Kaitlyn Rochelle Dever is an American actress. She became known for her roles in series such as Justified (2011–2015), Last Man Standing (2011–2021), Unbelievable (2019), and Dopesick (2021). She earned Golden Globe Award nominations for Unbelievable and Dopesick, in addition to a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Dopesick.
Dever has had supporting roles in the films Short Term 12 (2013), Detroit (2017), Beautiful Boy (2018), Dear Evan Hansen (2021), and Ticket to Paradise (2022). Her leading film roles were in Booksmart (2019), Rosaline (2022), and No One Will Save You (2023).
Years active: 2009–present
Born age: December 21, 1996, 27 years old and 9 months, Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Hair Color: Dakk Brown
Eye Color: Dark Brown
Height: 5′ 3″ – 1.60 m
Measurements: 33-24-32 in – 84-61-81 cm
Bra size: 32A US – 70A EU
Early life
Kaitlyn Rochelle Dever, the daughter of ice skating coaches Kathy (1971–2024) and Tim Dever. She has two younger sisters named Mady and Jane. In addition to ice skating, her father voiced Barney the Dinosaur from 1999 to 2001 and co-owns a Philadelphia-based pretzel shop called Pretzel Boy. At the age of five, her parents put her in an acting school after she developed an interest in the performing arts. She also participated in ballet, gymnastics, and ice skating, but decided to focus on acting after seeing Toni Collette‘s performance in The Sixth Sense (1999). Her family moved to Dallas, where she filmed a number of commercials, then settled in Los Angeles.
Career
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. Beulahbelle, a musical duo consisting of Dever and her younger sister Mady, contributed in the 2018 film Tully. The duo later released their debut single “Raleigh” in February 2020.
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 which 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, she 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 film adaptation of 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.
In 2023, Dever starred in the sci-fi thriller film No One Will Save You, which premiered on Hulu. She was particularly praised for her ability to tell the story almost entirely through facial expressions, as there is virtually no dialogue in the entire film.
In January 2024, it was announced that Dever would join the cast of the second season of The Last of Us as Abby.
Trivia
Attended children’s acting classes at Dallas Young Actors Studio in Dallas, Texas.
Inducted into the Texas Film Hall of Fame with the Rising Star Award on 3/12/2020 in Austin.
Was considered for the role of Ellie Williams in The Last of Us (2023). The role went to Bella Ramsey instead.
Sister of actress Mady Dever.
Daughter of Tim Dever and Kathy Dever.
Quotes
I would have to say that I have to concentrate more when I’m doing comedy. There are so many details that make up any character, but developing a character for a dramatic role seems to come more naturally.
It’s really important that people know about it and the issue in schools because it happens every day to people and it really hurts when people get bullied.
When someone is bullying you, don’t let it get to you. I remember my friends in school, someone said something mean to them, and they really let it get to them. And it really affected them. But I would just say try to ignore it as much as possible and just be yourself.
Last Man Standing (2011) is overall a lot of comedy. And I love doing that.
I love going back and forth from drama to comedy. I love switching it around and showing people that I can do both.
I think that the main thing that you can learn from watching The Spectacular Now (2013) is just learning about growing up and moving on.
I play guitar and sing when I’m not busy with school and acting.
There was one director I worked with. I asked a simple question: “Anything specific you need from me in this scene?” And the director said: “Just, you know, be a girl”. I would never hear that from a woman.
Kaitlyn Dever Interesting Facts
Black is her favorite color.
Actress Kristen Stewart is among her fashion icons.
While growing up, Kaitlyn Dever took part in gymnastics, skating, and ballet.
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