Kirsten Dunst Biography

Born in Point Pleasant, New Jersey, Kirsten Dunst had an agent at the age of three. She secured her first film role at the age of five as Woody Allen and Mia Farrow's daughter in 1989's New York Stories; she then played Tom Hanks' kid in 1990's The Bonfire of the Vanities. Her big break came in 1993 when she beat out 5,000 other young actresses to get the role of Claudia, the child blood-sucker in Interview With the Vampire. It was a big leap that earned her much recognition: she was nominated for a Golden Globe award for Best Supporting Actress, up against Sophia Loren, Uma Thurman, Robin Wright, and Dianne Wiest (who won).

The combination of the film's success and that of the same year's Little Women (in which she played the frivolous Amy) made Kirsten one of the most bankable child actors in Hollywood. The following year she starred in the Robin Williams action-fantasy Jumanji and then lent her voice to the animated feature Anastasia (1997). The same year, she had a small but memorable role in Barry Levinson's highly praised Wag the Dog, and subsequently starred in the children's action flick Small Soldiers (1998). The year 1999 marked a turning point in Kirsten's career, as she began appearing in films that cast her as a young woman rather than a precocious child. She had a lead role as a small-town beauty contestant in the comedy Drop Dead Gorgeous and co-starred with Michelle Williams as one of the teenage girls who unwittingly uncovers the Watergate scandal in the comedy Dick.

The actress further lived up to her title as one of Teen People's "21 Hottest Stars Under 21" with her leading role as the sexually rebellious Lux in Sofia Coppola's highly anticipated film adaptation of Jeffrey Eugenides' novel The Virgin Suicides, which premiered at Cannes in May of 1999. In 2000, she had a total of five films released. In 2002, she starred as Mary Jane Watson in the Hollywood blockbuster Spider-Man, opposite Tobey Maguire. The film was so successful that a sequel was immediately planned. She continued to work non-stop with appearances in Mona Lisa Smile (2003) opposite Julia Roberts, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) with Jim Carrey and Elizabethtown (2005), co-starring Orlando Bloom.

In 2015, Kirsten worked on the hit series Fargo. She played Peggy Blumquist opposite Jesse Plemons as her husband, Ed Blumquit, in 10 episodes of the show, for which she received Golden Globe and Emmy nominations. The following year, she starred in the indie drama Midnight Special with Michael Shannon and Joel Edgerton. She also appeared in Hidden Figures (2017), alongside Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monáe and Kevin Costner. She then went on to star in the dramas Woodshock (2017) and The Beguiled (2017).

In 2019, Kirsten played the starring role of Krystal Stubbs on the Showtime TV series On Becoming a God in Central Florida, then starred opposite Matthew McConaughey on the podcast Hank the Cowdog in 2020.

In the Netflix film The Power of the Dog (2021), which received 12 nominations in total at the 94th Academy Awards, Kirsten played the new wife of her real-life partner, Jesse Plemons, who in turn played the brother of Benedict Cumberbatch's character. She received her first Oscar nomination in the supporting actress category, while Plemons received his first nomination as well, in the supporting actor category.

In 2007, while struggling with depression, Kirsten entered a facility in Utah. In 2008, she admitted she regretted having been a child actress, saying: "I have had to grow up very fast in the adult world of acting. I already know that if I have a child, I will never put them through this."

Her longtime partner is fellow actor Jesse Plemons. They have two sons together.

Filmography:

The Power of the Dog (2021)
Woodshock (2017)
The Beguiled (2017)
Hidden Figures (2016)
Midnight Special (2016)
The Two Faces of January (2014)
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013)
On the Road (2013)
Upside Down (2013)
Melancholia (2011)
All Good Things (2009)
How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (2008)
Spider-Man 3 (2007)
Marie Antoinette (2006)
Elizabethtown (2005)
Wimbledon (2004)
Spider-Man 2 (2004)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Mona Lisa Smile (2003)
Kaena: The Prophecy (2003)
Levity (2003)
Axis (2002)
Spider-Man (2002)
The Cat's Meow (2002)
crazy/beautiful (2001)
Get Over It (2001)
Luckytown Blues (2000)
The Crow: Salvation (2000)
All Forgotten (2000)
Bring It On (2000)
Deeply (2000)
The Virgin Suicides (2000)
Dick (1999)
Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999)
Small Soldiers (1998)
Strike! (1998)
Wag the Dog (1997)
Anastasia (1997) (voice)
True Heart (1997)
Mother Night (1996)
Jumanji (1995)
Interview with the Vampire (1994)
Greedy (1994)
High Strung (1994)
Little Women (1994)
The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990)
Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)
New York Stories (1989)