Background and career
Kirsten Caroline Dunst (born April 30, 1982) is an American actress and singer who has starred in many film and television productions. Her accolades include the Cannes Film Festival Award For Best Actress and nominations for an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and four Golden Globe Awards.
As a child, Dunst made her acting debut in the anthology film New York Stories (1989). She gained recognition as the child vampire Claudia in the horror film Interview with the Vampire (1994), which earned her a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Other roles in her youth include Little Women (1994), Jumanji (1995) and Small Soldiers (1998). Dunst moved into leading roles in teen films of 1999: the satires Dick and Drop Dead Gorgeous, as well as the drama The Virgin Suicides, the first of her several collaborations with filmmaker Sofia Coppola. After starring in the comedy film Bring It On (2000), she gained wider attention for her role as Mary Jane Watson in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy (2002–2007). She played supporting roles in Mona Lisa Smile (2003) and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), followed by lead roles in Wimbledon (2004), Elizabethtown (2005), and Coppola's Marie Antoinette (2006).
In 2011, Dunst starred as a depressed newlywed in Lars von Trier's drama Melancholia, which earned her the Cannes Film Festival Award For Best Actress. In 2015, she played the hairdresser Peggy Blumquist in the second season of the FX series Fargo, which earned her a Primetime Emmy Award nomination. Dunst had a supporting role in the film Hidden Figures (2016) and leading roles in Coppola's The Beguiled (2017) and in the dark comedy series On Becoming a God in Central Florida (2019), for which she received her third Golden Globe nomination. She earned her fourth Golden Globe nomination and first Academy Award nomination for her performance as a troubled wife in Jane Campion's psychological drama The Power of the Dog (2021). Following a two-year hiatus from acting, she starred in the dystopian thriller film Civil War (2024) and co-starred with Channing Tatum in the true-crime drama Roofman (2025). Dunst is married to actor Jesse Plemons and they have two sons.
Dunst was born on April 30, 1982, at Point Pleasant Hospital in Point Pleasant, New Jersey. Her father, Klaus Dunst, worked for Siemens as a medical services executive, and her mother, Inez (née Rupprecht) worked for Lufthansa as a flight attendant. Inez was also an artist and a one-time gallery owner. Dunst's father is German, originally from Hamburg, and her American mother is of German and Swedish descent. Dunst has a younger brother. Until the age of eleven, Dunst lived in Brick Township, New Jersey, and attended Ranney School in Tinton Falls.
How Kirsten Dunst makes money
The film was a financial success and grossed $262 million worldwide. Spider-Man was a critical and commercial success, grossing $114 million during its opening weekend in North America and earning $822 million worldwide.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (2026-01-22), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
