DATE OF BIRTH: APRIL 30, 1982.
BORN IN POINT PLEASANT, NEW JERSEY, KIRSTEN DUNST HAD AN AGENT AT THE AGE OF THREE. DUNST SECURED HER FIRST FILM ROLE AT THE AGE OF FIVE AS WOODY ALLEN AND MIA FARROW'S DAUGHTER IN 1989'S NEW YORK STORIES. SHE THEN PLAYED TOM HANKS' KID IN BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES. HER BIG BREAK CAME IN 1993 WHEN SHE BEAT OUT 5,000 OTHER YOUNG ACTRESS'S TO GET THE ROLE OF CLAUDIA, THE CHILD BLOOD-SUCKER IN INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE. IT WAS A BIG LEAP THAT EARNED HER MUCH RECOGNITION: SHE WAS NOMINATED FOR A GOLDEN GLOBE AWARD FOR BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS.
THE COMBINATION OF THE FILM'S SUCCESS AND THAT OF THE SAME YEAR'S LITTLE WOMEN, MADE DUNST ONE OF THE MOST BANKABLE CHILD ACTORS IN HOLLYWOOD. THE FOLLOWING YEAR, SHE STARRED IN THE ROBIN WILLIAMS ACTION-FANTASY, JUMANJI AND THEN USED HER VOICE IN THE 1997 ANIMATED FEATURE ANASTASIA. THE SAME YEAR SHE HAD A SMALL, BUT MEMORABLE ROLE IN WAG THE DOG, AND STARRED IN THE CHILDREN'S ACTION FLICK SMALL SOLDIERS. THE YEAR 1999 MARKED A TURNING POINT IN DUNST'S CAREER AS SHE BEGAN APPEARING IN FILMS THAT CAST HER AS A YOUNG WOMAN RATHER THAN A CHILD. SHE HAD A LEAD ROLE AS A SMALL-TOWN BEAUTY CONTESTANT IN THE COMEDY DROP DEAD GORGEOUS AND CO-STARRED WITH MICHELLE WILLIAMS AS ONE OF THE TEENAGE GIRLS WHO UNCOVERS THE WATERGATE SCANDAL IN THE COMEDY DICK. SHE LATER LIVED UP HER TITLE IN TEEN PEOPLE'S "21 HOTTEST STARS UNDER 21" WITH HER LEADING ROLE AS THE SEXUALLY REBELLIOUS 'LUX' IN THE FILM ADAPTATION OF JEFFREY EUGENIDE'S THE VIRGIN SUICIDES, WHICH PREMIERED AT CANNES IN MAY OF 1999. IN 2000, SHE HAD THE TOTAL OF 6 FILMS TO BE RELEASED. |
