Early life

Dunst was born in Point Pleasant, New Jersey, to Inez and Klaus Dunst. She has a younger brother, Christian. Her father worked as a medical services executive, and her mother worked for Lufthansa as a flight attendant and was an artist and one-time gallery owner. Dunst's father is German, originally from Hamburg, and Dunst's mother, who was born in New Jersey, is of German and Swedish descent.

Until the age of eleven, Dunst lived in Brick Township, New Jersey, where she attended Ranney School. In 1993, her parents separated, and she subsequently moved with her mother and brother to Los Angeles, California, where she attended Laurel Hall School in North Hollywood. In 1995, her mother filed for divorce. The following year Dunst began attending Notre Dame High School, a private Roman Catholic high school in Los Angeles.

After graduating from Notre Dame High School in 2000, Dunst continued the acting career that she had begun. As a teenager, she found it difficult to deal with her rising fame, and for a period she blamed her mother for pushing her into acting as a child. However, she later expressed that her mother "always had the best intentions". When asked if she had any regrets about the way she spent 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."

Career

1988-1993: Early work

Dunst began her career when she was three years old as a child fashion model in television commercials. She was signed with Ford Models and Elite Model Management. At the age of six, she made her feature film debut in a minor role in Woody Allen's short film Oedipus Wrecks that was released as one-third of the anthology film New York Stories (1989). Soon after, she co-starred with Tom Hanks in the comedy-drama The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990), based on Tom Wolfe's novel of the same name, where she played the daughter of Hanks' character. In 1993, Dunst guest-starred on the science fiction drama Star Trek: The Next Generation in the season seven episode titled "Dark Page" as Hedril.

1994-2001: Breakthrough and critical success

The breakthrough role in Dunst's career came in 1994 in the romantic horror film Interview with the Vampire with Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt, based on Anne Rice's novel, in which she played Claudia, the child vampire who is a surrogate daughter to Cruise and Pitt's characters. The film received ambivalent reviews, but many film critics complimented Dunst's performance. Roger Ebert commented that Dunst's creation of the child vampire Claudia was one of the "creepier" aspects of the film, and mentioned her ability to convey the impression of great age inside apparent youth. Todd McCarthy in Variety noted that Dunst was "just right" for the family. The film featured a scene in which Dunst shared her first on-screen kiss with Pitt, who was nineteen years older than her. In an interview with Interview magazine, she revealed, while questioned about her kissing scene with Pitt, that kissing him had made her feel uncomfortable: "I thought it was gross, that Brad had cooties. I mean, I was 10." Her performance earned her the MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance, the Saturn Award for Best Young Actress, and her first Golden Globe Award nomination.

Later in 1994, Dunst co-starred in the drama film Little Women opposite Winona Ryder and Claire Danes. The film received favorable reviews. Critic Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote that the film was the greatest adaptation of the novel and remarked on Dunst's performance, "The perfect contrast to take-charge Jo comes from Kirsten Dunst's scene-stealing Amy, whose vanity and twinkling mischief make so much more sense coming from an 11-year-old vixen than they did from grown-up Joan Bennett in 1933. Ms. Dunst, also scarily effective as the baby bloodsucker of Interview With the Vampire, is a little vamp with a big future."

In 1995, Dunst co-starred in the fantasy adventure film Jumanji, loosely based on Chris Van Allsburg's 1981 book of the same name. The story is about a supernatural and ominous board game which makes animals and other jungle hazards appear upon each roll of the dice. She was part of an ensemble cast that included Robin Williams, Bonnie Hunt and David Alan Grier. The movie grossed $262 million worldwide. That year, and again in 2002, she was named one of People magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People. From 1996 to 1997, Dunst had a recurring role in the third season of the NBC medical drama ER. She played Charlie Chiemingo, a child prostitute taken under the guidance of the pediatrician Dr. Doug Ross, played by George Clooney. In 1997, she voiced Young Anastasia in the animated musical film Anastasia. Also in 1997, Dunst co-starred in the black comedy film Wag the Dog, opposite Robert De Niro and Dustin Hoffman. The following year she voiced the title character, Kiki, a thirteen-year-old apprentice witch who leaves her home village to spend a year on her own, in the anime movie Kiki's Delivery Service (1998).

Dunst was offered the role of Angela in the 1999 drama film American Beauty, but turned it down because she did not want to appear in the film's suggestive sexual scenes or kiss the film's star Kevin Spacey. She later explained: "When I read it, I was 15 and I don't think I was mature enough to understand the script's material." That same year, she co-starred in the comedy film Dick, opposite Michelle Williams. The film is a parody retelling the events of the Watergate scandal which led to the resignation of U.S. president Richard Nixon.

Dunst co-starred in Sofia Coppola's drama film The Virgin Suicides (1999) where she played Lux Lisbon, a troubled teenager. The film was screened as a special presentation at the 43rd San Francisco International Film Festival in 2000. The movie received generally favorable reviews, and San Francisco Chronicle critic Peter Stack noted in his review that Dunst "beautifully balances innocence and wantonness."

In 2000, Dunst starred in the comedy Bring It On as Torrance Shipman, the captain of a cheerleading squad. The film generated mostly positive reviews, with many critics reserving praise for her performance. In his review, A. O. Scott called her "a terrific comic actress, largely because of her great expressive range, and the nimbleness with which she can shift from anxiety to aggression to genuine hurt." Charles Taylor of Salon noted that "among contemporary teenage actresses, Dunst has become the sunniest imaginable parodist", even though he thought the film had failed to provide her with as good a role as she had either in Dick or in The Virgin Suicides. Jessica Winter from The Village Voice complimented Dunst, stating that her performance was "as sprightly and knowingly daft as her turn in Dick" and commenting that " provides the only major element of Bring It On that plays as tweaking parody rather than slick, strident, body-slam churlishness." Peter Stack of the San Francisco Chronicle, despite giving the film an unfavorable review, commended Dunst for her willingness "to be as silly and cloyingly agreeable as it takes to get through a slapdash film."

The following year, Dunst starred in the comedy film Get Over It (2001). She later explained that one of the reasons for accepting the role was that it gave her the opportunity to sing. Also in 2001, she starred in the historical drama The Cat's Meow, directed by Peter Bogdanovich, as the American actress Marion Davies. Derek Elley of Variety described the film as "playful and sporty," saying that this was Dunst's best performance to date: "Believable as both a spoiled ingenue and a lover to two very different men, Dunst endows a potentially lightweight character with considerable depth and sympathy." In the Esquire review, Tom Carson called her performance "terrific." For her work, she won the Best Actress Silver Ombú category award at the 2002 Mar del Plata Film Festival.

2002-2009: Spider-Man and mainstream success

In 2002, Dunst co-starred opposite Tobey Maguire in the superhero film Spider-Man, the most financially successful film of her career to date. She played Mary Jane Watson, the best friend and love interest of Peter Parker (Maguire). The film was directed by Sam Raimi. Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly remarked on Dunst's ability to "lend even the smallest line a tickle of flirtatious music." In the Los Angeles Times review, critic Kenneth Turan noted that Dunst and Maguire made a real connection on screen, concluding that their relationship "involved audiences to an extent rarely seen in films." Spider-Man was a commercial and critical success. The movie grossed $114 million during its opening weekend in North America and went on to earn $822 million worldwide.

Following the success of Spider-Man, Dunst co-starred in Ed Solomon's drama film Levity (2003). That same year she co-starred opposite Julia Roberts, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Julia Stiles in the drama film Mona Lisa Smile (2003). The film generated mostly negative reviews, with Manohla Dargis of the Los Angeles Times describing it as "smug and reductive." She co-starred opposite Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, and Tom Wilkinson in Michel Gondry's science fiction romantic drama Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) as Mary Svevo. The latter film received very positive reviews, with Entertainment Weekly describing Dunst's subplot as "nifty and clever." The movie grossed $72 million worldwide.

The success of the first Spider-Man film led Dunst to reprise her role as Mary Jane Watson in 2004 in Spider-Man 2. The movie was well received by critics and a financial success, setting a new opening weekend box office record for North America. With revenue of $783 million worldwide, it was the second highest grossing film in 2004. Also in 2004, Dunst co-starred opposite Paul Bettany in the romantic comedy Wimbledon where she portrayed a rising tennis player in the Wimbledon Championships, while Bettany portrayed a fading former tennis star. Reception for the film was mixed, but many critics enjoyed Dunst's performance. Claudia Puig of USA Today reported that the chemistry between Dunst and Bettany was potent, with Dunst doing a fine job as a sassy and self-assured player.

In 2005, she co-starred opposite Orlando Bloom in Cameron Crowe's romantic tragicomedy Elizabethtown as Claire Colburn, a flight attendant. The film premiered at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival. Dunst revealed that working with Crowe was enjoyable, but more demanding than she had expected. The movie garnered mixed reviews, with the Chicago Tribune rating it one out of four stars and describing Dunst's portrayal of a flight attendant as "cloying." It was a box office disappointment.

In 2006, Dunst collaborated with Sofia Coppola again and starred as the title character in Coppola's biographical film Marie Antoinette, adapted from Antonia Fraser's book Marie Antoinette: The Journey. The movie was screened at a special presentation at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival, and was reviewed favourably. International revenues were $45 million out of $60 million overall.

In 2007, Dunst reprised her role as Mary Jane Watson in Spider-Man 3. In contrast to the previous two films' positive reviews, Spider-Man 3 was met with a mixed reception by critics. Nonetheless, with a total worldwide gross of $891 million, it stands as the most commercially successful film in the series and Dunst's highest grossing film to the end of 2008. Having initially signed on for three Spider-Man films, she revealed that she would do a fourth, but only if Raimi and Maguire also returned. In January 2010, it was announced that the fourth film was cancelled and that the Spider-Man film series would be restarted, and therefore dropping Dunst, Maguire, and Raimi from the franchise.

In 2008, Dunst co-starred opposite Simon Pegg in the comedy film How to Lose Friends & Alienate People, an adaptation of the memoir of the same name by former Vanity Fair contributing editor Toby Young.

2010-present: Independent films and Fargo

Dunst made her screenwriting and directorial debut with the short film Bastard which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2010, and was later featured at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival. Dunst co-starred opposite Ryan Gosling in the mystery drama All Good Things (2010), based on a true story as the wife of Gosling's character from a run-down neighborhood who goes missing. The feature received reasonable reviews, and earned $640,000 worldwide. Dunst co-starred with Brian Geraghty in Carlos Cuarón's short film The Second Bakery Attack, an adaptation of Haruki Murakami's short story of the same name.

In 2011, Dunst co-starred opposite Charlotte Gainsbourg, Kiefer Sutherland and Charlotte Rampling in Lars von Trier's drama film Melancholia as a depressed woman at the end of the world. The film premiered at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival and received positive reviews and Dunst was singled out for praise. Steven Loeb of Southampton Patch wrote, "This film has brought the best out of von Trier, as well as his star. Dunst is so good in this film, playing a character unlike any other she has ever attempted... Even if the film itself were not the incredible work of art that it is, Dunst's performance alone would be incentive enough to recommend it." Sukhdev Sandhu wrote from Cannes in The Daily Telegraph that "Dunst is exceptional, so utterly convincing in the lead role - trouble, serene, a fierce savant - that it feels like a career breakthrough. Dunst won several awards for her performance, including the Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival and the Best Actress Award from the U.S. National Society of Film Critics

Dunst has signed to star in Sweet Relief as Marla Ruzicka, a peace activist and U.S. relief worker killed by a suicide bomb in Baghdad. She has expressed interest in playing the role of Blondie frontwoman Debbie Harry in Michel Gondry's upcoming biographical film about the band.

In 2012, Dunst co-starred in Juan Diego Solanas' science fiction romantic drama Upside Down opposite Jim Sturgess. She starred in Leslye Headland's comedy Bachelorette, produced by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay. In 2012, she co-starred in the drama film On the Road as Camille Moriarty, based on Jack Kerouac's novel of the same name. She made a cameo appearance in the short feature Fight For Your Right Revisited. It premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. In 2016, Dunst starred in Jeff Nichols' science fiction drama Midnight Special, with Michael Shannon and Joel Edgerton. In May 2015, it was announced that Dunst would star in the Rodarte label founders' feature directorial debut, Woodshock. The film follows a woman who falls deeper into paranoia after taking a deadly drug.

In 2015, Dunst played Peggy Blumquist in the second season of the critically acclaimed drama, Fargo, for which she received a Golden Globe nomination.

In October 2015, Dunst said that she is co-writing and set to direct a film adaptation of a novel.

In March 2016, Dunst was cast alongside Nicole Kidman and Elle Fanning in the Sofia Coppola-directed remake of Clint Eastwood's The Beguiled. The original 1971 film tells the story of a wounded Union soldier who seeks shelter at an all-girls school deep in Confederate country. In May 2016, she was a member of the main competition jury of the 2016 Cannes Film Festival.

Music

Dunst made her singing debut in the comedy film Get Over It, performing two songs written by Marc Shaiman. She recorded Henry Creamer and Turner Layton's jazz standard "After You've Gone" that was used in the end credits of The Cat's Meow. In Spider-Man 3, she sang two songs as Mary Jane Watson, one during a Broadway performance, and one as a singing waitress in a jazz club. Dunst revealed that she recorded the songs earlier and later lip-sync to it when filming began. She also appeared in the music videos for Savage Garden's "I Knew I Loved You", Beastie Boys' "Make Some Noise" and R.E.M.'s "We All Go Back to Where We Belong" and she sang two tracks which were "This Old Machine" and "Summer Day" on Jason Schwartzman's 2007 solo album Nighttiming. In 2007, Dunst stated that she had no plans to follow the steps of other actors who release albums, saying: "Definitely not. No way. It worked when Barbra Streisand was doing it, but now it's a little cheesy, I think. It works better when singers are in movies."

Dunst starred as the magical princess Majokko in the Takashi Murakami and McG directed short Akihabara Majokko Princess singing a cover of "Turning Japanese". This was shown at the "Pop Life" exhibition in London's Tate Modern museum from October 1, 2009, to January 17, 2010. It shows Dunst prancing around Akihabara, a crowded shopping district in Tokyo, Japan.

Personal life

Dunst was treated for depression in early 2008 at the Cirque Lodge treatment center in Utah.

She explained that she had been feeling low in the six months before her admission. In late March 2008, she checked out of the treatment center and began filming All Good Things. In May 2008, she went public with this information in order to highlight the struggle faced by so many other successful women and to dispel rumors that had been very painful for her family and friends.

Dunst dated actor Jake Gyllenhaal from 2002 to 2004. She dated her On the Road co-star Garrett Hedlund from 2012 to 2016.

Citizenship

She gained German citizenship in 2011 and now holds dual citizenship of Germany and the United States.

Political activism

Dunst supported Democratic candidate John Kerry for the 2004 U.S. presidential election. Four years later, she supported Democrat Barack Obama for the 2008 presidential election. Dunst revealed that she supported Obama "from the beginning" of the presidential campaign. In support of this, she directed and narrated a documentary entitled Why Tuesday, explaining the United States tradition of voting on Tuesdays. Dunst explained that Tuesday is "not a holiday, and the United States is one of the lowest democratic countries in voter turnout." She felt it important to "influence people in a positive way" to vote on November 4, 2008.

Charity work

She works with the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, for which she helped design and promote a necklace whose sales proceeds went to the Foundation. She worked in breast cancer awareness, participating in the Stand Up to Cancer telethon in September 2008 to raise funds for cancer research. On December 5, 2009, she participated in the Teletón in Mexico, to raise funds for cancer treatment and children's rehabilitation.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1989	New York Stories	Lisa's Daughter	Segment: "Oedipus Wrecks"
1990	Bonfire of the Vanities, TheThe Bonfire of the Vanities	Campbell McCoy
1991	High Strung	Young Girl
1994	Greedy	Jolene
1994	Interview with the Vampire	Claudia	Won - Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising Actress MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor YoungStar Award for Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Drama Film Nominated - Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture
1994	Little Women	Younger Amy March	Won - Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress Young Artist Award for Best Performance by a Young Actress Co-Starring in a Motion Picture
1994	The Mystery of the Third Planet	Alice Selezneva	English dub
1995	Jumanji	Judy Shepherd	Nominated - Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor Young Artist Award for Best Young Leading Actress - Feature Film
1996	Mother Night	Young Resi Noth
1997	Anastasia	Young Anastasia	Voice role
1997	Wag the Dog	Tracy Lime
1997	Tower of Terror	Anna Petterson
1998	Kiki's Delivery Service	Kiki	English dub
1998	Small Soldiers	Christy Fimple	Nominated - Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film - Leading Young Actress
1998	Hairy Bird, TheThe Hairy Bird	Verena von Stefan	Also known as All I Wanna Do or Strike!
1998	Animated Adventures of Tom Sawyer, TheThe Animated Adventures of Tom Sawyer	Becky Thatcher	Voice role
1999	True Heart	Bonnie	Filmed in 1997
1999	Drop Dead Gorgeous	Amber Atkins	Nominated - Teen Choice Award for Film - Choice Actress
1999	Virgin Suicides, TheThe Virgin Suicides	Lux Lisbon	Nominated - Teen Choice Award for Film - Choice Actress YoungStar Award for Best Young Actress/Performance in a Motion Picture Drama
1999	Dick	Betsy Jobs	Nominated - YoungStar Award for Best Young Actress/Performance in a Motion Picture Comedy
2000	Crow: Salvation, TheThe Crow: Salvation	Erin Randall
2000	Luckytown	Lidda Doyles
2000	Bring It On	Torrance Shipman	Nominated - Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film - Leading Young Actress
2000	Deeply	Silly
2001	Get Over It	Kelly Woods	Nominated - Teen Choice Award for Film - Choice Chemistry
2001	Crazy/Beautiful	Nicole Oakley
2001	Cat's Meow, TheThe Cat's Meow	Marion Davies	Mar del Plata Film Festival for Best Actress
2001	Lover's Prayer	Zinaida	Also known as All Forgotten
2002	Spider-Man	Mary Jane Watson	Won - Empire Award for Best Actress MTV Movie Award for Best Female Performance and Best Kiss Teen Choice Award for Film - Choice Lip Lock Nominated - Saturn Award for Best Actress Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Movie Actress
2003	Levity	Sofia Mellinger
2003	Kaena: The Prophecy	Kaena	Voice role
2003	Mona Lisa Smile	Betty Warren	Nominated - Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Sleazebag
2004	Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind	Mary Svevo	Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Ensemble
2004	Spider-Man 2	Mary Jane Watson	Nominated - Empire Award for Best Actress Nominated - People's Choice Award for Favorite On-Screen Chemistry (with Tobey Maguire)
2004	Wimbledon	Lizzie Bradbury
2005	Elizabethtown	Claire Colburn
2006	Marie Antoinette	Marie Antoinette
2007	Spider-Man 3	Mary Jane Watson	Nominated - People's Choice Award for Favorite On Screen Match-up Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Female Movie Star Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie: Liplock National Movie Award for Best Performance by a Female
2008	How to Lose Friends and Alienate People	Alison Olsen
2010	Second Bakery Attack, TheThe Second Bakery Attack	Nat	Short film
2010	All Good Things	Katie Marks (Katherine McCarthy)
2010	Bastard	N/A	Short film; screenwriter and director
2011	Fight for Your Right Revisited	Metal Chick	Short film
2011	Melancholia	Justine	Won - Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress Robert Award for Best Actress Sant Jordi Award for Best Foreign Actress Saturn Award for Best Actress Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress (runner-up) Nominated - AACTA International Award for Best Actress Alliance of Women Film Journalists Award for Best Actress Bodil Award for Best Actress Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress Denver Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress European Film Award for Best Actress London Film Critics Circle Award for Actress of the Year Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress
2012	Heroes & Demons	Nat	Short film
2012	Bachelorette	Regan Crawford
2012	On the Road	Camille Moriarty
2012	Upside Down	Eden
2013	The Bling Ring	Herself
2013	Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues	El Trousias Maiden of the Clouds	Cameo appearance
2014	The Two Faces of January	Collette Macfarland
2016	Midnight Special	Sarah
2016	Woodshock		In post-production
2017	Hidden Figures		Filming

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1993	Darkness Before Dawn	Sandra Guard (Age 8)	TV movie
1993	Sisters	Kitten Margolis	Episodes: "Dear Georgie", "The Land of the Lost Children"
1993	Star Trek: The Next Generation	Hedril	Episode: "Dark Page"
1996	The Siege at Ruby Ridge	Sara Weaver	Movie YoungStar Award for Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Made For TV Movie
1996	Touched by an Angel	Amy Ann McCoy	Episode: "Into the Light"
1996-97	ER	Charlie Chiemingo	6 episodes Nominated - Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Drama Series - Guest Starring Young Actress YoungStar Award for Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Drama TV Series
1997	Outer Limits, TheThe Outer Limits	Joyce Taylor	Episode: "Music of the Spheres"
1997	Gun	Sondra	Episode: "The Hole"
1997	Tower of Terror	Anna Petterson	Movie Nominated - Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a TV Movie/Pilot/Mini-Series - Leading Young Actress
1998	Stories from My Childhood	Alice / Ivett (voices)	2 episodes
1998	Fifteen and Pregnant	Tina Spangler	Movie YoungStar Award for Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Miniseries/Made-for-TV Movie
1999	Devil's Arithmetic, TheThe Devil's Arithmetic	Hannah Stern	Showtime movie Nominated - Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a TV Movie or Pilot - Leading Young Actress
2002	Saturday Night Live	Herself (host)	Episode: "Kirsten Dunst/Eminem"
2014	Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey	Cecilia Payne (voice)	Episode: "Sisters of the Sun"
2014	Portlandia	Kim	Episode: "Sharing Finances"
2015	Fargo	Peggy Blumquist	10 episodes Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actress in a Movie/Miniseries Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Miniseries or Television Film Nominated - Satellite Award for Best Actress - Television Series Drama

Discography

• 1994: "For the Beauty of the Earth" featuring Trini Alvarado and Claire Danes - Little Women (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
• 1999: "Spit It Out" featuring Allison Janney - Drop Dead Gorgeous: Motion Picture Soundtrack
• 2001: "Dream Of Me" and "The Girl Inside" - Get Over It: Music From Miramax Motion Picture
• 2002: "After You've Gone" - The Cat's Meow Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
• 2007: "This Old Machine" and "Summer Day" - Nighttiming by Coconut Records

Charities

Kirsten Dunst supports the following charitable cause: Animals.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]