Katherine Victoria Litwack (born June 13, 1986), known professionally asKat Dennings, is an American actress. She is known for her starring roles as Max Black in theCBS sitcom2 Broke Girls (2011–2017) and asDarcy Lewis in theMarvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) superhero films and television franchise beginning withThor (2011).
Beginning her career at age 9 by acting in commercials, Dennings said her family never had much money for formal acting training.[10] Her first acting job was an advertisement for potato chips that included a poisonous ingredient and never made it to market.[11] In her early years, she worked as an extra to earn herSAG card.[10]
Dennings washomeschooled; her only enrollment at a traditional school was for a half-day atFriends' Central School.[1] She graduated from high school early at age 14,[12] and moved with her family to Los Angeles to pursue acting full time.[3] In an interview withPhiladelphia magazine in 2008, she explained that she chose "Dennings" as her professional last name because she thought her family name was "a little hideous" and she "wanted to know when someone really knew [her] or they didn't."[1] The last name was based on that of Janine Denni, the wife ofLloyd Alexander, a personal friend of her mother.[13]
Career
2000–2003: Early career
Dennings made her professional debut with an appearance onHBO'sSex and the City in 2000, in the episode "Hot Child in the City", playing an obnoxious 13-year-old who hiresSamantha to handle publicity for herbat mitzvah.[3][14] She then starred on the short-livedWB sitcomRaising Dad from 2001 to 2002 as Sarah, a 15-year-old raised by her widowed father (Bob Saget), with a pre-teen sister (Brie Larson). In 2002, Dennings appeared in theDisney Channel filmThe Scream Team as a teenager who stumbles into a group of ghosts. She was cast for a five-episode run on The WB'sEverwood, but the role was recast withNora Zehetner.[15]
Dennings continued working on television, guest-starring onWithout a Trace as a teen whose boyfriend goes missing, and onLess than Perfect in 2003. In February 2004, she was cast in apilot forCBS titledSudbury, about a family of modern-day witches, based on the 1998 filmPractical Magic, but the series was not picked up.[16][17] Dennings had a recurring role onER from 2005 to 2006 as Zoe Butler, and twice guest-starred in theCSI franchise: first onCSI, as Missy Wilson in the 2004 episode "Early Rollout". Secondly, she played Sarah Endecott onCSI: NY, in the 2005 episode "Manhattan Manhunt".
In September 2008, Dennings was involved in a project to adaptDon DeLillo's novelEnd Zone as a film. ActorsSam Rockwell andJosh Hartnett were also involved, but the project was notgreenlit because of its subject matter ofnuclear war was considered too controversial.[23]
In 2009, Dennings appeared inThe Answer Man, a film about a celebrity author whosemanifestos become a sort of newBible. She also co-starred in theRobert Rodriguez-directed dark children's filmShorts that year.[24] She played Stacey Thompson, the teenage older sister of the protagonist Toe (Jimmy Bennett).[25]
The following year, she starred in the independent featureDaydream Nation, as a girl who moves from the city to a strange rural town, and is caught in alove triangle with her high school teacher (Josh Lucas) and a teenage drug dealer (Reece Thompson).[31] The film began shooting inVancouver in early 2010, and was written and directed by Michael Golbach.[32] In May 2010, Dennings appeared in a music video for "40 Dogs (Like Romeo and Juliet)", a single byAustin, Texas-based musicianBob Schneider.Robert Rodriguez directed the video, which was filmed in various locations around Austin.[33]
Dennings was part of the cast of theMarvel Studios filmThor, released in May 2011, and directed byKenneth Branagh. She played Darcy Lewis, a tech-savvy sidekick and assistant toNatalie Portman's character,Jane Foster.[34] The film went into production in January 2010, and was shot inNew Mexico for six weeks in early 2010.[31]
In February 2011, Dennings was cast in2 Broke Girls, a CBS sitcom written and produced byMichael Patrick King and comedianWhitney Cummings.[35] The series debuted on September 19, 2011, and follows the lives of two underemployed girls.Beth Behrs co-stars as aManhattan heiress who lost her inheritance, while Dennings plays a tough outspoken girl fromBrooklyn.[36] Dennings liked the idea of reaching a wider audience with her work, so she accepted the role on the networksitcom.[37] On May 12, 2017, CBS canceled the series after six seasons.[38]
The video premiered on April 4, 2013.[43] In 2013, Dennings reprised her role as Darcy Lewis inThor: The Dark World.[44] She worked on the film and2 Broke Girls at the same time, flying toLondon to film for six months between breaks on her CBS sitcom.[45]
In 2018, it was announced that Dennings would star as Abby in the comedy filmFriendsgiving.[46]
In 2008, Dennings stated thatJudaism "is an important part of my history, but, as a whole, religion is not a part of my life." She considers herself more ethnically and culturally affiliated than religiously so.[6]
On May 6, 2021, it was confirmed that Dennings was in a relationship with musicianAndrew W.K., whom she had met in Los Angeles earlier that year.[59] A week later, on May 13, 2021, the couple announced their engagement onInstagram.[60] They married on November 27, 2023, at their Los Angeles home.[61][62]
