Kirsten Caroline Dunst (/ˈkɪərstən/; born April 30, 1982) is an American actress. She made her acting debut in the short Oedipus Wrecks directed by Woody Allen in the anthology film New York Stories (1989). She then gained recognition for her role as child vampire Claudia in the horror film Interview with the Vampire (1994), which earned her a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress. She also had roles in her youth in Little Women (1994) and the fantasy films Jumanji (1995) and Small Soldiers (1998).
In the late 1990s, Dunst transitioned to leading roles in a number of teen films, including the satires Dick and Drop Dead Gorgeous and the Sofia Coppola-directed drama The Virgin Suicides (all in 1999). In 2000, she starred in the lead role in the cheerleading film Bring It On, which has become a cult classic. She gained further wide attention for her role as Mary Jane Watson in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy (2002–2007). Her career progressed with a supporting role in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), followed by a lead role in Cameron Crowe's tragicomedy Elizabethtown (2005), and as the title character in Coppola's Marie Antoinette (2006).
In 2011, Dunst starred as a depressed newlywed in Lars von Trier's apocalyptic film drama Melancholia, which earned her the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress. In 2015, she played Peggy Blumquist in the second season of the FX series Fargo, which earned Dunst a Primetime Emmy Award nomination. She then had a supporting role in the film Hidden Figures (2016), and leading roles in The Beguiled (2017) and the black comedy series On Becoming a God in Central Florida (2019), for which she received a third Golden Globe nomination. She earned her fourth nomination for a Golden Globe and first nomination for an Academy Award for her performance in the psychological drama The Power of the Dog (2021).
Early life and family
Dunst was born on April 30, 1982, at Point Pleasant Hospital in Point Pleasant, New Jersey. Dunst's father worked for Siemens as a medical services executive, and her mother worked for Lufthansa as a flight attendant. She was also an artist and one-time gallery owner. Dunst's father is German, originally from Hamburg, and her American mother is of German and Swedish descent. Until age eleven, Dunst lived in Brick Township, New Jersey, and attended Ranney School in Tinton Falls.
In 1993, she moved to Los Angeles with her mother and brother, after her parents separated. She began acting while a student at Notre Dame High School, and continued doing so after graduating in 2000. In her teens, she found it difficult to cope 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".
