Kat Dennings

Kat Dennings has been married to musician Andrew W.K. since November 2023. They announced their engagement in May 2021 and married at their Los Angeles home.

Dennings has no children. She does not smoke or drink alcohol, and she has described Judaism as an important part of her history while identifying more with its ethnic and cultural aspects than with religious practice.

Born Katherine Victoria Litwack, Dennings is the youngest of five children. Her mother, Ellen Judith Litwack, is a poet and speech therapist, while her father, Gerald J. Litwack, was a molecular pharmacologist, college professor, and chairman. Her family is of Russian Jewish descent.

Dennings was predominantly homeschooled and graduated from high school at 14. She attended Friends' Central School for only half a day before moving with her family to Los Angeles to pursue acting full-time. She chose Dennings as her professional surname because she disliked the sound of her family name and wanted a name that would distinguish people who genuinely knew her from those who did not.

Dennings began acting in commercials at age 9 and made her professional television debut on HBO's Sex and the City in 2000. She subsequently appeared in Raising Dad, The Scream Team, Without a Trace, Less than Perfect, and ER.

Her feature-film debut came in Raise Your Voice in 2004, in which she played Sloane, a piano student. Supporting roles in The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Down in the Valley, and Big Momma's House 2 followed. She later appeared in Charlie Bartlett as Susan Gardner, the daughter of Robert Downey Jr.'s character, and in The House Bunny as Mona.

In Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, Dennings played Norah Silverberg opposite Michael Cera. The performance earned her a Satellite Award nomination for Best Actress. She also played lead roles in Daydream Nation, Defendor, To Write Love on Her Arms, and Suburban Gothic.

Dennings gained broad recognition as Max Black in the CBS sitcom 2 Broke Girls, which ran for six seasons from 2011 to 2017. Max is a tough, outspoken Brooklyn waitress who works alongside Caroline Channing, played by Beth Behrs, while the two pursue a cupcake business.

Dennings and Behrs became close friends through the series, and their performances as Max and Caroline formed the center of the show. Dennings received a People's Choice Award nomination with Behrs in the Favorite TV Gal Pals category.

Dennings joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Thor (2011) as Darcy Lewis, a tech-savvy assistant to Jane Foster, played by Natalie Portman. She reprised the role in Thor: The Dark World (2013).

She returned as Darcy in the Disney+ miniseries WandaVision and later appeared in Thor: Love and Thunder. Dennings also voiced Darcy Lewis in episodes of What If...?.

Dennings starred as Jules Wiley in the Hulu comedy series Dollface, which began in 2019. She also served as an executive producer on the series. Her other television work includes voice roles in Big Mouth, Dallas & Robo, and The Simpsons, as well as appearances in The Newsroom, Drunk History, and RuPaul's Drag Race.

She has received producer credits on Dallas & Robo, How May We Hate You?, Dollface, and Shifting Gears, in which she stars as Riley. Her other projects include voicing Death in the audio series The Sandman and presenting The Black Keys at the 55th Grammy Awards.