Kaitlyn Dever’s skills in TV and movies have become better known as time has gone on. With a look and acting style that are easy to change, her roles are starting to define an already successful career. Like a few other well-known actresses today, she got her start in movies with a movie based on the American Girl doll series. In 2009, she played Gwen Thompson in An American Girl: Chrissa Stands Strong, which was her first movie role. Since then, she’s been in several different types of music, proving that she’s a versatile performer.
Empire Online says that Dever’s family moved from Phoenix, Arizona, to Dallas, Texas, when she was young. It was there that she began her acting career. After she did well in Chrissa, she started getting more TV roles, and then more movie roles. As she’s grown up, her on-screen roles have become more powerful, and she’s used her skills to tackle more serious real-life ideas. Find out how Kaitlyn Dever’s best roles rank by reading on.
Booksmart (2019)
Booksmart is one of the more recent stories about high school that show what it’s like to grow up and graduate in the late 2010s. Kaitlyn Dever, who plays one of the film’s two main characters, Amy, is the perfect example of a gay, socially aware Gen-Z teen whose hopes for the future are bigger than her social reality at school. Amy’s best friend Molly, played by Beanie Feldstein, and Amy make a great team as they work hard to enjoy the last freedoms they feel they’ve given up for their education so far. Amy is one of Dever’s best characters because she is likeable, funny, sincere, and a good friend.
Dopesick (2021)
Dopesick on Hulu zooms in on different parts of the United States to show how opioids have changed the lives of many people for good. Betsy Mallum, the character Dever plays, is a painful example of how a young person can get hooked on drugs. This short but powerful show shows how good a performer Dever is by showing one of her roles as a person in trouble, which is still a very real problem in the real world.
Justified (2010-2015)
The show Justified, which won two Emmys, is called a “neo-Western” with a lot of “grit.” In the series, Raylan Givens goes back to his home state of Kentucky, where his brash ideas about right and wrong get him into trouble. Loretta McCready’s character gives Dever the chance to play a girl who is caught in the middle of the lawlessness around her and grows up as she learns who she really is.
Last Man Standing (2011-2021)
Last Man Standing brought the Baxter family into people’s homes and made them laugh and gasp for ten years and longer. Mike Baxter is the father of three outspoken daughters. Mike and his wife, Vanessa, go through the ups and downs of being a woman together. Dever’s performance as Eve, the youngest Baxter, showed how she changed from a naive girl into a determined and brave member of the Armed Forces. The audience really got to see Eve (and Dever) come into their own over the years.
Rosaline (2022)
The new funny film People have said that Rosaline is a funny new take on the old Romeo and Juliet story. Rosaline comes to life in Dever’s performance, which is as outspoken as many of the other roles she has played in the past. Grazia Magazine says that the story is “told from the point of view of [Romeo’s] ex,” which gives the story a new perspective that includes more than just the sad story that people might expect. Rosaline is right to be angry, so she gets the idea to turn the story back in her favor.
Short Term 12 (2013)
In Short Term 12, the audience meets young people who live in a foster care facility. A caretaker named Grace (Brie Larson) is caught up in the problems that mental illness causes for many people. Dever is Jayden, a resident in Short Term 12 who starts to trust Grace and grows to trust her more and more as she goes on her healing journey. Dever is great at playing characters who go through things that change their lives, and this movie is a great example of how well she can play a young woman who is both weak and strong.
Unbelievable (2019)
The Netflix show Unbelievable is a shocking and important story that is based on a real event. The miniseries expands on the real-life story of a woman named Marie who said she was assaulted but was later found to have lied about it. CinemaBlend says that Dever didn’t talk to the real Marie while the show was being made, but after it came out, Dever said, “[Marie] said that she watched the show and thought it was amazing, and that it gave her a little bit of closure.” There are a lot of shows like this one that make big deals out of serious issues in a careless and entertainment-focused way, but it was clear that this performance was really good.
