A Comprehensive Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons Relationship Timeline
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Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons met on the set of Fargo, but didn't start dating until 2016. They got engaged in 2017, welcomed two sons in 2018 and 2021, and married in Jamaica in 2022. The family splits their time between California and Texas. In 2021, they co-starred in The Power of the Dog, for which they both earned their first Oscar nominations. That's the top-level Kirsten and Jesse relationship timeline. We're about to get way more in depth.
From that immediate connection on the set of Fargo, their love blossomed (privately). "We fell in love creatively first," Kirsten told the LA Times in 2021. "He was like a creative soul mate to me and the way we both work. On Fargo, I knew after two weeks. I didn’t remember saying this, but one of my best friends told me that I said to her that 'I will know this man for the rest of my life. I just know it.' Just because I felt such an immediate connection." In another interview in 2024, Dunst shared she and Plemons had an "immediate soul connection" when they met. Kirsten found herself missing Jesse after they wrapped, and they reconnected sometime in March 2016. Ten months later, they were engaged. Now, the couple has been engaged for five years and share two sons: Ennis Howard, who was born in 2018, and James Robert, who was born in 2021. In July 2022, they finally tied the knot in Jamaica.
Without further ado, here's the definitive relationship timeline of Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons.
October 7, 2015
Here, in one of the first public images of Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons, they pose at the afterparty for the premiere of Fargo season two. At this point, Kirsten was still dating Garrett Hedlund.
A later profile in the New York Times offered insight into their early working relationship on Fargo, revealing,"They often stayed up late running lines with each other, a level of dedication that had been drummed into them from a lifetime spent in the entertainment industry."
October 16, 2015
In late 2015, Jesse and Kirsten did a lot of press for Fargo, including PaleyFest New York 2015. At this event, Jesse spoke about working with Kirsten, saying: "It was a gift... I loved Kirsten's work for a long time, and I was really excited once I'd met her, and she's a great person, and we're both actors that just have fun with the material."
January 17, 2016
In January 2016, they both attended the 21st Annual Critics' Choice Awards in Santa Monica, California with the cast of Fargo. "I don’t often remember every detail about meeting someone," Plemons would say six years later. Yet, "immediately without too many words being exchanged I looked into her eyes and saw the beautiful, sweet, unguarded, welcoming human being that she is. And it truly was in an instant. Immediately my nerves and anxiety dissolved and I knew everything was going to be alright."
Sometime in March 2016
There are no pictures of them this month, but around this time is when Kirsten (pictured heading to Jimmy Kimmel on March 15, 2016) and Jesse finally got together.
“It was one of those connections where you just know,” Dunst told the New York Times's Kyle Buchanan in 2020. “But we’re also very respectful people and were mindful of the fact that we were working together intensely. After we were done with the show, we’d FaceTime now and then, and I just missed him. I missed being around him. And he did, too. We didn’t get together until the following March, when we’d had the time to realize how much we missed each other and how much we wanted to be in each others’ lives.”
May 29, 2016
Just a few days after Kirsten Dunst appeared at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival (pictured), she was spotted kissing Jesse. The two stepped out together in Studio City, California, sparking romance rumors.
September 18, 2016
Kirsten and Jesse both attended the 2016 Emmys, separately; they were each nominated for their work on Fargo.
Reportedly, they were spotted at an afterparty packing on the PDA. A source told E! News that Kirsten "leaned into Jesse and very passionately kissed him on the lips after she caressed his cheek very affectionately." They appeared "to be very much a couple" and were "stuck to each other's sides all night."
January 2017
Page Six broke the news that Kirsten and Jesse got engaged over Golden Globes weekend (January 7 or 8, 2017), though she was spotted with the engagement ring earlier in the month. Both Kirsten and Jesse traveled to Paris for Paris Fashion Week, though they were not photographed together.
January 2, 2017
Eagle-eyed watchers of the 28th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival Film Awards Gala noticed Kirsten was wearing a diamond ring on *that* finger.
January 23, 2017
At the Ralph & Russo show during Paris Fashion Week, Kirsten was again spotted wearing an oval-shaped diamond on her ring finger, adding fuel to the engagement rumors.
February 25, 2017
They made their first public appearance as a couple—and an engaged one at that!—at the 2017 Film Independent Spirit Awards.
February 25, 2017
A sweet photo of Kirsten and Jesse from inside the awards.
February 26, 2017
Kirsten attended the Oscars solo in 2017, going in support of best picture nominee Hidden Figures (she played NASA supervisor Vivian Mitchell). Jesse didn't join her at the ceremony, but they linked up at the 2017 Vanity Fair Oscar afterparty.
On the Oscars red carpet, E! News asked Kirsten about her wedding plans, and she replied, "We have a time frame, but that's private!"
March 8, 2017
After the initial red carpet moments establishing them as a couple, they started to appear in paparazzi photos together. Here, Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons are seen at LAX airport.
May 21, 2017
Another LAX paparazzi shot. In an interview from around this time, Kirsten revealed that she's based in Los Angeles while Jesse is still in Austin—he's mainly lived in the Texas city since filming Friday Night Lights.
May 24, 2017
In May 2017, Jesse played the role of supportive fiancé and joined Kirsten for the premiere of her film The Beguiled at the 70th annual Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France.
May 29, 2017
From Cannes, the lovebirds traveled to Florence, Italy, where they attended the Gucci Cruise 2018 fashion show at Palazzo Pitti.
June 17, 2017
In this interview on Jimmy Fallon, Kirsten opens up about her engagement for the first time. "You're making me nervous!" she said, as she blushed.
"I've got to keep things private a little bit. We got together a year afterwards. We became really good friends first." Kirsten told Jimmy. "You're like, ‘Oh, I really love this person. I love hanging out with him.'" She also revealed Jesse talked to her parents at Christmas about their engagement.
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June 23, 2017
More LAX airport snaps! In Marie Claire UK's July 2017 cover story, Kirsten shared that she's ready to "have babies and chill."
"I wasn’t one of those 'I need a baby!' people until my goddaughter was born," Kirsten said. "I love her so much. That love is just like… you can’t experience that unless you have a kid. I put her to bed last night and she woke up this morning and said to her mom, 'Where’s Kiki?' I just love that love. That’s what I want"
November 16, 2017
In November, Jesse and Kirsten attended the 2017 Guggenheim International Gala, and sparked pregnancy rumors.
January 31, 2018
Kirsten appeared in public for the first time since she confirmed her pregnancy news, getting photographed by the paparazzi in Los Angeles, California.
She later shared in an interview with Net-a-Porter, "I thought I would have a hard time getting pregnant, but it was a surprise. If I hadn’t met Jesse, I would have frozen my eggs. [But] it feels like I lucked out."
April 4, 2018
Kirsten and Jesse, Bloomingdale's shoppers!
But that's not the point of this photo; on May 3, 2018, about a month after this was taken, they welcomed their first son, Ennis Howard Plemons.
September 17, 2018
A few months after welcoming Ennis, they attended the 70th Emmy Awards.
August 29, 2019
Kirsten Dunst got her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in August 2018, and Jesse spoke at the ceremony.
"Aside from the brilliant actor you are, I have also had the even greater pleasure of getting to know you as a person outside of work — KiKi or Keeks," Plemons said in his speech. "Seeing the kind of mother and wife, daughter, sister, friend and cohort you are is why I and all of your friends and everyone else are here today and why we all love you."
Jesse referred to Kirsten as his "wife" in the speech, but Kirsten clarified the following month that they're still engaged.
September 27, 2019
Kirsten told Jesse during her remarks at the Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony, "You are my everything, and I never thought I would have a partner that understands me the way that you do."
Here, the couple attended The Irishman screening during the 57th New York Film Festival at Lincoln Center in New York City.
October 7, 2019
Nearly three years after getting engaged, Kirsten and Jesse are not married. "But we’re about as married as you can get," Dunst joked in an interview with Net-a-Porter. “We have a kid together. My mom was like, ‘But when are you guys getting married?’ And I said, ‘Mom, I’m not going to get married when I’m pregnant. I want to have fun and have a drink. I mean, we’re paying for this wedding. I’m paying for the bar! I want to enjoy it.’ [My mom is] kind of old-school in that way."
In this photo, the couple—looking very dashing—at the premiere of Netflix's El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie.
January 5, 2020
Their last pre-COVID outing was to the Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California.
During lockdown, the couple lived in New Zealand filming Power of the Dog—they had started filming before shutdown, then came back, quarantined, and finished the film.
During their time in New Zealand, they rented a house in the country. Dunst explained, "We wanted to get out of the city, out of Auckland, so we rented a house for our son to have some grass to run around on. There’s horses around here. And we have two old cats living with us, one of whom, Sid, brings us a mouse every night. Last night, Jesse and I were sitting outside and he brings a full rabbit."
November 2021
Jesse and Kirsten reunited on screen in Jane Campion's Power of the Dog. The film stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Phil, a sadistic Montana rancher; Jesse as his brother, George, and Kirsten as a local widow who marries George. When Rose moves in with George at the brothers' ranch, bringing her teenage son (Kodi Smit-McPhee), the dynamics soon become complicated in unexpected ways.
“Jesse and I were lucky we were doing a movie together,” Kirsten said. “We had each other through this whole thing, to laugh with, to bitch with.”
November 6, 2021
As the press for Power of the Dog began, Dunst told the Hollywood Reporter she wants to work with Jesse again. "We actually talked to [producer] Tanya Seghatchian about what Jesse and I should do next," she said. "We have some ideas, and Jesse and I definitely want to do another project. He’s my favorite actor to work with."
Jesse echoed the sentiment: "I don't wanna do another project without [Kirsten]. It's just the best," he told People in December. "We fell in love creatively first on Fargo, just immediately trusted each other. I'm constantly amazed by what she brings. She just operates from such a deep place in her soul."
Here, they're pictured at the 10th Annual LACMA ART+FILM GALA in Los Angeles, California.
November 17, 2021
Kirsten appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and opened up about her kids and Jesse.
"We call him Big Kahuna," she told Kimmel about her 7-month-old, James. "He's like 22 pounds for a 7 month old?! My wrist is killing me! All he wants to do is bounce, walk, be like his brother and walk around. He just wants to walk and run, he doesn't even know what crawling is."
She confirmed, too, that she and Jesse were still engaged, saying, "I just kept getting pregnant and I kind of want to enjoy my wedding. I just want to be able to drink and have fun."
February 27, 2022
Awards season started in full swing for the couple. Power of the Dog earned them both Oscar nods (Best Supporting Actress and Best Supporting Actor).
Here's how Kirsten recounted finding out: "So Eric Kranzler, my manager, calls me. I’m watching the feed on my phone because my kids are watching cartoons and Jesse is at work. He had to go to work super early today. [Eric] called me, and he said I was nominated, so I’m crying with my kids. They’re like, ‘Why the hell is mom crying?’ [Eric] calls me back, and meanwhile I’m in the throes, talking to my mom or whatever. He was like, ‘Jesse just …’ And I started screaming and I hung up the phone. Then Megan, one of my publicists, called me because she’s trying to tell me and I just screamed at her. Then I called Jesse, and I was the first person to tell him, and he was a little shell shocked. I mean, it’s just so crazy to be a couple and have our first nominations together. It’s like a storybook. You know what I mean? It’s so weird. It’s amazing."
March 12, 2022
The couple presented at the Director's Guild of America Awards, honoring achievements of directors. Power of the Dog director Jane Campion took home the top prize.
Speaking about working together on the film, Dunst told The Hollywood Reporter at the end of 2020, "Thank God I had Jesse on set, to be honest. I thought about that, like, at least we had lunch together in the trailer and there was a reprieve and we'd ride home together. I could say whatever. I had him."
March 13, 2022
Kirsten and Jesse attended the 27th Annual Critics Choice Awards, where Power of the Dog again won big. There, in her speech, director Jane Campion says, "Kirsten Dunst, you’re a doll. Jesse Plemons is the cat that’s still licking his lips for being with you."
March 27, 2022
The couple attended the 2022 Oscars! Though neither won, Kirsten looked stunning in a red gown. And, they had a moment on the telecast where Amy Schumer tried to make a joke and Jesse Plemons called Kirsten his wife. By all accounts, they're probably not married yet but refer to each other as husband and wife.
July 8, 2022
The pair finally tied the knot! Kristen and Jesse married at the GoldenEye resort in Ocho Rios, Jamaica in early July. A rep for Dunst confirmed the news to Page Six, saying, “I can just confirmed they got married. No other details will be given.”
(They are pictured here at the Oscars afterparty.)
January 23, 2023
Kirsten and Jesse made their first appearance of 2023—and their first official joint public outing since their wedding!—at Paris Fashion Week.
April 27, 2023
Kirsen joined her husband Jesse at the premiere of his new HBO Max show, Love & Death. Jesse shared that he leans on Kirsten's opinion for choosing projects.
"As soon as there's a script or a potential project that we're deciding whether or not to do, we're usually just pestering the other one to read the script so they can give their input," he says. "I respect her opinion so much, and so I'm always curious to know what she thinks. She's very, very smart and just has such great instincts and taste. I would say almost everything, we're talking it out with each other."
May 20, 2023
Kirsten was in Cannes to support Jesse at the premiere of Killers of the Flower Moon, which is one of the buzziest films of 2023. They held hands as they walked the red carpet.
May 21, 2023
A day later, they traded their red carpet black tie outfits for more causal looks as they strolled through Cannes hand-in-hand.
November 4, 2023
During the strike, it was all quiet on the Jesse-Kirsten front until the two appeared at the 2023 LACMA Art+Film Gala. They were both wearing Gucci.
November 11, 2023
The couple looked glamorous at the Baby2Baby Gala in Los Angeles.
January 4, 2024
In their first appearance of the new year, the couple coordinated in black as they attend the 2024 Palm Springs International Film Festival Film Awards.
January 15, 2024
The couple attended the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards together; Kirsten wore a Chanel gown, and Jesse looked dapper in a tuxedo.
March 10, 2024
Dunst and Plemons looked lovely at the 2024 Academy Awards. They were there in support of Killers of the Flower Moon, where Plemons stars as Tom White.
April 2, 2024
The couple attended a special screening of Civil War—they both appear in the film. Dunst stars as a photojournalist, and Plemons appears in a harrowing scene as a solider.
Dunst said Plemons "wouldn't play a part like this" normally. She added, "He did a favor for us because that is a really disturbing role to play, so it's not like he was jumping at the chance to play the role. Even reading the script, it's one of the craziest things I've ever seen. When we rolled up to set, it was just very, very tense and emotional for everybody filming that scene."
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