Kirsten Caroline Dunst (born April 30, 1982) is an American actress from New Jersey of German and Swedish descent. She's notable for being a child actor who actually has a better acting career as an adult. This might be helped by her acting mainly in smaller films, with the occasional blockbuster, thus not being tied to any one role.
But one thing that does stand out is her Girl Next Door looks and demeanor, being sweet and wholesome, but not too much.
In 2007 she wrote and directed a short film called Welcome, starring Winona Ryder.
In 2017 she became engaged to Jesse Plemons, her Fargo co-star.
Her roles include:
- Anastasia - Young Anastasia
- Bachelorette - Regan Crawford
- TheBeguiled - Edwina
- Bring It On - Torrance Shipman
- The Cat's Meow - Marion Davies
- Crazy Beautiful - Nicole Oakley
- The Devil's Arithmetic - Hannah
- Dick - Betsy Jobs
- Drop Dead Gorgeous - Amber Atkins
- Elizabethtown - Claire Colburn
- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - Mary Svevo
- Fargo - Peggy Blumquist
- Get Over It - Kelly Woods
- The Hairy Bird - Verena von Stefan
- How to Lose Friends and Alienate People - Alison Olsen
- Interview with the Vampire - Claudia
- Jumanji - Judy Shepherd
- Kiki's Delivery Service (American voice) - Kiki
- Little Women (1994 Version of the Film) - Young Amy March
- Marie Antoinette (2006 film) - Marie Antoinette
- Melancholia - Justine
- Midnight Special - Sarah Myer
- Mona Lisa Smile - Betty Warren
- The Mystery of the Third Planet (English dub) — Kirsten Dunst is the only Western actress to have played Alisa Selezneva.
- Saturday Night Live: When she was a child actor, she appeared as an extra on a cold opening. When she hosted in season 27 [the 2001-2002 season], she pointed this out.
- Small Soldiers - Christy Fimple
- The Spider-Man Trilogy - Mary Jane Watson
- The Virgin Suicides - Lux Lisbon
- Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Dark Page" - Hedril
- The Outer Limits (1995) episode "Music of the Spheres" - Joyce Taylor
- Upside Down - Eden
Tropes associated with her include:
- Cute Little Fangs: You'd almost think she was destined to play a vampire
◊. - Former Child Star: Averted. She burst onto the scene as a child star in the 90s but managed to transcend that and carve out a respectable career as an adult actress. The films she's done as an adult are usually more remembered than her child roles.
- Girl Next Door: Common in many of her roles, she tends to play fairly down to earth characters that still are considered quite attractive.
- She's not always lovey duvey though.
- Manic Pixie Dream Girl: Dunst played the character in Elizabethtown who lead to the coining of the phrase in a review of the film. For the record: Dunst is not a fan of the term.
- Mouthy Kid: in her early teen movies she was quite known for this. "Bring it On," "Drop Dead Gorgeous" and "Get over it" are her best examples.Felix: "Shouldn't you be at a pajama jammy jam or something?"Kelly: "What am I a year younger than you? Not that anyone can tell from your birthday presents. Pink roller blades."
- Ms. Fanservice: Most notably in Spider-Man, where she famously spent a scene in a very thin shirt in the rain. She's also played a cheerleader, been in many photoshoots, appeared topless, and even appeared fully nude in Melancholia.
- Pretty in Mink: Wore a white rabbit dress for a magazine shoot◊, and wore some fur-trimmed dresses playing Marie Antoinette.
- Romance on the Set:
- She and Garrett Hedlund dated for four years after they worked together in On the Road.
- She and Jesse Plemons began dating several months after they worked together in Season 2 of Fargo. They are now engaged.
- Star-Making Role: Interview with the Vampire established her child career. Spider-Man established her adult career.
