A Comprehensive Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons Relationship Timeline
Take a look back at the Power of the Dog co-stars' love story from 2015 to present day.
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 7, 2016
Amid dating rumors—neither commented publicly at the time—Kirsten posted about Jesse's film Other People on her Instagram, writing "I LOVED this movie #otherpeople opens Sept 9th."
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.
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.
Emily Burack (she/her) is the Senior News Editor for Town & Country, where she covers entertainment, culture, the royals, and a range of other subjects. Before joining T&C, she was the deputy managing editor at Hey Alma, a Jewish culture site. Follow her @emburack on Twitter and Instagram.
Watch Next
Angelina Jolie Debuts Design at the Oscars
How Eva Longoria Got Ready for the 2024 Oscars
The Most Stylish Oscar 2024 After Party Looks
The Most Iconic Oscar Dresses of All Time
