Kristen Stewart's family used to be "embarrassed" by her.

The 22-year-old actress shot to fame appearing opposite Jodie Foster in Panic Room when she was just 13 years old and she admits she found it hard to cope with being recognised in public.

"People would come up to me when I was eating with my family in a restaurant or something and I would always just curl up into myself in a ridiculous manner. My family would be embarrassed and it would be like, 'Kristen, what are you doing? Just be nice and say hello.' And I honestly don't know what my problem was. I think it's natural that 13 year olds can be pretty insecure, but what's unnatural about it was that I wasn't insecure. I loved talking to people normally. I was so engaged and outgoing. It's just fame. That's what I had a really hard time with."

Kristen - who is in a relationship with her Twilight Saga co-star Robert Pattinson - admits she was a "freak" about public scrutiny and can understand why people thought she was a "weirdo."

"I was such a freak with all that stuff in the beginning. And that's way everyone thought I was such a weirdo. I was definitely overly self-conscious."