Stella Maynes Maxwell was born in Brussels on 15 May 1990, the daughter of Northern Irish parents from Belfast.

[3] Her mother is Stella (née Maynes) and her father is retired diplomat Maurice Maxwell, who served as the former head of the European Commission in Belfast.

[11][12] During her career, she has posed for Alexander McQueen, Asos, H&M, Karl Lagerfeld, Roberto Cavalli, Urban Outfitters and Topshop, and has been featured on the covers of the German, Turkish, Spanish, Thai and Japanese editions of the fashion magazine Vogue.

As a catwalk model, she has walked for Jeremy Scott, Marc Jacobs, Tommy Hilfiger, Moschino, Brandon Maxwell, Dolce & Gabbana, Jacquemus, Tory Burch, Giles, Dsquared2, Mugler, Fendi, Chanel, Miu Miu, 032c and Versace.

She notably opened the Concept Korea Spring/Summer 2011 fashion show, during which she was dressed as a Lolita-esque modern day Snow White in hoody, miniskirt and towering shoes.

[21] From December 2016 to late 2018, she was in a relationship with American actress Kristen Stewart;[22][23] they briefly resumed dating in mid-2019.