A pretty, precocious blonde, Kirsten Dunst began working in commercials at age three (eventually racking up over 70 such credits) and made her feature debut as Mia Farrow’s daughter in “Oedipus Wrecks”, Woody Allen’s segment of “New York Stories” (1989). Modest roles in other features followed, though several of the films (e.g. “The Bonfire of the Vanities” 1990) saw little exposure at the box office. Dunst also appeared in a recurring role on the NBC drama “Sisters” and guest starred in an episode of the syndicated “Star Trek: The Next Generation”.
Dunst was catapulted into the limelight with her stunning work in Neil Jordan’s “Interview With the Vampire” (1994). Only eleven at the time of filming, she essayed what was debatably the female lead opposite Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt. Her Claudia, a little girl made into a vampire and unable to age through the years, looked like a child one moment and appeared–and acted–like a grown woman the next. Although the film received mixed notices, Dunst’s remarkably mature performance earned nearly universal raves, earning her a few critics awards and a Golden Globe nomination. Although there was talk of an Oscar nomination, it failed to materialize. Nevertheless, the young actress continued to turn in impressive work. She portrayed the younger version of the spoiled, artistic Amy in “Little Women” (1994), appearing alongside Winona Ryder and Susan Sarandon (although Samantha Mathis essayed the adult character).
Dunst solidified her rising status co-starring with Robin Williams in the hit “Jumanji” (1995). Poised to make the transition to adult roles, she alternated TV appearances with her high profile films. During the 1996-97 season, Dunst had the recurring role of a tough-talking runaway who crosses paths with Dr. Doug Ross (George Clooney) in the hit NBC drama “ER”. After providing the speaking voice of the young version of the title character in Fox’s animated “Anastasia”, she earned notice as a teenager hired to play an Albanian refugee in a mock war in the political satire “Wag the Dog” (both 1997). Dunst was “Fifteen and Pregnant” in the based-on-fact Lifetime drama before returning to the big screen in the highly touted “Small Soldiers” and alongside other rising female stars (e.g., Heather Matarazzo, Monica Keena) in the ensemble of “Strike/The Hairy Bird” (both 1998).
Dunst began to emerge from the back of Hollywood starlets to become a recognizable actress and box office draw, beginning with her adroit comedic turns in the beauty pageant comedy “Drop Dead Gorgeous” (1999) and the off-the-wall teen girls-meet- Richard Nixon riot “Dick” (1999) in which she and Michelle Williams were prefectly cast as clueless teenager of the Watergate era. As she matured, Dunst also became something of a sex symbol for the younger set with roles in teen romantic comedies. She played the plucky captain of an ambitious cheerleading squad in the surprisingly infectious “Bring It On” (2000), in which she displayed her ability to carry a film on her perky, girl-next-door charm, and she also scored in the less brilliant teen romance “Get Over It” (2001). Dunst proved she also had formidable dramatic chops when she appeared as Lux, the eldest and most rebellious of the doomed Lisbon sisters, in Sofia Coppola’s acclaimed directorial debut “The Virgin Suicides” (1999)’ and was particularly riveting in 2001′s “crazy/beautiful” as the emotionally troubled daughter of a wealthy congressman who threatens to derail the rise of her less-privileged Latin boyfriend (Jay Hernandez).
It would be Dunst’s sunny, sexy and endearing portrayal of Mary Jane Watson, the love interest of nerdy Peter Parker, in the big screen adaptation of the comic book superhero “Spider-Man” (2002) that would thrust her into full-fledged superstardom. Dunst’s utter likeability and strong chemistry with leading man Tobey Maguire turned “Spider-Man” into an action blockbuster with a romantic soul, and the see-sawing nature of the characters’ relationship made it the first super-hero date movie. The same year, Dunst had a wonderful turn in director Peter Bogdonavitch’s early Hollywood scandal film “The Cat’s Meow” in which, despite being far too young to play early screen star Marion Davies, she turned in a convincing performance centered around the character’s surprisingly believeable romance with media tycon William Randolph Hearst (Edward Herrmann). She next appeared with an all-star cast in writer-director Ed Solomon’s “Levity” (2003), playing a self-destructive young woman who becomes dependent on an ex-con (Billy Bob Thornton).
Dunst joined fellow up-and-comers Julia Stiles and Maggie Gyllenhaal as students of progressive and liberal-minded teacher Julia Roberts in “Mona Lisa Smile” (2003). Dunst showed her harsher edges as the vicious, overprivileged senior Betty Warren who, committed to a life of houswifery to a louse, shows the most opposition to Roberts’ ideals, using the student newspaper to attack her stance that Wellesley women of the 1950s should aspire to more from life than a role as a perfect housewife to a CEO. Next for Dunst was a pivotal and well-acted supporting turn in “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” (2004) as Mary, the young receptionist in the memory-erasing facility where heartbroken Jim Carrey goes to have his ex-girlfriend eliminated from his thoughts. Then it was on to reprise her role as Mary Jane Watson, now a successful, engaged actress but still pining for Peter Parker in the highly anticipated sequel “Spider-Man 2″ (2004), followed by the U.S. release of France’s first 3-D CGI animated film “Kaena: The Prophecy” (2004), in which she provided the voice of the rebellious teen heroine in the sci-fi fantasy.
Hot off the success of the “Spider-Man” films, Dunst landed her first full-fledged adult leading role in the lukewarm romantic comedy “Wimbledon” (2004), winningly playing up-and-coming tennis sensation Lizzie Bradbury, an easily distracted “bad girl of tennis” whose romance with a faded ex-star of the game (Paul Bettany) reignites his passion and send him to tennis’ most prestigious tournament.
Taking on one of most mature leading roles to date, Dunst was winsome and appealing in her turn as the relentlessly upbeat flight attendant Claire Colburn, who helps a failed golden boy (Orlando Bloom) mourning his father reawaken to the joys of life and romance in writer-director Cameron Crowe’s engaging, if uneven, film “Elizabethtown” (2005).
- Also Credited As:
Kirsten Caroline Dunst
- Born:
on 04/30/82 in Point Pleasant, New Jersey
- Job Titles:
Actor, Model
Family
- Brother: Christian Dunst. born c. 1987
- Father: Klaus Dunst. stationed in New Jersey while the rest of his family lives on the west coast; separated from Dunst’s mother
- Mother: Inez Dunst. separated from Dunst’s father
Significant Others
- Companion: Ben Foster. appeared together in “Get Over It” (2001); no longer together
- Companion: Jake Gyllenhaal. romantically linked in October 2002
- Companion: Jake Hoffman. dating as of 1998; son of actor Dustin Hoffman with whom Dunst co-starred in “Wag the Dog” (1997)
- Companion: Tobey Maguire. reportedly became romantically involved during filming of “Spider-Man” in 2001
Milestones
- — Will star in the title role for Sofia Coppola’s “Marie-Antoinette” opposite Jason Schwartzman as Louis XVI (lensed 2005); will debut at Cannes
- 1985 Began acting at the age of three, at first in TV commercials (date approximate)
- 1989 Made feature film debut in “Oedipus Wrecks”, the Woody Allen-directed segment of the anthology feature, “New York Stories”
- 1992 Landed role of Claudia in “Interview with a Vampire” at age 10 (date approximate)
- 1992 Moved with her family to Los Angeles
- 1993 Episodic TV debut guesting on two episodes of the NBC drama series, “Sisters”, in the role of Kitten Margolis
- 1993 Made TV-movie debut in a small role in the NBC drama, “Darkness Before Dawn”
- 1994 First large feature film role, as Claudia in “Interview With the Vampire”
- 1995 Co-starred with Robin Williams in the box-office hit “Jumanji”
- 1996 Made TV series debut with recurring role on the hit NBC medical drama “ER”
- 1996 Appeared in the two-part CBS drama “Ruby Ridge: An American Tragedy”, playing Sara Weaver
- 1997 Had amusing supporting role as a child actress drafted to play an Albanian refugee in “Wag the Dog”
- 1997 Voiced the title character as a girl for the Fox animated feature “Anastasia”
- 1998 Co-starred in “Small Soldiers” and “Strike/The Hairy Bird”
- 1998 Starred as an expectant teenager in the Lifetime movie “Fifteen and Pregnant”
- 1999 Played a beauty queen contestant in the mock documentary “Drop Dead Gorgeous”
- 1999 Teamed with Michelle Williams as two high school students who stumble onto Watergate in the comedy “Dick”
- 2000 Portrayed a cheerleader in “Bring It On”
- 2001 Cast as a troubled rich girl who falls for a Hispanic classmate in “crazy/beautiful”
- 2001 Portrayed Marion Davies in “The Cat’s Meow”; premiered at Locarno Film Festival
- 2002 Co-starred as Mary Jane Watson , the girlfriend of Peter Parker, in “Spider-Man”
- 2003 Cast in the drama feature “Levity”
- 2003 Starred as Betty Warren in “Mona Lisa Smile”
- 2004 Co-starred with Jim Carrey and Mark Ruffalo in “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”
- 2004 Reprised role as Mary Jane for “Spider-Man 2″
- 2004 Starred as tennis pro Lizzie Bradbury opposite Paul Bettany in the romantic comedy “Wimbledon”
- 2005 Cast as Claire, a quick-witted flight attendant in Cameron Crowe’s “Elizabethtown” opposite Orlando Bloom
- Grew up in New York City
- Reprised role as Mary Jane for “Spider-Man 3″ (lensed 2006)
- Signed to the Ford Modeling Agency
