Recently sitting in the theater and watching Kirsten Dunst in “Civil War”, I was internally applauding her REAL and authentic appearance.  She looks like she’s allowed herself to age naturally, to play a character that looks tired, world weary and a bit disheveled.  You know, being a true ACTRESS … relying on the conveyance of emotion through film.  This alone made me like her even more that I already had – and it had also had me more so invested in the movie.  Additionally, it was great to see her very realistically play a tense and uncomfortable scene against her husband, Jesse Plemons, who was a very unpleasant character in the film.  (Good actor, but I don’t have/want his autograph – illegible scrawl.) 

Due to my love of horror, “Interview with the Vampire” was one of my absolute favorite books as a kid – and it featured my hometown San Francisco as the locale of the interview. I eagerly looked forward to the release of the film.  Kirsten was perfect and just as I had imagined in my mind’s eye.  (Personal note: One of my best friends lived in the San Francisco house owned by Anne Rice in 1993-1996.  Since Anne Rice was his landlord, it was only natural that she should come by to say hello to the tenants – and he said that she was everything he expected of her ... and more!)  

Back to Kirsten.  Of course, I loved her in the undeniable fun blockbusters “Jumanji”, “Bring It On” and “Spiderman”.  But it’s always the obscure that catch my attention.  And the so-it’s-not-perfect “The Cat’s Meow” may not have garnered great reviews, awards, or box office.  But watching Kirsten Dunst play Marion Davies was priceless for me; especially with me knowing so much of the real-life back story of that shooting on the boat.  (Yes, I will talk about Marion Davies, her career and autograph, as well.) 

The gloriously filmed, absolute confection of over the top-ness with such an eclectic fun soundtrack known as Sofia Coppola’s version of “Marie Antoinette” simply locked in Kirsten Dunst as an all-around “YES! I will watch her”.  This girl picks fun material! 

Now on to her autograph and the plethora of fakes floating about.   

The first general thing to look for when authenticating a Kirsten Dunst signature is the fact that she does NOT lift the pen in Kirsten OR in Dunst.  Meaning that whenever you see a break between the K and the i or between the D and the U; it's probably not authentic.  Secondly, you will rarely recognize a distinction/separation of the n and s in Dunst; she almost always signs in a manner where it looks like "Dust" or "Dunt".  With her D's, they usually are closed and loop back out directly into the u.  Her K's are also usually looped back from the center and go directly into the i.  And finally, she almost always dots - or, more recently, hearts - her i.  

Of the Kirsten Dunst autographs in my collection, only the one with the “Marie Antoinette” photo is authentic.  The others break one or more of the distinctions outlined above.  I wish the “Interview with the Vampire” autograph was real.  But it’s just too perfect, spelled out too well and unlike her real-life signature.  (You can see a great example of her earlier, more complete signature, from the authentically signed “Jumanji” photo shown here.)