Background

Ethnicity: Dunst's father is German, from Bad Schwartau. Her mother is American-born, from New Jersey. Kirsten’s maternal grandfather was of German descent, while Kirsten’s maternal grandmother was of Swedish ancestry.

Kirsten Dunst was born on April 30, 1982, in Point Pleasant, New Jersey, the United States, to Inez Dunst and Klaus Hermann Dunst. Her mother was a one-time gallery owner who also worked as a flight attendant. Her father is a medical services executive. She has a younger brother named Christian Dunst, born in 1987.

Her parents separated in 1993, and she subsequently moved with her mother and brother to Los Angeles. In 1995, her mother filed for divorce.

In addition to her American citizenship, Dunst became a naturalized German citizen in 2011, in part because it helps her get roles in film projects with European financing which limits the number of Americans they are allowed to employ.

Education

Kirsten started out in showbiz at the age of three, where she began filming television commercials. Dunst lived in New Jersey until the age of 11. During that time, she attended the Ranney School. In 1993, she moved with her mother and brother to Los Angeles, California, where she studied at the Laurel Hall School and Notre Dame High School respectively. At Notre Dame Dunst studied with Rami Malek, who was a year ahead of her. They had a musical theatre class together.

As a teenager, she found it difficult to deal with her rising fame, and for a period she blamed her mother for pushing her into acting as a child. However, she later said that her mother "always had the best intentions." When asked if she had any regrets about her childhood, Dunst said, "Well, it's not a natural way to grow up, but it's the way I grew up and I wouldn't change it. I have my stuff to work out... I don't think anybody can sit around and say, 'My life is more screwed up than yours.' Everybody has their issues."

After graduating from Notre Dame in the year 2000, Dunst focused on her acting career on a full-time basis.

Career

Kirsten Dunst started out in showbiz at the age of three, where she began filming television commercials (a grand total of more than 70). She made her feature film debut in a segment of Woody Allen’s 1989 film New York Stories (1989). Shortly after in the same year her family moved to Los Angeles, where her film career took off.

In 1994 she made her breakthrough performance in Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994) alongside such stars as Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise. Her performance earned her a Golden Globe nomination, the MTV Award for Best Breakthrough Performance, and the Saturn Award for Best Young Actress. In 1995, she was named one of People Magazine’s 50 Most Beautiful People. Over the next few years, she made a string of hit movies including Little Women (1994), Jumanji (1995), and Small Soldiers (1998).

2000 was Dunst’s biggest year - she received rave reviews for her role as Lux Lisbon in Sofia Coppola’s Independent film The Virgin Suicides (1999). She proved her status as a leading actress in the comedy hit Bring It On (2000), and she graduated from Notre Dame High School in Los Angeles in June of that year. 2002 is the year that made Dunst one of Hollywood’s leading actresses. Spider-Man (2002) was released on May 4th and was a smashing box office hit. This movie has brought Kirsten to the next level in Hollywood.

Kirsten is also working on her own production company with her mother called "Wooden Spoon Productions." Kirsten then filmed Mona Lisa Smile (2003), where she starred alongside Julia Roberts. That year the sequel Spider-Man II (2004) was released and again did phenomenally well at the box office. The British Tennis Movie, Wimbledon (2004) also did well, Dunst was adorable and her acting in a comedy role was superb.

Elizabethtown (2005) which was directed by Cameron Crowe and co-stars Orlando Bloom and Susan Sarandon only reached #3 at the box-office which was a slight disappointment as I really enjoyed the movie and I thought Kirsten was truly genuine in her role as Claire. This was followed by Marie Antoinette with director Sofia Coppola. The film screened at Cannes in 2006. Spider-Man 3 was released worldwide on May 4th, 2007 and earned over $150 million on the opening weekend in the US, and about $900 million in total.

In 2010 Dunst directed her second short film "Bastard," a modern take on a very well known story. The film starred Brian Geraghty, Lukas Haas & Juno Temple. She appeared in front of the camera in the short film "The Second Bakery Attack," about a newlywed couple who attempt to save their marriage by recreating a petty crime. Brian Geraghty also starred in this film.

Melancholia, directed by the infamous Lars von Trier premiered at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival and released in the U.S and UK during the autumn. Dunst played Justine, a woman suffering from severe depression. The film consists of two segments entitled Justine and Claire. The first segment is of Justine’s disastrous wedding day, and the second segment shows how Justine and her sister Claire deal with the possibility that a giant planet called Melancholia may collide with and destroy planet earth. The film co-stars Charlotte Gainsbourg, Kiefer Sutherland, and Alexander Skarsgard. Kirsten has earned rave reviews for her performance in the film and was a surprise but a deserving winner of the Cannes Best Actress Award. It’s expected that she will be a strong contender for Best Actress nominations for next year's Academy Awards and Golden Globes.

In 2011 Dunst starred alongside Jim Sturgess in Upside Down - a love story about two people who live on parallel worlds. They talk to each other via a video link & fall in love but the different atmospheres of each world prevent them from being together.

In 2012, Dunst co-starred in Juan Diego Solanas' science fiction romantic drama Upside Down opposite Jim Sturgess. She co-starred opposite Isla Fisher, Rebel Wilson, and Lizzy Caplan in Leslye Headland's romantic comedy Bachelorette, produced by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay. In 2012, she co-starred opposite Sam Riley, Kristen Stewart, and Garrett Hedlund in the adventure drama On the Road as Camille Moriarty, based on Jack Kerouac's novel of the same name. She made a cameo appearance in the short film Fight For Your Right Revisited. It premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.

In 2015, Dunst co-starred as Peggy Blumquist in the second season of the critically acclaimed FX crime comedy-drama Fargo, for which she received a Golden Globe nomination. In 2016, Dunst co-starred in Jeff Nichols' science fiction drama Midnight Special with Michael Shannon and Joel Edgerton. In May 2016, she was a member of the main competition jury of the 2016 Cannes Film Festival.

In 2017, Dunst starred with Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, and Elle Fanning in the drama The Beguiled, her third collaboration with Sofia Coppola, who directed, wrote, and produced. The film is a remake of Don Siegel's original 1971 film about a wounded Union soldier who seeks shelter at an all-girls' school deep in Confederate country. That same year, Dunst starred in the Rodarte label founders' feature directorial debut Woodshock about a woman who falls deeper into paranoia after taking a deadly drug.

In October 2015, Dunst said that she was co-writing and set to direct a film adaptation of a novel. In July 2016, it was announced that Dunst would be making her feature film directorial debut with an adaptation of Sylvia Plath's novel The Bell Jar, with Dakota Fanning in the lead role. In August 2019, Dunst stated she was no longer involved with the project.

Dunst stars in the Showtime dark comedy series On Becoming a God in Central Florida. Filming began in October 2018, and the series premiered in August 2019.

Achievements

• 

  At the age of twelve, Dunst gained widespread recognition as Claudia in Interview with the Vampire (1994), for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress, and won the MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance and the Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor.
  
  She won the Empire Award for Best Actress and MTV Movie Award for Best Female Performance for her role as Marry Jane Watson in Spider-Man (2002). The same year, she was enlisted in People magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People.
  
  Kirsten Dunst was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7076 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on August 29, 2019.

Works

More photos

• movie

  • Strike

    (Hot young stars Rachael Leigh Cook (She's All That), Kirs...)

    1998
  • The Cat's Meow

    (From acclaimed director Peter Bogdanovich comes an extrao...)

    2001
  • How to Lose Friends and Alienate People

    (Simon Pegg, Kirsten Dunst, Gillian Anderson Megan Fox and...)

    2008
  • The Devil's Arithmetic

    (Sixteen-year-old Hannah Stern (Kirsten Dunst, "Spiderman"...)

    1999
  • Woodshock

    (From visionary fashion designers behind Rodarte, Kirsten ...)

    2017
  • On The Road

    (A timeless story of Sal Paradise, a young writer whose li...)

    2012
  • Upside Down

    (Adam (Jim Sturgess) and Eden (Kirsten Dunst), a pair of s...)

    2012
  • Hidden Figures

    (An incredible & inspiring untold true story about three w...)

    2016
  • Bonfire of the Vanities

    (An accident in the Bronx prompts a citywide conflict fuel...)

    1990
  • Mother Night

    (A famous American playwright who, during World War II, wr...)

    1996
  • Dick

    (High school students Betsy Jobs (Kirsten Dunst) and Arlen...)

    1999
  • The Beguiled

    (From writer/director Sofia Coppola comes the story of a w...)

    2017
  • Marie Antoinette

    (An electrifying yet intimate re-telling of the turbulent ...)

    2006
  • Anastasia

    (A young girl heads from Russia to Paris, hoping to learn ...)

    1997
  • Spider-Man 2

    (Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) gives up his crime-fighting ...)

    2004
  • True Heart

    (Bonnie (Kirsten Dunst) and her twin brother Sam (Zachery ...)

    1999
  • Get Over It

    (Recent teen dumpee tries to win back his ex by auditionin...)

    2001
  • The Crow: Salvation

    (Hot stars Kirsten Dunst (Bring It On) and Eric Mabius (Cr...)

    2000
  • The Two Faces of January

    (This thriller follows Chester MacFarland (Viggo Mortensen...)

    2014
  • Drop Dead Gorgeous

    (The Sarah Rose Princess America Pageant is a beauty conte...)

    1999
  • Spider-Man

    (The web-spinning superhero has a mission to save New York...)

    2002
  • Mona Lisa Smile

    (Julia Roberts stars as a novice art history professor wit...)

    2003
  • The Virgin Suicides

    (In the mid-1970s, in a sleepy Michigan community, live th...)

    1999
  • Wag The Dog

    (After being caught in a scandalous situation days before ...)

    1997
  • Kaena: The Prophecy

    (A high-spirited teenager, Kaena (voice of Kirsten Dunst) ...)

    2003
  • Melancholia

    (Kirsten Dunst plays a bride whose lavish wedding descends...)

    2011
  • Levity

    (A man leaves jail after 19 years and is attempting to fin...)

    2003
  • Fifteen and Pregnant

    (Kirsten Dunst stars as Tina Spangler, a 15-year-old who t...)

    1998
  • Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

    (Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet lead an all-star cast in this...)

    2004
  • Interview With the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles

    (Boxoffice superstar Tom Cruise ("A Few Good Men," "The Fi...)

    1994
  • Bring It On

    (Kirsten Dunst shakes her pompoms as the new captain of a ...)

    2000
  • Midnight Special

    (A little boy with very special powers inspires a cult fol...)

    2016
  • Small Soldiers

    (Joe Dante directed this satirical action-comedy about tal...)

    1998
  • Lover's Prayer

    (In 1800s Russia, a young man falls in love with a tragic ...)

    2001
  • The Bling Ring

    (Based on true events, Oscar-winning filmmaker Sofia Coppo...)

    2013
  • Deeply

    (Deeply is a 2000 film directed by Sheri Elwood, starring ...)

    2000
  • Darkness Before Dawn

    (As a child, Mary Ann Thompson often found herself the obj...)

    1993
  • Spider-Man 3

    (New York City is in the throes of Spider-mania, and Peter...)

    2007
  • Elizabethtown

    (Drew Baylor, a hot-shot designer whose life becomes compl...)

    2005
  • Wimbledon

    (A rising American tennis star falls for a British contend...)

    2004
  • Lucky Town

    (Kirsten Dunst plays a young woman (Lidda), who is searchi...)

    2000
  • Jumanji

    (A mysterious game transports its players to the jungles o...)

    1995
  • Little Women

    (Winona Ryder lights up the screen in this classic story o...)

    1994
  • crazy/beautiful

    (Fate brings together two high schoolers from opposite wal...)

    2001
  • New York Stories

    (Three different views of life in the big city.)

    1989
  • Greedy

    (Michael J. Fox and Kirk Douglas star in this wickedly fun...)

    1994
  • All Good Things

    (Mr. David Marks was suspected but never tried for killing...)

    2010

• TV series

  • Fargo Season 2

    (The all new chapter of Fargo follows a young State Troope...)

    2015
  • On Becoming a God in Central Florida

    (Krystal Stubbs dives into a pyramid scheme, determined to...)

    2019

Politics

Dunst is a Democrat. In 2004, she came out strong for John Kerry–or should I say strong against Bush, saying: "Our country, in general, is kind of a mess right now, and our environment, and I just hope that [Bush] is out of office."

In 2008, she went full-on for Obama and directed a political documentary explaining why America votes on Tuesdays. The film was non-partisan, but while promoting it, Dunst used the spotlight to talk Obama. She said: "I adore him and I’ll do whatever is necessary to help him become the next president. I think he can do a lot for people of my generation ... I love that he just lays it all on the table... he’s just like everything you want a president to be, I think."

Views

Dunst is a supporter of the pro-life organization March for Women’s Lives Celebrity Coalition and drives a hybrid so she won’t feel like a hypocrite at all of the environmental events she hosts. She did rail on vegetarians once, however, saying: "I think vegetarians - for a lot of them - it’s about a lack of commitment to life and relationships. There are some who just like the fact that they’re controlling something in their life."

Dunst works with the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, for which she helped design and promote a necklace whose sales proceeds went to the Foundation. She worked in breast cancer awareness, participating in the Stand Up to Cancer telethon in September 2008 to raise funds for cancer research. On December 5, 2009, she participated in the Teletón in Mexico, to raise funds for cancer treatment and children's rehabilitation.

Quotations: "But the real secret to total gorgeousness is to believe in yourself, have self-confidence, and try to be secure in your decisions and thoughts."

"Everybody smokes! Models, actresses, everyone! Don't they realize that it's gross? I understand it's an addiction, but it still pains me to see my friends do it."

"Boys frustrate me. I hate all their indirect messages, I hate game playing. Do you like me or don't you? Just tell me so I can get over you."

"Why would I cry over a boy? I would never waste my tears on a boy. Why waste your tears on someone who makes you cry?"

Personality

In 2008, Dunst voluntarily checked herself into Utah’s Cirque Lodge for depression. Opening up about her battle with mental health, she said: "I have experienced depression, Many people have. Mine was caused by a few things. I felt a lot of stress from all these different areas…" After being released from rehab, Dunst avoided larger roles that would put her back into the spotlight.

Interests

• Politicians

  John Kerry, Barack Obama

• Writers

  Briar Rose by Jane Yolen

• Sport & Clubs

  tennis

• Music & Bands

  Maroon 5, Robin Thicke, the Velvet Underground, Alicia Keys, The Strokes, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Jeff Buckley

Connections

Dunst dated actor Jake Gyllenhaal from 2002 to 2004. She dated Razorlight frontman Johnny Borrell in 2007. She dated her On the Road co-star Garrett Hedlund from 2012 to 2016. Dunst began dating her Fargo co-star Jesse Plemons in 2016. As of 2018, they are engaged. They have a son named Ennis Howard Plemons, who was born in Santa Monica, California on May 3, 2018.

Father:

Klaus Hermann Dunst

Mother:

Inez Dunst

colleague:

Octavia Spencer

colleague:

James McAvoy

ex-boyfriend:

Jacob Gyllenhaal

ex-boyfriend:

Garrett Hedlund

Son:

Ennis Howard Plemons

Brother:

Christian Dunst

fiance:

Jesse Plemons

colleague:

Brad Pitt

colleague:

Antonio Banderas

colleague:

Winona Ryder

colleague:

Michelle Williams

colleague:

James Franco

colleague:

Orlando Bloom

colleague:

Alec Baldwin

colleague:

Alexander Skarsgård

colleague:

Rebel Wilson

colleague:

Kevin Costner

References

• Kirsten Dunst
• Kirsten Dunst