Kaitlyn Dever

Early life

Kaitlyn Rochelle Dever was born in Phoenix, Arizona, on December 21, 1996. Her father also briefly ventured into acting, most notably voicing Barney the Dinosaur on the PBS children's show Barney & Friends for a short time. She has two younger sisters. When she was five years old, she developed an interest in the performing arts and her parents subsequently enrolled her in an acting school. She also participated in ballet, gymnastics, and ice skating, but seeing Toni Collette's performance in The Sixth Sense (1999) inspired her to focus on acting. Her family moved to Dallas, where she filmed a number of commercials, then settled in Los Angeles.

Career

Acting

Dever's first notable acting role was as Gwen Thompson in the 2009 film An American Girl: Chrissa Stands Strong. In 2011, she garnered an early breakout role as Loretta McCready in the FX series Justified. In the same year, she was cast as a series regular in the ABC (and later Fox) sitcom Last Man Standing, starring with Tim Allen as her father. Starting with the seventh season of the series, Dever transitioned to a recurring role, allowing her to focus on other film and television projects.

Dever's other television credits include Make It or Break It, Modern Family, Private Practice, Party Down, The Mentalist, and Curb Your Enthusiasm. Her 2011 film credits include Cinema Verite, Bad Teacher, and the Clint Eastwood–directed film J. Edgar. In 2012, Dever was nominated three times at the 33rd Young Artist Awards: for her supporting roles in Bad Teacher and Last Man Standing, and for her recurring role in Justified.

In 2013, Dever appeared in supporting roles in the films The Spectacular Now and Short Term 12. Dever appeared in the 2014 dark comedy film Laggies, directed by Lynn Shelton, alongside Chloë Grace Moretz and Keira Knightley. In the same year, she co-starred in the film Men, Women & Children, directed by Jason Reitman. In 2017, she reunited with Shelton for her drama film Outside In, as a supporting cast member. That same year, she had supporting roles in the films We Don't Belong Here, All Summers End and Detroit.

In 2018, she performed in minor roles for the political drama The Front Runner and the biographical drama Beautiful Boy, the latter alongside Timothée Chalamet.

In early 2019, Dever appeared in the drama-thriller film Them That Follow directed by Britt Poulton and Dan Madison Savage. The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 27, 2019, and was released on August 2, 2019, by 1091 Media. In mid 2019, Dever starred in the critically acclaimed teen comedy Booksmart directed by Olivia Wilde, opposite Beanie Feldstein. The film had its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 11, 2019, and was released on May 24, 2019, by Annapurna Pictures. She also starred in Unbelievable, a Netflix miniseries that premiered in September 2019. Dever's performance was praised by critics, receiving a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film. She also received nominations for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actress in a Movie/Miniseries, the BAFTA Rising Star Award, and the TCA Award for Individual Achievement in Drama.

In 2020, Dever appeared in the Quibi comedy series Home Movie: The Princess Bride, directed by Jason Reitman, to raise money for World Central Kitchen. Later that year, she co-starred in the Audible audio drama When You Finish Saving the World, written and directed by Jesse Eisenberg. The story is told from the perspective of three family members at different stages of their lives. Dever voices Rachel, an 18-year-old woman recording tapes for her boyfriend stationed in Afghanistan.

In 2020, Dever starred in the television special Coastal Elites, directed by Jay Roach for HBO. On August 17, 2020, she was cast as Zoe Murphy in Stephen Chbosky's 2021 film adaptation of the Broadway musical Dear Evan Hansen.

Dever appeared in an episode of the anthology series Monsterland for Hulu. In 2021, she starred as Abbi Miller in episode 3 of B.J. Novak's FX anthology series The Premise. Dever also starred in the title role of the film Rosaline. She played Betsy Mallum in the 2021 Hulu miniseries Dopesick, for which she received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination.

Dever starred in the sci-fi thriller film No One Will Save You (2023) on Hulu, in which there is almost no dialogue, and received praise for her ability to tell the story almost entirely through facial expressions. In January 2024, it was announced that she would portray Abby in the second season of The Last of Us, which premiered in April 2025. In January 2025, it was announced that she would join the cast of the next film in the Monsterverse franchise, Godzilla x Kong: Supernova, currently set for release on March 26, 2027.

Dever played the lead role of disgraced wellness influencer and convicted con artist Belle Gibson in the biographical Australian miniseries Apple Cider Vinegar. It was released on Netflix in February 2025.

Music

From an early age, Dever's parents inspired her musically. Her mother played the Alanis Morissette album Jagged Little Pill on car trips in Dallas, and her father taught Dever and her two sisters to harmonize. Dever and her sister Mady learned piano in their early childhood, but Dever switched to guitar after getting one as a Christmas gift at the age of eight. She cites artists such as ABBA and The Cure as inspirations. Dever and Mady performed in elementary school talent shows together under the name Hot Pink, performing covers from artists such as Avril Lavigne and Kelly Clarkson. They later changed their name to Anime Pearl, performing various gigs in small clubs across Los Angeles. Jason Reitman, who started sending songs back and forth with Dever during the making of Men, Women & Children, attended one of these gigs.

At one point, Reitman sent Dever the Nancy Sinatra song "You Only Live Twice" and suggested that she and Mady perform it together. The two sisters changed their group name to Beulahbelle in 2016 after an ancestor of theirs who had died as an infant. In 2018, they released music for the first time under this name, contributing two cover versions of "You Only Live Twice" and an original track titled "Let You Go" to Reitman's 2018 film Tully at his request. Beulahbelle released their official debut single "Raleigh" on February 15, 2020, with both members directing, producing, and starring in the official music video. They released their second official single, "Being You" on September 10, 2020, amidst plans to release an EP produced by Tony Berg.

"Being You" became Beulahbelle's final single release before changing their name, with their overall final release under the Beulahbelle name being a feature on "It Won't Be Long", a 2021 cover of Neil Young and Crazy Horse's song "Round & Round (It Won't Be Long)" by Berg's daughter Z Berg. Also in 2021, as the character Zoe Murphy, Dever contributed vocals to four songs for the soundtrack of the Dear Evan Hansen film adaptation. In August 2024, the duo announced that they would change their name from Beulahbelle to Devers; their debut single under the new name, "Poison", was released on September 4.

Personal life

Dever is in a relationship with actor Ethan Dawes, which she revealed publicly for the first time in April 2025.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Music videos

Audiobooks

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

References

1. (May 27, 2019). "'Booksmart' Star Kaitlyn Dever Takes 5 and Answers Questions". [[YouTube]].
2. "Last Man Standing".
3. Reilly, Phoebe. (February 28, 2020). "Kaitlyn & Mady Dever Have Been Making Music Forever — Now They're Ready To Share It".
4. (January 16, 2014). "Kaitlyn Dever: A booming career – at just 17".
5. Fleming, Mike Jr.. (June 11, 2020). "Kaitlyn Dever In Talks For Universal Movie Adaptation Of 'Dear Evan Hansen'". [[Deadline Hollywood]].
6. Sullivan, Brian Ford. (June 6, 2011). "The Futon's First Look: "Last Man Standing" (ABC)".
7. (August 2, 2018). "Last Man Standing EP Laments That 'Unfortunate' Cast Departure".
8. "33rd Annual Young Artist Awards".
9. Nededog, Jethro. (June 7, 2013). "'Last Man Standing's' Kaitlyn Dever Joins Keira Knightley in Dark Comedy 'Laggies' (Exclusive)".
10. Billington, Alex. (December 16, 2013). "Jason Reitman's Next Film 'Men, Women & Children' Begins Shooting".
11. (March 22, 2017). "Kaitlyn Dever Joins Steve Carell in Amazon Drama 'Beautiful Boy' (Exclusive)".
12. N'Duka, Amanda. (October 3, 2017). "Kaitlyn Dever Cast In Dramatic Thriller 'Them That Follow'".
13. Debruge, Peter. (November 28, 2018). "Sundance Film Festival Unveils 2019 Features Lineup".
14. Goldberg, Matt. (June 6, 2019). "'Them That Follow' Trailer Tells a Tale of Faith, Love, and Snakes".
15. Kroll, Justin. (February 16, 2018). "Olivia Wilde Sets Directorial Debut ''Booksmart'' With Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein to Star".
16. Kilday, Gregg. (January 16, 2019). "SXSW: Olivia Wilde, Seth Rogen, Charlize Theron and Matthew McConaughey to Premiere New Work".
17. Sharf, Zack. (March 11, 2019). "'Booksmart' Red Band Trailer: Olivia Wilde Becomes a Critically Acclaimed Film Director".
18. (June 25, 2018). "'Unbelievable': Toni Collette, Merritt Wever & Kaitlyn Dever To Star In Netflix Limited Series".
19. Hipes, Patrick. (December 9, 2019). "Golden Globes Nominations: 'Marriage Story', Netflix, 'Once Upon A Time In Hollywood' Lead Way In Film—Full List Of Nominations".
20. Hammond, Pete. (December 8, 2019). "'The Irishman', 'Once Upon A Time In Hollywood' Lead Critics' Choice Nominations; Netflix Dominates With 61 Noms In Movies And TV". [[Deadline Hollywood]].
21. (February 10, 2019). "EE British Academy Film Awards Winners in 2019". [[British Academy of Film and Television Arts]].
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24. Egan, Elisabeth. (August 2, 2020). "It's a Book. It's a Podcast. It's a Three-Act Play, in Your Ears.". The New York Times.
25. Petski, Denise. (June 17, 2020). "Bette Midler, Kaitlyn Dever, Dan Levy, Sarah Paulson & Issa Rae To Star In HBO Quarantine Special 'Coastal Elites' From Paul Rudnick & Jay Roach".
26. Kroll, Justin. (June 11, 2020). "Kaitlyn Dever in Talks to Star in Universal's 'Dear Evan Hansen' Adaptation". [[Variety (magazine).
27. McNary, Dave. (August 17, 2020). "Amandla Stenberg Cast in 'Dear Evan Hansen' Movie". [[Variety (magazine).
28. Elise Sandberg, Bryn. (November 8, 2019). "Kaitlyn Dever and Jonathan Tucker to Star in Hulu Anthology 'Monsterland' (Exclusive)".
29. Andreeva, Nellie. (May 6, 2020). "FX Picks Up B.J. Novak Half-Hour Anthology To Series; Guest Cast Includes Lucas Hedges & Jon Bernthal".
30. (May 6, 2021). "20th Century Acquires Revisionist 'Romeo & Juliet' Pic 'Rosaline' With Kaitlyn Dever Attached To Star; 21 Laps Producing".
31. (January 9, 2024). "Kaitlyn Dever Officially Cast in 'The Last of Us' Season 2 as Abby". [[Penske Media Corporation]].
32. Kroll, Justin. (January 24, 2025). "Legendary's 'Godzilla x Kong' Sequel Adds Kaitlyn Dever To Cast". [[Deadline Hollywood.
33. (February 7, 2025). "'Apple Cider Vinegar' Review: Kaitlyn Dever Anchors a Look at Sour Side of Social Media". [[University of Queensland]].
34. (May 3, 2018). "'Tully' Soundtrack Details". Film Music Reporter.
35. Gardner, Chris. (February 12, 2020). "Kaitlyn and Mady Dever Debut First Official Single, Music Video From Band Beulahbelle". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
36. Rodgers, Arleigh. (September 12, 2020). "Review: Singles for the week of 9/11".
37. (August 17, 2024). "The Devers Announce New Single "Poison"". BeautifulBallad.
38. "Instagram". www.instagram.com.
39. (September 5, 2024). "Listen To The Devers New Single, "Poison"". BeautifulBallad.
40. Lentz, Kelsey. (April 20, 2025). "Who Is The Last of Us Star Kaitlyn Dever's Boyfriend? All About Fellow Actor Ethan Dawes". [[People (magazine).
41. (August 2, 2020). "It's a Book. It's a Podcast. It's a Three-Act Play, in Your Ears.".
42. (December 5, 2025). "Belle Gibson drama tops 2026 AACTA nominations". ABC News.
43. (January 9, 2020). "'1917' Wins Best Picture at 3rd Annual Hollywood Critics Association Awards".
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47. "BTVA Voice Acting Awards 2016 – Video Games".
48. "KAITLYN DEVER & BEANIE FELDSTEIN TO RECEIVE "CINEMACON® FEMALE STARS OF TOMORROW AWARD"". [[National Association of Theatre Owners]].
49. Pedersen, Erik. (December 6, 2021). "Critics Choice TV Nominations: 'Succession' Leads Field As HBO Edges Netflix".
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51. (March 7, 2024). "Nominations announced for the Critics Choice Association's 4th Annual "Critics Choice Super Awards" honoring Superhero, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Horror, and Action Movies and Series".
52. Marini, Miriam. (December 9, 2019). "Detroit Film Critics Society announces 2019 winners". [[WDIV-TV]].
53. Nordyke, Kimberly. (January 8, 2020). "'Parasite' Tops Dorian Awards With 5 Wins". The Hollywood Reporter.
54. Melanson, Angel. (October 13, 2024). "What A Bloodbath: Here Are The 2024 FANGORIA CHAINSAW AWARDS Winners".
55. Swift, Andy. (January 10, 2022). "Golden Globes 2022: Succession and Hacks Lead TV Winners, Pose's Michaela Jaé Rodriguez Makes History".
56. Urban, Sasha. (April 13, 2022). "Melissa McCarthy, Kelly Clarkson, Tamron Hall to Be Honored at 2022 Gracie Awards".
57. (December 11, 2019). "Nominations Announced for the 2019 Indiana Film Journalists Association Awards".
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62. (September 26, 2025). "29th Annual TV Awards (2024-25)".
63. (April 28, 2018). "Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards (PFCS)". Phoenix Film Critics Society.
64. (July 12, 2022). "2022 Emmy Awards Nominations Revealed".
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