After several decades in the entertainment industry, Kat Dennings has stayed pretty down to earth. Sadly, humility hasn't spared her from losing many loved ones, getting bullied, and having her privacy violated.
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00:00After several decades in the entertainment industry, Kat Dennings has stayed pretty
00:04down-to-earth. Sadly, humility hasn't spared her from losing many loved ones,
00:09getting bullied, and having her privacy violated.
00:12In 2016, actor Anton Yelchin died outside his Los Angeles home when his Jeep Grand Cherokee
00:19rolled back a steep incline and pinned him against his driveway gates. It was a freak
00:24accident that shocked the world, including his close pal and one-time co-star, Dennings.
00:29Following the tragic news, Dennings tweeted,
00:31"'Anton Yelchin' was one of my best friends. Can't say anything that conveys what this feels like."
00:37She also took to Instagram to further express her disbelief and pay her respects. She wrote,
00:42"'I'll think about this kid every day for the rest of my life. I'm so
00:45lucky to have had him as long as I did.'"
00:48Dennings had previously discussed with Indie London how her friendship with Yelchin originated
00:53at the audition stages for Charlie Bartlett. She also revealed that their respective mothers had
00:58become close as well, saying,
00:59"'Our moms are now best friends. So three times a day I get an Anton update.
01:04And he gets the same about me. It's really cute.'"
01:07Anyone's worst nightmare appeared to come true for Dennings in 2010,
01:11when nude photos of the star were allegedly uploaded online without her consent.
01:16The incident occurred four years before a scandal in which the likes of Jennifer Lawrence,
01:20Ariana Grande, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead all had their privacy invaded in equally traumatic ways.
01:26Dennings has never confirmed nor denied whether the images in question were of her,
01:31but she did speak out about the double standards when her London co-star, Chris Evans,
01:36appeared to accidentally share an image of his manhood while showing his camera
01:39roll during an online game of Heads Up. Evans received quite a bit of sympathy after the faux
01:44pas, and in response, Dennings called attention to how female celebrities are often blamed and
01:50shamed in similar circumstances. She tweeted,
01:53"[The public respect for Chris Evans' privacy
01:56feelings is wonderful. Wouldn't it be nice if it extended to women
01:59when this kind of thing happens?"
02:02In 2020, Dennings leapt to the defense of Billie Eilish after the chart-topper faced a barrage of
02:07online criticism for her appearance. But you might not know Dennings herself is very familiar with
02:13being body-shamed. Speaking to ET, Dennings explained why she felt personally affronted
02:18by the abuse, noting that she had a horrible time when she was a similar age to Eilish.
02:23I think things are much more inclusive now, but when I was growing up, I mean,
02:28it was not like that."
02:30Dennings had spoken about the difficulties she faced as a young woman in the entertainment
02:34industry during a chat with The New York Times nine years prior. She admitted that she was
02:39repeatedly told by casting agents to modify her appearance, whether it was by dyeing her hair,
02:44getting a suntan, or losing weight. But proving that she's always been headstrong,
02:48the actor ignored such damaging advice and continued to find success.
02:53Dennings was largely homeschooled, but on one occasion, she did get to spend at least a few
02:58hours at an actual school in her native Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, it wasn't a
03:03positive experience. Discussing her very brief time at Friends Central in an interview with
03:07Philly Mag, Dennings stated that it well and truly broke her spirit. When asked to expand,
03:13she explained,
03:14"...I was yelled at. People made fun of my outfit. I filled out some questionnaire and
03:19realized I spelled friend wrong. That was a word I mastered eventually. I remember
03:23feeling so stupid and I thought, f---- this, I'm going back to the woods."
03:28Dennings' intimate 2023 wedding to rocker Andrew W.K. was a bittersweet occasion.
03:34Just a few weeks earlier, the bride had lost her father,
03:37former molecular pharmacologist and college professor Gerald J. Litwack.
03:41In an interview with Vogue, Dennings revealed she thought about postponing the ceremony at
03:46the Los Angeles home she shares with the party-hard hitmaker. However, she resolved to
03:50go through with it, saying,
03:52"...I realized it was even more of a reason to grasp any joyous feeling where I could."
03:56Shortly after tying the knot, Dennings took to Instagram to pay her first
04:00public tribute to the man who raised and schooled her and her four siblings.
04:04Under a few photos of her father, she wrote,
04:06"...even though I knew he had less time than more,
04:09it still didn't prepare me for the reality of the loss and the resulting existential crisis.
04:15He really wanted to leave a mark on this world, and I believe he did."
04:18Dennings also used the post to celebrate her father's achievements in various fields,
04:22including cancer research and molecular cellular medicine.
04:27Cat by name, cat lover by nature
04:29"...I have a very beautiful cat, and she deserves to have people look at it, her face."
04:35As proven by her work with several animal charities,
04:38Dennings is a feline fan. Sadly, this made the sudden passing of her pet Millie,
04:42in 2023, a shock to the system. As she told People magazine during a chat at the Best
04:48Friends Animal Society's Los Angeles Pet Adoption Center,
04:51"...it was very unexpected and horribly traumatic. And I was like,
04:55what do I do? I still can't believe this. I thought she was going to live to be 30,
04:59and it was just the worst."
05:01But on the advice of a friend, Dennings decided to deal with her grief by adopting not just one,
05:06but two new cats. Luckily, sisters Barley and Lintel have adapted to their new environment
05:11immediately, and Dennings couldn't be happier. She explained,
05:15"...it's really like they keep each other company, which is fantastic.
05:18They could care less if I'm out of the room. They're like, whatever, lady."
05:22And even though he's allergic to cats,
05:23Dennings reported her rocker husband was just as enamored. Even so,
05:28Dennings surely mourns her soulmate cat dearly.
05:31Dennings is one of 40 million American citizens who regularly deal with chronic migraine headaches.
05:37The star has suffered from the condition since the age of 12,
05:40but only officially received a diagnosis in early adulthood. And she's since aligned
05:45herself with several initiatives to raise awareness and advocate for care reform.
05:50In an interview with Helpline to promote the migraine blackout campaign,
05:53Dennings revealed that the condition has had a detrimental effect on her social life.
05:57She explained,
05:58"...I cancel personal plans all the time due to my migraine attacks.
06:02And that's the worst because I feel like the ultimate flake. But the truth is,
06:06when I have a migraine, I struggle to do anything."
06:09But Dennings refuses to allow migraines to impact her career,
06:12although she's wondered if this is the right approach. She reflected,
06:16"...I've always pushed through the pain because I don't want to let people down,
06:20and wasn't sure if people would understand if I took time off because of it.
06:23But that says something, doesn't it? There was a part of me that felt like
06:27having a migraine attack wasn't a legitimate reason to rust up."
06:31While Dennings finally got a fairytale wedding, 2023, she has previously endured her fair share
06:36of heartbreak, thanks to several other failed celebrity romances. Dennings was rumored to
06:41have dated One Tree Hill star Ira David Wood IV in the mid-2000s before moving on to Criminal
06:47Minds regular Matthew Gregoobler and then Thor co-star Tom Hiddleston. Allegedly,
06:52she was even involved with Ryan Gosling at one point. She then spent three years
06:56with her Two Broke Girls colleague Nick Zanno, and later got serious with adult
07:01contemporary crooner Josh Groban.
07:03"...For both of us, like, work is our passion. Like, it's what we love to do."
07:06And while the end of all these relationships was surely difficult,
07:09Dennings took something positive from all the experiences. While promoting the second
07:14season of Dollface, she told Shoon that she could relate to her heartbroken lead character Jules,
07:19saying,
07:19"...I haven't had this kind of breakup experience.
07:22But I've certainly had times in my life when I was gone for a long period
07:26and felt like I had missed major things when I came back.
07:29It's a similar feeling, so I had plenty to pull from."