Bella and Edward’s ‘Twilight’ daughter cast

Mackenzie Foy, 9, will play Renesmee, who grows to age 17 in seven years

Access Hollywood

updated 10/7/2010 3:10:38 PM ET

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Actress Mackenzie Foy has been cast in “The Twilight Saga’s” pivotal role of Renesmee, Bella and Edward’s vampire/human child in “Breaking Dawn,” series author Stephenie Meyer announced on Wednesday.

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“Very excited about our new Renesmee, Mackenzie Foy,” Stephenie wrote on the official “Twilight” Facebook page.

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“She’s an amazing young actress and I’m excited to work with her,” she continued.

Slideshow: ‘Twilight’ stars light up Hollywood (on this page)

The author also thanked her legions of fans for flocking to the social networking site in droves.

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“Congratulations to the Twilight Facebook Fan Page! 15 million fans! You guys never cease to amaze me,” she wrote.

According to Entertainment Weekly – which first reported that the 9-year-old actress was “inches away” from landing the role last month – director Bill Condon might use digital effects like those seen in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” to age the actress. During the last installment of “The Twilight Saga,” Renesmee grows to the age of 17 in only seven years.

Mackenzie has previously appeared on the small screen in one episode each of “FlashForward” and “‘Til Death.”

VIEW THE PHOTOS: ‘Twilight’ Heartthrob: Taylor Lautner

“Breaking Dawn,” which will be released in two installments, is slated to start filming in November.

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Photos: 'Twilight' mania lights up Hollywood

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Family affair
In "Breaking Dawn Part 2," young Mackenzie Foy plays the half-human half-vampire child of Bella (Kristen Stewart) and Edward (Robert Pattinson). Jacob (Taylor Lautner) also plays an important role in Renesmee's life. (Summit Entertainment) Share Back to slideshow navigation
Next generation
Mackenzie Foy, 11, plays Renesmee Cullen, whose name is a hybrid of her two grandmothers, Renee and Esme. (Summit Entertainment) Share Back to slideshow navigation

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Super couple
While Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson's relationship progressed to marriage and a child onscreen, the actors' offscreen romance had a few bumps in the road. (Summit Entertainment) Share Back to slideshow navigation
Cullen clan
Plenty of vampires, including Edward's adoptive father Carlisle (Peter Facinelli), take sides in the war between the Volturi and the Cullens in "Breaking Dawn Part 2." (Summit Entertainment) Share Back to slideshow navigation
Love gives a lift
Pattinson as vampire Edward Cullen gives Bella Swan a lift in "Breaking Dawn, Part 1." (Andrew Cooper / Summit Entertainment) Share Back to slideshow navigation

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Ready for a fight
Taylor Lautner, as Jacob, gives a menacing glance as a blood-splattered Edward and his parents stand behind him in "Breaking Dawn Part 1." (Andrew Cooper / Summit Entertainment) Share Back to slideshow navigation
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Like picking up a toothpick
Kellan Lutz and Nikki Reed move some trees in "Breaking Dawn, Part 1." We assume they're making a clearing for Edward and Bella's wedding. Good thing vampires have that super-strength! (Andrew Cooper / Summit Entertainment) Share Back to slideshow navigation
What lies ahead
Smile while you can, Edward and Bella. Things are about to get crazy. (Andrew Cooper / Andrew Cooper) Share Back to slideshow navigation
Team Jacob
In between his "Twilight" duties, Taylor Lautner found time to shoot the action movie "Abduction." (Andrew Cooper) Share Back to slideshow navigation

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If the shoe fits
Ashley Greene as Alice convinces Bella to try on some possible wedding shoes in "Breaking Dawn Part 1." (Andrew Cooper) Share Back to slideshow navigation

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Awaiting the bride
Ashley Greene, Jackson Rathbone, Elizabeth Reaser and Peter Facinelli await the "Breaking Dawn" wedding. (Doane Gregory) Share Back to slideshow navigation
Wedding night at last
Reportedly the wedding-night scene involves Edward biting through the pillows, with feathers flying. The sex scene itself, however, had to stay PG-13. (Summit Entertainment) Share Back to slideshow navigation

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Hot honeymoon
Edward and Bella's honeymoon was shot in Brazil, which stands in for Edward's adoptive mother's own private island. (Summit Entertainment) Share Back to slideshow navigation

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Baby on the way
Bella and Edward didn't believe she could become pregnant with a half-vampire baby. Boy, were they wrong. Their daughter Renesmee enters the world in "Breaking Dawn Part 1," but the battle over her existence will mostly take place in the second film, due out in 2012. (Andrew Cooper) Share Back to slideshow navigation

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I'm getting married in the morning
Ashley Greene (Alice Cullen) and Nikki Reed (Rosalie Hale) help Bella get ready to walk down the aisle in "Breaking Dawn." (Summit Entertainment) Share Back to slideshow navigation
Greeting the guests
Elizabeth Reaser, as Edward's adoptive mother, Esme, greets Denali coven guests Irina (Maggie Grace), Kate (Casey LaBow) and Tanya (MyAnna Buring) as they arrive for Edward and Bella's wedding in "Breaking Dawn." (Summit Entertainment) Share Back to slideshow navigation
Vegetarian vamps
Mia Maestro and Christian Camargo play Carmen and Eleazar, vegetarian vampires from Alaska's Denali coven who come south to attend Bella and Edward's wedding. (Summit Entertainment) Share Back to slideshow navigation

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Not going to RSVP, then?
Jacob (Taylor Lautner) is furious when he receives the invitation to Bella and Edward's wedding. (Summit Entertainment) Share Back to slideshow navigation

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Facing up to a star
A fan gets up close and personal with an image of "Twilight" star Robert Pattinson during the 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on June 24, 2010, in Los Angeles. (Frazer Harrison / Getty Images) Share Back to slideshow navigation
Related slideshow Kristen Stewart

The terrific threesome
Taylor Lautner, Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson arrive at the premiere of the third movie in the series, "Eclipse," during the 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on June 24, 2010, in Los Angeles. (Jason Merritt / Getty Images) Share Back to slideshow navigation
A childhood pal grows up -- and fills out
While vampire Edward Cullen is Bella's true love, Taylor Lautner, as Jacob Black, who can phase into a giant wolf, is the true monster star of the third film, thanks in no small part to Lautner's abs and tendency to take his shirt off often. (Summit Entertainment) Share Back to slideshow navigation
Another vampire couple
Alice Cullen (Ashley Greene) and Jasper Hale (Jackson Rathbone) are two of the vampires who are part of the Cullen coven. In "Eclipse," Jasper tells how he became a vampire, when, as a Confederate major in the Civil War, he was bitten by the bewitching Maria. (Summit Entertainment) Share Back to slideshow navigation

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Shirts? We don't need no stinkin' shirts!
The "Twilight" wolfpack is allergic to chest coverings. (Summit Entertainment) Share Back to slideshow navigation
Murdered by her fiance
Rosalie Hale (Nikki Reed), shown here with partner Emmett Cullen (Kellan Lutz), is another of the Cullen coven with a tortured past. Her fiance was a drunk who orchestrated her gang rape and then left her for dead. As a vampire, she sought revenge and killed her rapists one by one. (Summit Entertainment) Share Back to slideshow navigation
You only hurt the one you love
Emily Young (Tinsel Korey) is permanently scarred from a wolf attack by her boyfriend, Sam Uley (Chaske Spencer). He lost control and didn't mean to hurt her, and forever feels guilty for her injuries. (Summit Entertainment.) Share Back to slideshow navigation
A force to be reckoned with
Vampire Riley (played by Xavier Samuel, center) leads a group of newly undead planning to kill Bella and anyone who gets in their way -- including the Cullens and the werewolves. (Doane Gregory) Share Back to slideshow navigation
Bella in the middle
In "Eclipse," Bella once again finds herself forced to choose between two men she loves dearly -- vampire Edward and her childhood pal, Jacob, who has secrets of his own. (Kimberley French / Summit Entertainment) Share Back to slideshow navigation
The Cullen clan
Is it an ad for denim? No, just a meeting of the Cullen clan, vampires who have bonded together as a family and managed to hide in plain sight of the mortal world. Shown in a scene from "Eclipse," from left, are Ashley Greene as Alice, Nikki Reed as Rosalie, Elizabeth Reaser as Esme, Jackson Rathbone as Jasper and Peter Facinelli as family patriarch Carlisle. (Kimberley French / Summit Entertainment) Share Back to slideshow navigation
Just friends?
Jacob grabs a rare moment alone with Bella in "Eclipse," the third film in the saga. There's one more book, "Breaking Dawn," which will be split into two films. (Kimberley French / Summit Entertainment) Share Back to slideshow navigation
Cute couple
In the second film, "New Moon," Bella and Edward are inseparable until a major threat rips them apart. (Summit Entertainment) Share Back to slideshow navigation
Frail Bella
In "New Moon," the sequel to "Twilight," Bella starts off deliriously happy and in love with the vampire Edward Cullen, but falls apart and becomes a shell of herself after he leaves her. When she realizes that she hears Edward's voice and sees visions of him whenever her life is in danger, Bella engages in high-risk activities as a way to hang on to her memories of him. () Share Back to slideshow navigation
Three's company
Edward watches on as Bella chats with her friend Jacob Black in "New Moon." Jake, who harbors a not-so-secret crush on Bella, brings her back to life after she is crushed from the breakup with Edward. (Summit Entertainment) Share Back to slideshow navigation
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A crushing blow
After Edward breaks up with her, Bella lies in the forest in shock overnight until her police chief dad, Charlie (played by Billy Burke), scours the woods for her with his squad. When they find her, she is unresponsive and remains in a deep depression for months. () Share Back to slideshow navigation
Boy no more
In "New Moon," Jake transforms from a lanky teen to a beefy hunk, thanks to his new werewolf status. To prepare for the physical change the role required, Taylor Lautner started hitting the gym and eating 3,200 calories a day to gain muscle so that his physique would better resemble Jacob's. (Summit Entertainment) Share Back to slideshow navigation
If you love them, let them go
Though it nearly kills him, Edward breaks up with his beloved Bella in "New Moon" in an attempt to keep her safe from the constant dangers of the vampire world. (Summit Entertainment) Share Back to slideshow navigation
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Give me death
When Edward hears that Bella has died, he goes to Italy to see the Volturi, a powerful coven of vampires that governs the laws of their world. He asks that the Volturi will grant him his wish: to destroy him, as he has no desire to live in a world without Bella. Here, the Volturi tracker Demetri stands over him. (Summit Entertainment) Share Back to slideshow navigation
Team Edward!
A female fan kisses a poster showing the face of actor Robert Pattinson before the presentation of his new film, "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" at an HVB youth event at the Olympic Hall in Munich, Germany, on Nov. 14. (Alexandra Beier / Getty Images) Share Back to slideshow navigation

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Playing heroine
When Bella discovers that Edward plans to have the Volturi destroy him after coming to believe that she has died, she races to Italy to save him. (Summit Entertainment) Share Back to slideshow navigation
Finding love in the 'Twilight'
Though Edward finds Bella's scent intoxicating and dangerously irresistable, he can't help but be drawn to her in "Twilight." (Summit Entertainment) Share Back to slideshow navigation
Hunk with a hidden life
English actor Pattison moved from modeling to the role of Cedric Diggory in "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" before taking on the role that would make him famous, that of hunky vampire Edward Cullen in "The Twilight Saga." (Summit Entertainment, EPA) Share Back to slideshow navigation
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Muscling up but staying sweet
Kellan Lutz plays Emmett Cullen in the "Twilight" movies. He's considered Edward's brother in the film and books, but in reality, the young vampires aren't related -- they were brought together by an older vampire and present themselves as a family to the outer world. Lutz bulked up for the films, but insists it hasn't interfered with his addiction to gummy bears, gummy worms, chocolate and other sweet treats. (Paul Buck / EPA) Share Back to slideshow navigation
Leading the vampire clan
Peter Facinelli (husband of "90210's" Jennie Garth) and Elizabeth Reaser play the Cullen parents, Carlisle and Esme, in the "Twilight" movies. Carlisle, a doctor, managed to gather his small band together as a family and convince them to kill only animals to slake their bloodlust. They occasionally clash with other vamps who aren't quite as compassionate where humans are concerned. (Summit Entertainment, Getty Images) Share Back to slideshow navigation
So my daughter's in love with a vampire ...
Billy Burke plays Bella's father, Charlie, and serves as the chief of police in their small rainy town of Forks, Wash. The Cullen vampire clan resides in the damp town because it's low on the bright sunshine that would reveal their non-human identities. Vampires in the "Twilight" universe sparkle brightly in direct sunlight. (Paul Buck / EPA) Share Back to slideshow navigation
Hanging with the wolf pack
Bella's pal Jacob (far right) has a secret of his own, and it involves a wolfy transformation often associated with the full moon. His dad, Billy Black (Gil Birmingham, in wheelchair) is good friends with Bella's father, Charlie (Burke, in blue shirt). When Bella's relationship with Edward puts her father in danger, Billy and his community protect Charlie. (Summit Entertainment) Share Back to slideshow navigation
Bella, Bella
Beautiful Bella Swan leaves her mother in sunny Arizona and moves to the Pacific Northwest, where she stumbles upon Edward Cullen and his vampire clan. Instead of being horrified, she confesses her love for Edward, and wants him to change her into a vampire as well, something he tries to resist doing. (Summit Entertainment, Getty Images) Share Back to slideshow navigation
This sister's trouble
Nikki Reed plays Cullen sister Rosalie, a gorgeous vampire who resents her status and takes some of her anger out on Bella. She doesn't want her brother's human girlfriend to join her clan, leading to trouble in the second book of the series, "New Moon." (Vince Bucci / Getty Images) Share Back to slideshow navigation

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Look out for Laurent
Edi Gathegi, seen here with Peter Facinelli in a scene from "Twilight," plays Laurent, a vampire from a group of nomad vampires that does battle with the Cullen clan. (Summit Entertainment, Getty Images) Share Back to slideshow navigation
It's tough to be a bloodsucker
Jackson Rathbone plays Cullen brother Jasper. The newest vampire in their clan, he must constantly struggle to fight off his urges to kill humans, Bella included. His fascinating backstory includes a history as a Confederate soldier in the Civil War and years spent training newborn vamps to learn to control themselves. He has the power to feel and manipulate the emotions of others. (Vince Bucci / Getty Images) Share Back to slideshow navigation

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On the prowl
Vampire James, played by Cam Gigandet, is considered a "tracker," and once he discovers Bella's human scent, plans to pursue her until her death. In "Twilight," he convinces her that her mother is in danger and thus forces her to sneak away from Edward and meet him in the Arizona ballet studio where she studied as a child. (Summit Entertainment, Getty Images) Share Back to slideshow navigation
The hunt continues
Fiery-haired Victoria makes up the third and final member of Laurent and James' coven. Her mate dominates the action in the first book, "Twilight," but by the third book, "Eclipse," Victoria takes center stage to try and wreak bloody revenge on Bella and the Cullens. Rachelle Lafevre, center, plays Victoria in the first two films, but when she needed time off for a movie, she was fired and replaced by actor Ron Howard's daughter, Bryce Dallas Howard, right. (AP) Share Back to slideshow navigation
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Team Jacob or Team Edward?
While Jacob Black is a Native American in the books and the films, actor Taylor Lautner himself is not. He was nearly replaced for the second film when moviemakers thought he couldn't convincingly pull off the bulk required for the role, but an impressive workout routine changed that. (Summit Entertainment, Getty Images) Share Back to slideshow navigation
Life with the vampire royals
Young actress Dakota Fanning plays Jane in the "Twilight" sequel "New Moon." Jane is a member of the Volturi guard, working with the royal family of vampires who reside in Italy. Jane has an especially cruel power that allows her to create the illusion of pain and thus torture others. (Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images for NAACP) Share Back to slideshow navigation

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Waiting for 'Twilight'
"Twilight" fans are among some of the most devoted around, with numerous Web sites, fan clubs and conventions gathering groupies to discuss and debate both the books and the films. Here fans reach for free T-shirts at the Los Angeles premiere of the first movie, in November 2008. Stores such as Hot Topic offer plenty of "Twilight" merchandise, including "TEAM EDWARD" and "TEAM JACOB" shirts, allowing fans to declare their allegiance to one of Bella's suitors. (Matt Sayles / AP) Share Back to slideshow navigation

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Above: Slideshow (53) ‘Twilight’ stars light up Hollywood
Paul Drinkwater / NBC
Slideshow (45) Kristen Stewart
Paul Buck / EPA
Slideshow (41) Robert Pattinson

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Discussion comments

Bella and Edward’s ‘Twilight’ daughter cast

Mackenzie Foy, 9, will play Renesmee, who grows to age 17 in seven years

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Jump to photos 'Twilight' mania lights up Hollywood

Jump to discuss comments below

Photos: 'Twilight' mania lights up Hollywood

Family affair

Next generation

Super couple

Cullen clan

Love gives a lift

Ready for a fight

Like picking up a toothpick

What lies ahead

Team Jacob

If the shoe fits

Awaiting the bride

Wedding night at last

Hot honeymoon

Baby on the way

I'm getting married in the morning

Greeting the guests

Vegetarian vamps

Not going to RSVP, then?

Facing up to a star

The terrific threesome

A childhood pal grows up -- and fills out

Another vampire couple

Shirts? We don't need no stinkin' shirts!

Murdered by her fiance

You only hurt the one you love

A force to be reckoned with

Bella in the middle

The Cullen clan

Just friends?

Cute couple

Frail Bella

Three's company

A crushing blow

Boy no more

If you love them, let them go

Give me death

Team Edward!

Playing heroine

Finding love in the 'Twilight'

Hunk with a hidden life

Muscling up but staying sweet

Leading the vampire clan

So my daughter's in love with a vampire ...

Hanging with the wolf pack

Bella, Bella

This sister's trouble

Look out for Laurent

It's tough to be a bloodsucker

On the prowl

The hunt continues

Team Jacob or Team Edward?

Life with the vampire royals

Waiting for 'Twilight'

Discuss:

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