Quotes

I grew up in Middleburg and Jacksonville, and went to University Christian School before transferring to Wolfson High School when I was in tenth grade.

I moved to Los Angeles, California, at the age of 17 to pursue an acting career.

I initially planned to become a model, but was told that I was not tall enough at 5 feet 5 inches (1.65 m) to be a fashion model and should instead focus on acting in commercials.

As an actor you want people to know you and there are times you want your pictures taken, but it's unnerving to walk out of a venue with friends and there are 20 people flashing lights in your face. Do you know how bright those lights are?

My whole outlook has changed. You go into rooms with producers and directors and you're so nervous, and you're thinking these are big, bad studio heads and they want you to fail. Then you do something like this, and you can walk into these rooms and they want to know what you think, what you want to do, how you view their script. I go into these rooms [now], sit down, and have conversations with these people, which is what I should have been doing from the beginning. It's a different world.

My life is a crazy whirlwind right now. I'm just working and working and working. With the success of the film, there are a lot of things you get offered, places people want you to go just to have you there, and I really haven't been able to do that. Between this and other films, I've just been working. You know, I was a struggling actor, and I was modeling to pay bills. I was worried about rent, and I was living with two other people. To go from that to me going, "I need a break, I need a day off", is a crazy thing. It's good, and it's tiring, but my mom being able to see what I'm doing every single day on the Internet? It's crazy! From nobody really knowing or really caring who you are or what you do to suddenly making headlines with what you're eating, where you're going, who you're hanging out and having coffee with is nuts. But I guess it helps when I'm walking into these rooms with directors and producers, all of a sudden, they know who I am. That's the craziest thing ... -- on how her life has changed since Twilight (2008) debuted.

I definitely try to make it home. I actually have my family fly out, and I have a couple of Florida friends fly out sometimes, and then I have a best friend or two in L.A. I just try hanging out and spending time with my friends - I try and live a normal lifestyle. -- on what she likes to do for fun.

... I don't think I'm going to be pigeonholed. If I always played the hot, stupid chick, then I might be pigeonholed as that. I get to kind of choose my films, which hopefully I will choose wisely and build off of that versus pissing the fans off.

After taking commercial and acting class, I fell in love with acting and realized that I preferred it over modeling.

It was a really long, tedious process. I hadn't read the books, but I read them because they wouldn't release the script or breakdown. My manager told me to go into the audition and to do a good job and not to mess up because the casting directors were sticklers. So, I was like, "How am I supposed to do a good job? I don't even know what I'm supposed to be playing!" I originally auditioned for "Bella", and so I read the first book and kind of fell in love with it. I went in and auditioned and actually they called me back in and said, "No, you're not right for Bella", so I was bummed, and then they brought me back for "Alice". I worked more on it - that was all I did for a couple of days before I went in. I came in probably like five times before I actually got the role - and then I went home for Christmas and literally just had to wait and wait. I thought that I didn't get it again, and then I got the call that I was "Alice" and I freaked out and called my dad and mom -- on how she got the role of "Alice Cullen" in Twilight (2008).

I need a guy that understands give-and-take. I can't be the only one giving.