Sarah Oliver - Robert Pattinson--The Biography: The Biography

W hen Rob Pattinson opens his eyes first thing in the morning and wipes the sleep from them, it can take him a while to figure out where he is. He might be sprawled across his bed in his Los Angeles mansion, or in a luxury hotel suite virtually anywhere in the world.

He has come so far since Twilight catapulted him to stardom on 17 November 2008, the night of the Los Angeles premiere. His life took a turn that no one could have expected, not least his parents, Richard and Clare

Robs parents will always remember the day he entered their lives, 13 May 1986. He was born in a private clinic close to Barnes, London, and they gave him the name Robert Thomas Pattinson. They already had two daughters, Lizzy and Victoria, but he was their first son. He was the missing piece of the Pattinson jigsaw puzzle and his arrival completed their little family.

Back then, they might have thought that the little boy in their arms would grow up to live not far from them, maybe get a job in London, pop home at weekends for a roast dinner or to simply catch up on things.

They wouldnt have thought in a million years that he would end up being a world-famous actor living in Los Angeles, thousands of miles from them. If they want to see him, outside of FaceTime or Skype, then they have to pop on a plane and make the trip to his LA home or to his latest filming location.

The Pattinsons have always been a close-knit group of people. Even if they cant see each other on a day-to-day basis, as a family they always try to be together for special occasions. For instance, when Rob turned twenty-three while he was filming New Moon in Vancouver, Canada, his family made the trip over to see him and enjoyed a special celebratory meal out with him and his cast mates. His family mean the world to him and he always tries to make spending Christmas with them a priority.

Richard and Clare raised Rob and his sisters in a semi-detached five-bedroomed Victorian house in Barnes, south-west London. Barnes is an affluent Thames-side village, with a cricket green, rugby club, bookshop, delis, boutiques and restaurants. It is also the location of one of the most famous music studios in London The Olympic Sound Studios. Famous bands like the Rolling Stones, Oasis and The Arctic Monkeys have all recorded tracks there.

Robs parents might have been wealthy but they didnt want Rob and his sisters to grow up spoilt. Even now, they expect him to be humble and find it strange when they visit him on the sets of his movies and his assistants ask him if he would like something to eat or drink. They think he should get things for himself, rather than relying on others.

Richard and Clare are retired now but when Rob was growing up they both worked. His dad was a taxi driver and sold vintage cars and his mum was a booker at a modelling agency. She encouraged Rob to become a model when he was in his young teens but once he reached puberty, the work dried up. Rob jokes now that he stopped being in demand when he stopped looking like a girl.

He told Look magazine: I never did any sport, so I was always the kind of gangly guy.

Lizzy and Victoria loved having a young brother to play with and when he was really young, they would dress him up and call him Claudia. They were overprotective of him when he was growing up and are still quite wary of new people who join his friendship group.

All the Pattinson children have taken creative career paths Lizzy is a singer-songwriter and Victoria works in advertising/marketing. Victoria helps brands develop creative ideas and works on their social media and PR strategies. They are both based in London.

Lizzy is becoming more famous in her own right after appearing on the British version of The X Factor in 2014. She reached the Judges Houses round and was almost picked by Simon Cowell to appear on the live shows. Although narrowly missing out was a big blow she vowed to continue singing and could very well apply for The X Factor again in the future.

DID YOU KNOW?

Before Lizzy became passionate about singing she was a budding actress and appeared in several plays. Lizzy was also in the short film Mood Swing (2007), which was produced with a budget of 500. She played the part of Gemma, girlfriend of the main character Ewan. The plot in short is that the couple are threatened by a man and narrowly escape with their lives.

Lizzy has always been a keen dancer and has a Grade 8 in ballet. When she was at college she did gigs in pubs and clubs in London. After she finished her A-levels she was approached and asked if she would like to join the electronic dance music group Aurora. Lizzy jumped at the chance and was thrilled when their two singles, Dreaming and The Day It Rained Forever, made the Top Twenty charts in the UK. They toured all around the UK, Europe and North America and even managed to land No. 1 on the Billboard Dance Charts after collaborating with Milk & Sugar on their track Let The Sunshine In. It was a wonderful opportunity and made Lizzy feel like becoming a singer professionally was a real possibility.

DID YOU KNOW?

Lizzy was given the opportunity to sing ambient background vocals for the Carter Burwell track Who Are They? for the Twilight soundtrack. Its the track that plays when Bella sees the Cullens for the first time in the cafeteria.

She confided to Cellar Door magazine: I recorded the vocals with Carter Burwell and Catherine Hardwicke at Hans Zimmers studio in Los Angeles and Air Studios in London. They were both such amazing people to work with and it was fascinating to see and hear how much the music affects the mood of the scene. I feel honoured to have been a part of the film, albeit a very small part. It was so much fun.

Lizzy and Victoria look very similar and it can be hard to distinguish between the two. When Rob first became famous the paparazzi would sometimes photograph them leaving places with him and the next day their faces would be plastered all over Internet sites, with bloggers claiming to have found Robs secret girlfriend.

Rob and his sisters are very well spoken and this is not by accident. Rob confessed to The Inquirer: My parents were just very aware of how youre treated differently in the world if you speak articulately, so it was just the way I was brought up.

Rob is a huge dog lover and he has always been fascinated by them. He admitted to Gala.de that if he had to choose one animal to be, he would pick a dog. He said: You sleep, sit around, get stroked, eat and get walked from time to time. Thats great. There is a deep connection between me and dogs.

While growing up, his West Highland Terrier Patty was the member of his family he was closest to. When myfoxphilly.com asked him about his love life in 2008, Rob joked: My dog is the only lady friend in my life. I have a really girly dog, but she hasnt got a girly attitude. My dog is a little bit like Beyonc it has a Beyonc walk, which is strange for a little terrier.

He was absolutely devastated in 2009 when Patty passed away and admitted to Parade a year later: I keep talking about my dog all the time. It was an incredible dog, and I said in an interview recently she was the most important person in my life.

My family went crazy with me for saying that. But, however ridiculous it may seem to some people, my relationship with my dog was a defining moment. Having the dog die was, literally, like the worst day of my life. It was like losing a family member.

Rob spent a lot of time with Patty when he was growing up because he didnt have lots of friends. He was pretty introverted and liked spending time on his own. He had a really happy childhood in Barnes, but admitted to