Kaitlyn Dever

Kaitlyn Rochelle Dever (born December 21, 1996) 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).

Early life
Kaitlyn Rochelle Dever was born in Phoenix, Arizona, on December 21, 1996, the daughter of ice skating coaches Kathy (1971–2024) and Tim Dever. She has two younger sisters named Mady and Jane. 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.