Dunst, Kirsten Caroline (1982– )

US film actor. She began her career as a model at the age of three and achieved stardom at 12 in the film Interview with a Vampire (1994). She sought edgy roles, as in Sofia Coppola's adaptation The Virgin Suicides (2000) and the drama Crazy/Beautiful (2001), and went on to transition smoothly into adult roles in the the early 21st century. After a blockbuster hit with superhero film Spider-Man (2002), she collaborated with Coppola again for the historical biopic Marie Antoinette (2006).

She made her feature film debut in Woody Allen's New York Stories (1989). After achieving a supporting role in the drama Bonfire of the Vanities (1990), she starred in a series of films from the 1990s, including the family film Jumanji (1995), the spoofs Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999) and Bring it On (2000), the dramas The Cat's Meow (2002), Mona Lisa Smile (2003), and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), and the romantic comedies Wimbledon (2004) and Elizabethtown (2005).

Dunst was born in Point Pleasant, New Jersey, to German and Swedish parents. Before she began her film career, she appeared in more than 70 television advertisements. Her family moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1989. She made her singing debut with ‘Dream Of Me’ from Get Over It and also sang ‘After You've Gone’ for The Cat's Meow soundtrack.