A SEASONED ARTIST
Nineteen-year-old Kirsten Dunst was destined for screen stardom from birth. The blonde, blue-eyed beauty has already been in some 30-odd movies, as well as more than 100 television commercials.

She got her first entry into the glamorous world of showbusiness at the age of three when she signed up with New York's prestigious Ford Modelling Agency - and she's never looked back.

"When I was born it was like 'this is what I gotta do'," laughs Dunst, who unlike many former child stars appears to have revelled in the experience of growing up on-screen.

She made her screen debut at seven in New York Stories but her big Hollywood breakthrough came in 1994 when she starred alongside Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt as an angelic vampire in Neil Jordan's Interview With The Vampire.

"I know kids are supposed to go through these awkward stages but I just never even thought about that. I was too busy worrying about getting my education while I was working."

Dunst's career progression has undoubtedly been helped by the fact her transformation from child star to adult performer has not proved too problematic.

When, at 16, she made Drop Dead Gorgeous opposite Denise Richards she stole the show proving that she had blossomed from a cutsie-pie child to all-American screen babe.

Her latest role as Kelly, a teenage heart-breaker in the Tommy O'Haver teen flick Get Over It, once again sees Dunst playing an high school sweetheart. Yet accusations that she is becoming typecast as a dizzy blonde appears not to phase her.

"I've always wanted to do this, so I don't mind. Lisa Kudrow, is like an inspiration to me," she says, referring to Kudrow's ditzy Friends' character."

However there is evidence the actress is eager to establish herself in more serious roles following her critically-acclaimed performance in last year's The Virgin Suicides, directed by Sofia Coppola. An forthcoming role in Peter Bogdanovich's thriller The Cat's Meow is expected to enhance her reputation further.

The actress admits she enjoyed filming The Virgin Suicides and says it's a film she's still proud of.

"Sofia's a good friend of mine and I loved working with her. I think the way it was shot and put together, the images are almost poetic."

Despite being a product of Hollywood's teen star system, Dunst is remarkably unpretentious. She still lives at home with her mother Inez, who is divorced from Dunst's father, and younger brother Christian in the San Fernando Valley north of Los Angeles. It keeps her grounded, she says.

"The truth is I'm such a kid, I'm still innocent in a lot of ways," she explains. "I'm probably one of the only young people left in Hollywood who still lives with her mom.

"But I've been lucky. I had a mom who knew this is what I wanted to do. She has devoted most of her life to getting me where I am."

And she insists her mother has never tried to pressurise her into staying in the industry. "My mother never stopped telling me I could stop whenever I liked, but I always loved it."

Her solid home life does seem to be keeping Dunst out of trouble. There's certainly no stories about any Hollywood brat pack excess. Forget drugs and nightclubs, you're more likely to find Dunst at Disneyland.

"I love going there with all my friends, we act like such kids. In summer I love hanging out on the beach all day. At night my girlfriends and I maybe go bowling at Hollywood Star Lanes," she says.

Although Dunst remains tight-lipped when the subject of boyfriends surfaces, she does volunteer that her workload doesn't leave much time for other things. And it's hard to contradict her - after all she's had five film roles in the past year alone.

"It's a punishing schedule," she admits. "I've never really wanted to be on the social pages, it all seems so phoney. I really don't feel like I'm missing out on anything."

She cites her role model as Jodie Foster who made the transition from baby poster kid to teen star and then adult player seemingly effortlessly.

"I love what I do and I don't want to stop," she says. "This is all I've ever wanted."