Kirsten Dunst Reveals Son James, 4, Had a Traumatic Health Scare Abroad

Kirsten Dunst experienced a mother’s worst nightmare when she was filming a movie in Budapest.

“[It was like] Final Destination, where you’re imagining all the things that could go wrong, worst-case scenarios happening to your child,” the actress, 43, said in an interview with Town & Country magazine published on Wednesday, August 20. “I have never seen that movie … but I know the concept. That’s how it feels to be a mother at times.”

Dunst was joined by husband Jesse Plemons and their two sons, Ennis, 7, and James, 4, as she worked on her new film The Entertainment System Is Down. Dunst explained that the plan was for her family to stay with her in Budapest for the length of production as they rented a home and enrolled Ennis in school.

James subsequently suffered from a serious undisclosed health scare and Plemons and their sons returned home to Los Angeles while Dunst stayed to finish the job. She was able to go home to check on James for a brief period.

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Dunst shared that James and everyone in their family are doing fine now, but looking back on the scary incident, Dunst shared that the struggle strengthened her and her family.

“It brought us together as a family in such a deeper way,” she recalled.

Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons Arnold Jerocki/GC Images

Now that James is on the mend, Dunst and Plemons are treating their youngest to a vacation of his choice. According to Dunst, James selected the Bahamas so he can “go to a beach where my sandcastle won’t wash away.”

Dunst and Plemons became parents in December 2018 when they welcomed Ennis. The couple, who secretly wed in 2022, had their second son, James, in June 2021. Following James’ arrival, Dunst previously shared that if her sons wanted to follow in their parents’ footsteps, she would not be opposed.

“Listen, if they want to be actors, I’ll support my children whatever they want to do,” she said at the New York Film Festival premiere of The Power of the Dog that same year.

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As Dunst and Plemmons have settled as a family of four, the actress revealed that they keep their home electronics-free for their kids.

“We’re just not a ‘Siri, play whatever’ household. Our kids don’t have iPads either. If they want to use an iPad on the plane, it’s Dad’s iPad,” she told Variety in April 2024. “And we’re not phone-at-restaurant kind of people. I’m not raising a kid that can’t have conversations at the table.”