Kat Dennings Biography

Kat Dennings (born Katherine Litwack; June 13, 1986) is an American actress. Emerging with a role in an episode of the HBO dramedy series Sex and the City, Dennings has since appeared in the films The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Big Momma's House 2, Charlie Bartlett, Raise Your Voice, The House Bunny, Defendor, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, and Thor. She has become widely recognized for her leading role in the CBS television series 2 Broke Girls.

Early life

Dennings was born and raised in the Bryn Mawr area, near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her mother, Ellen Judith Litwack, is a poet and speech therapist, and her father, Gerald J. Litwack, is a molecular pharmacologist and college professor and chairman. Dennings is the youngest of five children, including an older brother, Geoffrey S. Litwack. Her family is Jewish.

Dennings was homeschooled; her only enrollment at a traditional school was for a half-day at Friends' Central School. She graduated from high school early, at the age of 14. She moved with her family to Los Angeles, California, around 2002 so that she could act full-time. She adopted the name Dennings as her professional name when she was younger. According to Dennings, as stated in Interview magazine in 2007, her parents initially considered her idea of pursuing an acting career to be "the worst idea ever".

Career

Dennings began her career in commercials at the age of 10. Her first acting job was an ad for potato chips. Dennings made her professional debut with an appearance on HBO's Sex and the City in 2000, in the episode "Hot Child in the City", playing an obnoxious 13-year-old who hires Samantha to handle publicity for her bat mitzvah. She then starred on the short-lived series Raising Dad from 2001"2002, as Sarah, a 15-year-old raised by her widowed father (Bob Saget), with a pre-teen sister (Brie Larson). In 2002, Dennings appeared in The Scream Team, a Disney Channel movie, as a teenager who stumbles into a group of ghosts. She was cast for a five episode run on The WB's Everwood, but the role was recast with Nora Zehetner.

Dennings continued working in television, guest-starring on Without a Trace, as a teen whose boyfriend goes missing, and on Less than Perfect, in 2003. She was cast in a pilot for CBS, "Sudbury", about a family of modern-day witches, based on the 1998 film Practical Magic, but the series wasn't picked up. Dennings had a recurring role on ER from 2005"2006 as Zoe Butler, and guest-starred on CSI: NY as Sarah Endecott, in the episode "Manhattan Manhunt", in 2005.

Dennings made her feature film debut in Hilary Duff's Raise Your Voice in 2004, as Sloane, a somber piano student. In 2005, she landed supporting roles in The 40-Year-Old Virgin, as Catherine Keener's daughter, and in Down in the Valley. She played a rebellious teenager in Big Momma's House 2, starring Martin Lawrence, in 2006.

Dennings starred in Charlie Bartlett in 2008, the story of a wealthy teenager (Anton Yelchin), who acts as a psychiatrist for his new public high school. She played Susan Gardner, Bartlett's love interest, and the daughter of the school's principal (Robert Downey, Jr.). Dennings appeared in The House Bunny that year, as Mona, a pierced feminist sorority girl. She also starred in the teen romance, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, with Michael Cera. Dennings played Norah Silverberg, the daughter of a famous record producer, and was nominated for the International Press Academy's Satellite Award for Best Actress for the performance. In September 2008, Dennings hoped to make Don DeLillo's novel, End Zone into a film. Actors Sam Rockwell and Josh Hartnett were involved, but the project was not greenlit because of its controversial subject matter of nuclear war.

In 2009, Dennings appeared in The Answer Man, a story about a celebrity author whose manifestos become a sort of new Bible. She also co-starred in the Robert Rodriguez-directed dark children's film, Shorts, that year. She played the protagonist Toe (Jimmy Bennett)'s teenage older sister, Stacey Thompson. Dennings and other rising stars were featured in the August 2009 issue of Vanity Fair, re-enacting scenes from famous Depression-era films, hers being Sydney Pollack's They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969). Dennings was cast in the romantic comedy Liars (A to E) in 2009. The Richard Linklater-directed project was cancelled however, due to cut backs at Miramax Films by the studio's parent company, Disney.

Dennings appeared in the superhero film Defendor in 2010, starring Woody Harrelson and Sandra Oh, playing a crack-addicted prostitute. She next starred in the independent feature Daydream Nation as a girl who moves to a strange rural town, and is caught in a love triangle with her high school teacher (Josh Lucas) and a teenage drug dealer (Reece Thompson). The film began shooting in Vancouver in early 2010, and was written and directed by Michael Golbach. In May 2010, Dennings appeared in a music video for "40 Dogs (Like Romeo and Juliet)", a single by Austin, Texas-based musician Bob Schneider. Robert Rodriguez directed the video, filmed in various locations around Austin.

Dennings was part of the cast of the Marvel Studios film Thor, released in May 2011, and directed by Kenneth Branagh. She played Darcy Lewis, a tech-savvy, shy sidekick and assistant to Natalie Portman's character, Jane Foster. The film went into production in January 2010; Dennings shot in New Mexico for six weeks in early 2010.

Dennings began starring in 2 Broke Girls in 2011, a CBS television sitcom written and produced by Michael Patrick King and comedian Whitney Cummings. The comedy follows the lives of two underemployed girls. Beth Behrs co-stars as a Manhattan heiress who lost her inheritance, while Dennings plays a tough outspoken girl from Brooklyn. Dennings liked the idea of reaching a wider audience with her work, so she accepted the role on the network sitcom. CBS renewed the series for a third season in 2013.

Dennings starred in Day One (formerly known as Renee) in 2012, with Chad Michael Murray and Rupert Friend. She played Renee Yohe, a Florida teenager who struggled with substance abuse and self-injury, and who inspired the founding of the nonprofit organization To Write Love on Her Arms. The film began production in Orlando, Florida in February 2011. Dennings will also star in the drama film Lives of the Saints, alongside Meg Ryan, 50 Cent, John Lithgow, and Joe Anderson. Written and directed by Chris Rossi, the film was scheduled to begin shooting in Los Angeles in November 2010.

In August 2012, it was reported that Dennings would reprise her role as Darcy Lewis in Thor: The Dark World. In February 2013, she introduced The Black Keys at the 55th Grammy Awards. In April 2013, Dennings appeared in a music video for the Hanson single, "Get the Girl Back", alongside Nikki Reed. The actresses are close friends and are both fans of the pop group.

Personal life

Dennings has been blogging since January 2001, and later transitioned into video blogging on YouTube. She enjoys reading and is a friend of author Andrea Seigel. Dennings stated to The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles that Judaism "is an important part of my history, but, as a whole, religion is not a part of my life". The article went on to say that she considers herself more ethnically and culturally affiliated than religiously so. In December 2008, Dennings told BlackBook magazine, "I don't drink and I don't smoke and I don't like being around people who do."

In an interview with The Times in January 2009, Dennings stated, "I don't have a boyfriend. I have friends, girl friends, great friends. We just hang out in other's places and have one-on-one bonding time". Later, in an interview with Daydream Nation co-star Josh Lucas and interviewer David Poland, Dennings admitted to having a boyfriend. , she lives in an apartment in Los Angeles's San Fernando Valley.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2002	'	Claire Carlyle	Television film
2003	'	Isabel	Television film
2004	Raise Your Voice	Sloane
2005	Down in the Valley	April
2005	'	Marla
2005	London	Lilly
2006	Big Momma's House 2	Molly
2007	Charlie Bartlett	Susan Gardner
2008	'	Mona
2008	Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist	Norah Silverberg
2009	'	Dahlia
2009	Shorts	Stacey Thompson
2009	Defendor	Katerina Debrofkowitz
2010	Daydream Nation	Caroline Wexler
2011	Thor	Darcy Lewis
2012	Day One	Renee Yohe
2013	Thor: The Dark World	Darcy Lewis	Post-production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2000	Sex and the City	Jenny Brier	Episode: "Hot Child in the City"
2001"2002	Raising Dad	Sarah Stewart	Main cast
2003	Without a Trace	Jennifer Norton	Episode: "Sons and Daughters"
2003	Less than Perfect	Kaitlin	Episode: "The Girl Next Door"
2004	Sudbury	Antonia Owens	Unsold pilot
2004	CSI: Crime Scene Investigation	Missy Wilson	Episode: "Early Rollout"
2005	Clubhouse	Angela	Episode: "Stealing Home"
2005"2006	ER	Zoe Butler	5 episodes
2005	CSI: NY	Sarah Endecott	Episode: "Manhattan Manhunt"
2009	American Dad!	Tanqueray (voice)	Episode: "G-String Circus"
2010	American Dad!	Female juror (voice)	Episode: "The People vs. Martin Sugar"
2011"present	2 Broke Girls	Max Black	Main cast
2012	Robot Chicken	Various voices	Episode: "Executed by the State"

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Nominated work	Result
2008	Satellite Award for Best Actress " Motion Picture Musical or Comedy	Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
2009	MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance	Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
2009	Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actress: Music/Dance	Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
2012	Crystal Reel Award for Best Actress	Day One