'I'm not ashamed and I'm not confused': Kristen Stewart discusses her sexuality as she joins a fleet of cover stars for Elle's Women In Hollywood issue

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Kristen Stewart's joined a host of stars including Helen Mirren, Lupita Nyong'o, Amy Adams and Felicity Jones covering Elle's 23rd Women In Hollywood issue.

In the magazine, the Twilight star, who's dated both men and women, held forth on her sexuality, insisting: 'I'm not ashamed and I'm not confused.'

The 26-year-old's had an on-and-off relationship this year with her onetime personal assistant Alicia Cargile, and has lately been rumoured to be dating Cara Delevingne's ex St Vincent.

'I'm not ashamed and I'm not confused': Kristen Stewart discussed her sexuality in Elle's Women In Hollywood issue

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Elle magazine's annual Women in Hollywood issue is like a who's who of the year's hottest female movie stars and for 2016, the list includes Lupita Nyong'o, Amy Adams, Kathy Bates and more.

Leading the pack is Kristen Stewart and for her cover shot she was styled in a Chanel dress that was pulled from the Resort 2017 collection. As an ambassador to the brand, we've often spotted the Twilight star draped in their wares at various red carpet events.

This particular frock has a halter neckline adorned with a bow as well as a maxi length chiffon skirt. Kristen wore it with a silver Chanel watch to complete the look.

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New romance? The actress is rumoured to be dating Cara Delevingne's ex St Vincent (right)

'Things have changed,' she said, mulling her ability to discuss her feelings openly. 'And not just with me - we're really allowed to encourage this new acceptance to develop and be awesome.'

On her cover, the Café Society actress gave the camera a smouldering stare, flashing a svelte porcelain leg from beneath a sheer black Chanel dress. Dark roots had slithered into her platinum blonde hair.

Meanwhile, fellow cover star Helen Mirren, who in the 1960s rose to theatrical fame as the Sex Queen Of Stratford whilst in the Royal Shakespeare Company, claimed she had 'no idea why' she's been so successful at her current time of life.

Dame Helen, 71, chalked her present career up to 'a lucky combination of elements, not the least of which is that I happened to fall in love with an American [director Taylor Hackford] in my late thirties, the man who is now my husband.'

The Queen: Helen Mirren claimed to have 'no idea why' she has been so successful at her present time of life

The woman who's won an Oscar and an Olivier for playing Elizabeth II clarified: 'Even though I still think of myself as absolutely British, I was here in [Los Angeles], so I was visible.'

On her version of the cover, she donned a black Trademark raincoat cinched at the waist to emphasise her still enviably trim figure. 

Large David Webb drop earrings glinted in the light. Though she was reaching into her pockets, she still allowed a glimpse of the interlocked Vs tattooed onto her left hand. She's said that, to tattoo artists, the symbol means 'love thy neighbour.'

The star of the feverishy anticipated Rogue One: A Star Wars Story confessed to idolising Mirren as well as Ralph Fiennes, having worked with both of them.

'They know that it's a privilege to do what we do,' she said of their attitude to fame. 'You can't suddenly go: "I don't want any of this," because you're in films that people respond to. So you find a way of navigating through it.'  

'They know it's a privilege to do what we do': Felicity Jones anticipated the notoriety that starring in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story will bring her

She herself was perfectly aware she was inviting notoriety when she took on the part of Jyn Erso in the upcoming Gareth Edwards film. 'I think you make those decisions when you take on that kind of work. It comes with responsibility.'

The 32-year-old accented her pencil thin legs in tight, high-waisted navy Dolce & Gabbana trousers. She completed the look with a messily tucked in blue and white striped Burberry shirt.

Lupita Nyong'o framed her toned figure in a Dolce & Gabbana jumpsuit that featured multicoloured false jewels strewn over a black field. 

'I grew up with a very limited mirror of myself,' she said, reflecting on an agent who once denigrated her for her skin colour, saying it was 'too dark for African television.'

'I watched a lot of TV, but the people on it were always light skinned,' the 33-year-old recalled. 'And now I have a platform that takes me into people's houses and onto the pages of their magazines.'

'And now I have a platform': Lupita Nyong'o discussed having a 'very limited mirror of myself' through a childhood during which 'I watched a lot of TV, but the people on it were always light skinned'

Adams flashed a bit of leg from the thigh slit of a white Calvin Klein dress that offered a generous view of her cleavage.

Festooned with Bulgari bracelets and a Bulgari necklace, she opened up about the struggle of her early career. 'I wasn't working,' she conceded, 'and I wasn't happy.'

As she described it: 'I kept trying different acting techniques, like, I'd try to act like the actresses who were getting hired. I thought maybe then I'd get a job.' 

The 42-year-old continued: 'I spent the majority of my twenties trying to figure out who I was and where I fit in, not just in Hollywood, but also in the world. It took me a long time to sort of find my own voice.'

Reminiscences: Amy Adams reflected on her early years of struggle, saying: 'I spent the majority of my twenties trying to figure out who I was and where I fit in'

Anna Kendrick let her hair flow free over large Anita Ko hoop earrings, baring a good portion of her midriff in a white Calvin Klein crop top and torn Calvin Klein jeans. 

The 31-year-old effused about the excitement and curiosity that fuel her work. 'Sometimes,' she said, 'it feels like I'm standing in one of those rooms, in a riddle, where there are all these doors. And it's like, why wouldn't I keep opening them?' 

She qualified: 'Even if what's behind is something kind of annoying, I'd rather find out. I think it will be hard for me to know if I should ever take a break, or focus on something else, because I feel so grateful that I get to keep opening that dang door.'

'I feel so grateful': Anna Kendrick opened up about the curiosity and excitement that fuel her work

Aja Naomi King was similarly leggy in a Calvin Klein thigh-slit dress, though hers sported white polka dots on a grey background. 

The How To Get Away With Murder actress, who this year appeared in the critically exulted The Birth Of A Nation, laid out her career ambitions. 

'I want to write, I want to direct, I want to produce - I want to inhabit what I think it means to fully be an artist,' she said. 'I always wanted to do that, but I didn't think I had the tools. Now I look at Viola [Davis] and I look at Nate [Parker] and I look at Shonda [Rhimes] and it's like, You just do it. You just begin, you know?'

'You just begin, you know?': Aja Naomi King revealed: 'I want to write, I want to direct, I want to produce'

Kathy Bates grinned broadly, wearing a simple white Akris shirt with blue and copper-coloured De Grisogono earrings.

Her passion for her profession was clear. 'I think we all feel those moments when we're just hit by something so powerful, and we suddenly know: "That's what I want to do. I'll do anything I have to to be a part of that." 

'It's not like: "Oh, my God, I want to be famous" and all that s*** - it's something much deeper than that, something that grabs you by the breastbone and just shakes you.'

The eight editions of this November issue will be available October 18.

'It's something much deeper than that': Kathy Bates insisted a desire to act was much more than just a desire for fame