Kirsten Dunst Finally Clears Up the Long-Running Confusion About Her Name

For decades, audiences have adored Kirsten Dunst on screen, but many have been saying her name wrong the entire time. Now, at 43, the Spider-Man star has decided to finally settle the debate.

In a recent conversation with Town & Country Magazine, Dunst laughed about the constant mispronunciations she encounters on set and in everyday life. “Everyone gets it wrong. At this point, I’ve given up—I don’t care anymore,” she admitted.

The actress, best known for roles such as Mary Jane Watson in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, Marie Antoinette in Sofia Coppola’s lush period drama, and Peggy Blumquist in Fargo season 2, revealed that nearly every variation of her name has been thrown her way. From “Kris-tin” to “Ker-sten,” she’s heard it all. The correct pronunciation, however, is “Keer-sten.”

“In England they never quite get it right,” she explained. “On my last project, even with Swedish and Hungarian crew members, everyone still said it wrong. Eventually you just stop correcting people.”

So, next time you meet the Hollywood favorite, think of “Keir Starmer” as a handy reminder—or just stick with “Keer-sten.”

Dunst is hardly the only celebrity to deal with this problem. Wednesday star Jenna Ortega once chimed in on the proper way to say “Rihanna,” while Demi Moore has also surprised fans with the real pronunciation of her name.

And then there’s Emma Stone—whose situation is even more unusual. Her real name isn’t Emma at all.

During a chat with The Hollywood Reporter, Stone’s The Curse co-star Nathan Fielder let the truth slip: “Her name’s Emily, but she goes by Emma professionally. I’m just going to call her Emily from now on.”

Stone explained that she originally had to adopt “Emma” because another actress had already registered “Emily Stone” with the Screen Actors Guild. “When I really know people, they call me Emily. Nathan calls me Em—it’s easier,” she said, adding that she would actually love for fans to use her real name in public.

Whether it’s Emily Stone or Keer-sten Dunst, one thing is clear—Hollywood stars are just as eager as the rest of us to be called by their proper names.