American actress Kirsten Dunst
London Academy of Media Film TV
Kirsten Dunst
Born Kirsten Caroline Dunst in Point Pleasant, New Jersey on 30th April, 1982, Kirsten is the eldest of two children to artist Inez and medical executive Klaus Dunst. She spent her early childhood in New Jersey, and appeared in television commercials as a child model at the tender age of 3, going on to secure a modeling contract with the Ford agency. An acting career wasn’t far behind with Kirsten making her acting debut at the age of 6, with uncredited appearances in Saturday Night Live and New York Stories in 1989, before earning her first credited performance with a small role in Bonfire of the Vanities in 1990. After her parents separated, Kirsten and her younger brother Christian moved to Los Angeles with their mother in 1991. Kirsten studied at Notre Dame high school and quickly secured a reputation as a talented child actress.
CHILD ACTRESS
After an appearance in an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation in 1993, Kirsten found her breakthrough role a year later as Claudia, a decades old vampire trapped in the body of a child, in Neil Jordan’s Interview with the Vampire (1994). Starring opposite Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt, Interview made Kirsten an instant star with the young actress earning plaudits for her mature performance including numerous critics’ choice awards and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress. She capitalized on her early acclaim with appearances in Little Women (1994) and Joe Johnston’s family blockbuster Jumanji (1995), before landing further television roles including a brief stint on hospital drama ER (1996-1997).
TEENAGE ICON
Kirsten’s career went from strength to strength in her teenage years with the rising star showing no signs of slowing down as she exercised her vocal talents for Fox’s animated take on Anastasia (1997), acted opposite screen icons Robert De Niro and Dustin Hoffman in Wag the Dog (1997), and battled out of control toys in Joe Dante’s Small Soldiers (1998). Kirsten would later see a repeat of her early critical acclaim when she was cast in Sofia Coppolla’s acclaimed ensemble The Virgin Suicides in 1999. The next 3 years saw the actress feature prominently in the burgeoning teenage comedy genre with appearances in Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999), Bring It On (2000), and Get Over It (2001) making her a teen icon, yet her star-making turn was just around the corner when she won the role of Peter Parker’s love interest, Mary Jane Watson, in Sam Raimi’s highly anticipated Spider-Man in (2002).
SPIDER-MAN AND BEYOND
Spider-Man’s worldwide success propelled Kirsten to the top of Hollywood’s A-list, with the actress securing leading parts in big budget studio pictures. Between shooting the increasingly successful Spider-Man sequels in 2004 and 2007 respectively, Kirsten made high-profile supporting appearances in the likes of Mona Lisa Smile (2003) with Julia Roberts, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) with Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet, and headlined rom-com Wimbledon (2004), before reuniting with Sofia Coppola for independent biopic Marie Antoinette in 2006. She has since appeared in the Simon Pegg comedy, How to Lose Friends and Alienate People (2008), and will next be seen in Lars Von Trier’s Melancholia (2011).
Kirsten Dunst in Spider-Man
OTHER WORK
Aside from her acting career, Kirsten has had some success as a singer; recording songs to accompany the release of Get Over It, The Cat’s Meow (2001), and Spider-Man 3. She has also performed guest vocals on actor Jason Schwartzman’s debut solo album Nighttiming. Kirsten is also actively involved in charity work having helped raise funds for the Elizabeth Glazer Pediatric AIDS Foundation, and the Stand Up to Cancer program.
PERSONAL LIFE
Shortly after the release of How to Lose Friends and Alienate People, Kirsten took a break from the limelight to seek treatment for depression at the Cirque Lodge in Utah. She has had a number of high profile relationships having previously been linked to actors Jake Gyllenhaal, Ben Foster, and Andy Samberg, and Razorlight rocker Johnny Borrell. She is currently represented by the William Morris Agency.
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