'Kirsten
[1] Caroline Dunst' (born
April 30,
1982) is an
American actress, known for her roles in '' (for which she received a
Golden Globe nomination), ''
The Virgin Suicides'', ''
Marie Antoinette'', and ''
Bring It On'', as well as for her portrayal of
Mary Jane Watson in the
''Spider-Man'' film series.
Early life
Dunst was born in
Point Pleasant,
New Jersey, to Inez and Klaus Dunst, who are separated. Her father, a
German medical services executive from
Hamburg, remained in New Jersey but now lives in
Los Angeles,
California. Her mother, a
Swedish former
art gallery owner,
[2] also moved to California. Dunst has a younger brother, Christian.
Dunst attended the
Ranney School in New Jersey, and graduated in 2000 from
Notre Dame High School, a private Catholic high school in the
Sherman Oaks neighborhood of Los Angeles.
Career
Dunst got her start as a child
fashion model at the age of three in
television commercials. She was signed with
Ford Models and
Elite Model Management.
[3] In a 1988 episode of ''
Saturday Night Live'', she played the role of President
George H. W. Bush's granddaughter. In 1989, Dunst made her film debut in
Woody Allen's ''Oedipus Wrecks'', a short film that was released as one-third of the anthology film ''
New York Stories''. Soon after, she landed a small part in ''
The Bonfire of the Vanities'' as
Tom Hanks' daughter. Dunst also did the voice of Kiki in the 1989
anime film ''
Kiki's Delivery Service'' (in 1997, when it was released in America). In 1993, Dunst played Hedril in the seventh season episode of '' called "
Dark Page". She also had a recurring role as a child prostitute, Charlie Chiemingo, on ''
ER''.
Dunst during the 2005 Toronto Film Festival
Her
feature film breakthrough came in '', a 1994 film based on
Anne Rice's novel. The movie featured a scene in which Dunst, then-aged eleven, received her first kiss from
Brad Pitt, who was 29. Her performance earned her a
Golden Globe Award nomination, the
MTV Award for Best Breakthrough Performance and the
Saturn Award for Best Young Actress. In 1995 (and again in 2002), she was named one of ''
People magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People.
Dunst was also offered the role of Angela in the 1999
Academy Award-winning film ''
American Beauty'', but turned it down because she did not want to appear in the film's suggestive sexual scenes or kiss co-star
Kevin Spacey.
[4] The same year, she had the role of troubled adolescent Lux Lisbon in
Sofia Coppola's independent film ''
The Virgin Suicides''. In 2000, she played the captain of a cheerleading squad in ''
Bring it On''.
Dunst is best known for her portrayal of
Mary Jane Watson in the
''Spider-Man'' film series based on
Stan Lee's comic serial ''
Spider-Man''. She portrayed the neighbor and romantic interest of the mild-mannered superhero in the original ''
Spider-Man'' in 2002. Dunst was generally well-received in the role, and had a now-famous and often-parodied scene in which she kisses the hero while he hangs upside-down from his web. The success of the first film led her to reprise the role in two sequels, ''
Spider-Man 2'' in 2004 and ''
Spider-Man 3'' in 2007. Dunst initially signed on to appear in three ''Spider-Man'' films, and has said that she would not appear in a fourth film unless director
Sam Raimi returned to direct.
[5]
At the 2002
Mar de Plata Film Festival, Dunst won the Best Actress Silver Ombú for her performance as
Charlie Chaplin's love interest
Marion Davies in
Peter Bogdanovich's ''
The Cat's Meow''.
At the
2006 Cannes Film Festival, ''
Marie Antoinette'' premiered. It was released in North America on
October 20,
2006. In the film, her second with director Sofia Coppola, Dunst plays the title character and uses an American accent in the role.
[6]
Future roles
Dunst is expected to portray
peace activist Marla Ruzicka in ''
Sweet Relief'' scripted by Lorene Scafaria for
Warner Independent Pictures in 2009.
[7] She is rumored to have the role of
Blondie frontwoman
Debbie Harry in director
Michel Gondry's upcoming biopic about the band. This would not be Dunst's first foray into music; she made her
singing debut in the 2001 film ''
Get Over It'', performing two songs written by
Marc Shaiman. She also lent her voice to the end credits of ''
The Cat's Meow'', singing
Henry Creamer and
Turner Layton's jazz standard "After You've Gone." In ''
Spider-Man 3'', she sings two songs as part of her role as
Mary Jane Watson, one as a Broadway actress and one as a singing waitress in a jazz club. She also appeared in the
music video for
Savage Garden's "
I Knew I Loved You".
Personal life
After briefly dating her longtime friend, playwright Jeff Smeenge, she started dating actor
Jake Gyllenhaal in
September 2002, after meeting him through his sister,
Maggie (her ''
Mona Lisa Smile'' co-star). They broke up in July 2004 but then dated intermittently until
December 2005.
[8] She was recently seen with British rocker
Johnny Borrell at the
South by Southwest Music Festival in
Austin, Texas.
[9] Borrell, the frontman of
Razorlight, commented on their relationship, saying, "I'm not hiding anything. We met in Los Angeles. We were hanging out at South by Southwest and we've been hanging out ever since."
Dunst is known for her quirky fashion style and has been featured on
Richard Blackwell's famous Best Dressed List.
As of
April 9,
2007, Dunst admitted that she has tried
marijuana and other drugs. In an interview, Dunst said, "I've never been a major smoker, but I think America's view on weed is ridiculous. I mean - are you kidding me? If everyone smoked weed, the world would be a better place. I'm not talking about being stoned all day, though. I think if it's not used properly, it can hamper your creativity and close you up inside."
[10]
Filmography
Further reading
★ "Dreamweaver", Holly Millea, ''Premiere'', July/August 2004
References
1. Kirsten is pronounced ''KEER-sten'' (IPA: ).
2. Virgin.net
3. Bio at absolutely.net
4. Fametastic
5. The Boston Herald
6. Can-Mag
7.
8. Gyllenhaal, Dunst call it quits;
9. Kirsten Dunst dating Razorlight's Johnny Borrell;
10. Kirsten Dunst Admits She Likes Smoking Marijuana;
11. Harry Potter, Spider-Man 3 nominated for first UK National movie awards
External links
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