What was the character's name played by Kirsten Dunst in "Spider-Man"?

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Kirsten Dunst played Mary Jane Watson in Spider-Man.

Dunst portrayed Mary Jane in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man film trilogy, beginning with Spider-Man in 2002 and continuing through Spider-Man 2 in 2004 and Spider-Man 3 in 2007. In the films, Mary Jane is Peter Parker’s longtime friend and eventual romantic partner, played opposite Tobey Maguire’s Peter Parker.

Mary Jane Watson originated in Marvel Comics and is commonly known by the nickname “MJ.” The film version draws on the comic character but changes some details of her history and personality. In Raimi’s trilogy, she begins as Peter’s neighbor and schoolmate, pursues acting, and becomes central to Peter’s emotional life.

A frequent mix-up is confusing Dunst’s Mary Jane with Gwen Stacy, another major Spider-Man character. Bryce Dallas Howard played Gwen Stacy in Spider-Man 3, while Emma Stone played a different version of Gwen in The Amazing Spider-Man films. The later Marvel Cinematic Universe character played by Zendaya is called Michelle Jones, also nicknamed MJ, but she is not the same character as Dunst’s Mary Jane Watson.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Aug. 2026

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