugs”
In press tours, Stewart has reflected deeply on how both she and the Princess of Wales dealt with a life in the public eye.
Stewart told Howard Stern in an interview, “There’s this fixation on what we would have been able to get from this woman if we had her for longer.
“There are some people that are just born with this sparkly, protruding, beautiful, just like incredibly infectious energy — and she was one of those people,” she added back in November.
Larraín at Deadline’s The Contenders London spoke about making the royal family “background” in the story: “It’s the moment that she decides to walk away from that marriage. And that decision, it’s difficult. She finds her identity, I believe, and she decides to move on. She was in a marriage that was too crowded. … She understands that she can have a life with her children outside of that structure, that institution.”
Stewart is competing in the Best Actress category this year against Jessica Chastain (The Eyes of Tammy Faye), Olivia Colman (The Lost Daughter), Penélope Cruz (Parallel Mothers) and Nicole Kidman (Being the Ricardos). Chastain, Colman and Kidman are the only three to be competing at the SAG Awards, where Lady Gaga (House of Gucci) and Jennifer Hudson (Respect) are also nominated. Those two actresses were snubbed this morning.
Stewart was among nine actors and actresses who received their first career Oscar noms this morning including Jessie Buckley (The Lost Daughter), Ariana DeBose (West Side Story), Aunjanue Ellis (King Richard), Ciarán Hinds (Belfast), Troy Kotsur (CODA) and The Power of the Dog‘s Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons and Kodi Smit-McPhee. Plemons and Dunst are an anomaly as a couple being recognized at the Oscars for the same movie.
The Neon-stateside-released Spencer has made more than $7M at the domestic box office and $18.7M globally.
‘Spencer’: Read The Screenplay For Steven Knight And Pablo Larraín’s Princess Di Fable
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