Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons Are Relationship AND Career Goals!

Kirsten Dunst and husband Jesse Plemons should be the envy of Hollywood. The frequent co-stars are not just happily married, they've also been nominated for Oscars together in the same year, for the same film! Let’s face it, we all want a partner who makes us better—and it seems the Power of the Dog actors (who also shared the small-screen for FX's Fargo) have found just that. Here is every magical detail of the pairing that works so well in film, TV and IRL.

How did Jesse Plemons and Kirsten Dunst meet?

In 2015, Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons played a married couple in the second season of the critically acclaimed FX series Fargo. The pair actually first saw each other at the airport in Calgary, Canada, on the way to set and they connected instantly—over a shared vice.

Dunst told NPR, “I met Jesse at the airport at LAX. And I walked up to him, and he was carrying a carton of cigarettes. And I was like, 'Oh, no, you smoke the cigarettes that I used to smoke, and I quit.' I remember seeing his eyes, and our eyes meeting, and I still remember [it] to this day...”

Plemons also recalls the first moment he saw his future wife. At her Hollywood Walk of Fame Ceremony, he regaled the crowd with his recollection. “I don’t often remember every detail about meeting someone, but I was standing in line at LAX. And out of nowhere from behind I hear a voice call my name, and I turn to see Kirsten, and 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 was truly in an instant—and immediately my nerves and anxiety [about working together] dissolved and I knew everything was going to be alright.”

In case you're wondering, Plemons has since then kicked his smoking habit!

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When did Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons start dating?

Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons first connected over their roles in FX’s Fargo. The actress told NPR, “We fell in love creatively first, I think, in Fargo. We just immediately clicked in the way we approach things and don't judge each other… there’s no competition. There's no ego. There's a sharing of ideas. And we were very present with each other.”

She says they’d rehearse almost every night, running lines together because of the show’s tricky, fast-paced dialogue. “And we really enjoyed it and inspired each other. So I think the first step in our relationship was falling in love creatively.”

Plemons knew the connection was something special, too, later telling The New York Times, “I knew that she would be in my life for a long time.”

However, the two did not become romantically involved at that time as Dunst was dating actor Garrett Hedlund. It wasn’t until May 2016, around a year-and-a-half after they first met and following Dunst’s split from Hedlund, that the two were first spotted kissing by paparazzi.

Dunst told The Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon, “We got together a year afterwards. We became really good friends first.” Now, they're husband and wife!

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What is Jesse Plemons and Kirsten Dunst's age difference?

Jesse Plemons and wife Kirsten Dunst have a six-year age difference between them. Dunst was born April 30, 1982, while Plemons was born April 2, 1988. It's not that common for the woman to be the older person in a Hollywood heteronormative relationship; this couple is a rare pair!

Is Kirsten Dunst older than Jesse Plemons?

Yes, Kirsten Dunst is older than her husband, Jesse Plemons—by six years. While this age gap hardly qualifies Dunst as a cougar, we still love to see a couple that turns the usual tables!

Are Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons still together?

By all accounts, married power-couple Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons are still together—and happily so! As recently as January 2023, the Oscar-nominated duo were seen attending Paris Fashion Week together.

Do Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons have children?

Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons do in fact have children. The couple first met in 2015, began dating in 2016 and got engaged in 2017. At the end of 2017, Dunst revealed she was expecting their first child, son Ennis Howard, who was born on May 3, 2018. On March 30, 2021, the actress revealed she was pregnant again. She gave birth to the couple’s second child, son James Robert, in May 2021.

The next big step in the couple’s relationship came when they tied the knot in July 2022, over the weekend of July 2nd at the GoldenEye luxury resort near Ocho Rios, Jamaica.

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Who did Kirsten Dunst date before Jesse Plemons?

Being a child star, Kirsten Dunst grew up in the spotlight. Naturally, that means many of her relationships took place in the public eye. Prior to connecting with her husband Jesse Plemons, Dunst dated several other high-profile men, including:

Jacob Hoffman

Way back in 1998, Dunst dated Dustin Hoffman’s son Jacob Hoffman, though the puppy-love relationship doesn’t appear to have lasted very long. The two met when Dunst co-starred with the older Hoffman in Wag the Dog. Dunst and her former beau seem to have a cordial relationship as the pair were spotted reuniting at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2010.

Ben Foster

From 2000 until 2001, Dunst was romantically linked to actor Ben Foster, her co-star from 2001’s Get Over It. Unfortunately, the couple parted ways before the film even premiered. Funny enough, Foster would go on to star with Dunst's future husband in 2015's The Program.

Tobey Maguire

In 2001, Dunst entered an extremely high-profile relationship with her Spider-Man co-star Tobey Maguire. The duo dated throughout the filming of the 2002 movie, but unfortunately broke up before the 2005 sequel. One possible source of tension? The large disparity between their respective salaries. "The pay disparity between me and Spider-Man was very extreme," Dunst told The Independent. "I didn’t even think about it. I was just like, ‘Oh yeah, Tobey is playing Spider-Man.’ But you know who was on the cover of the second Spider-Man poster? Spider-Man and me.”

Jake Gyllenhaal

Dunst dated actor Jake Gyllenhaal, who she met through his sister, her Mona Lisa Smile co-star Maggie Gyllenhaal, from 2002 until 2004. In fact, when uncertainty arose as to whether Maguire would reprise his role in the Spider-Man sequel, Dunst’s new beau Gyllenhaal was the reported frontrunner to replace him.

The pair ended up living together in the Hollywood Hills and sharing a German Shepard during their almost 2-year relationship, but ultimately ended things over lifestyle differences. Of their relationship following the split, Dunst told Allure, “It would be nice to see him. But we're not good friends."

Garrett Hedlund

Dunst dated her On the Road co-star Garrett Hedlund prior to getting together with her now-husband Jesse Plemons. Hedlund and Dunst met in 2011 on set and dated for almost four years before ending things in April 2016. “They have very different personalities and weren't on the same page when it came to their future,” a source told People of the breakup.

Other reported flings or short-lived paramours include Strokes drummer Fabrizio Morretti, who has also been linked with Drew Barrymore and Kristen Wiig; documentary filmmaker Jacob Soboroff, with whom Dunst worked on a doc about U.S. voters and the country’s lagging participation; Rilo Kiley drummer Jason Boesel; Razorlight frontman Johnny Borrell; O.C. actor Adam Brody; Virgin Suicides co-star Josh Hartnett; and Barbarian actor Justin Long.

What happened to Jesse Plemons?

Plemons appears to be doing quite well. Following his 2022 marriage to Kirsten Dunst and his Oscar nomination that same year, he is starring in the HBO Max true-crime miniseries Love & Death in 2023. The actor has gained and lost weight for various roles over the years, and has most recently caused chatter for slimming down.

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