If you’re not familiar with Grace Van Dien based on name value alone, you’ll have undoubtedly heard the 26-year-old actress mentioned among the Stranger Things cast, consisting of full-blown celebrities in Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, David Harbour, Winona Ryder and more. In Stranger Things 4, the Netflix Original’s latest season, Van Dien portrays Chrissy Cunningham, an accomplished cheerleader at Hawkins High who was dating basketball star Jason before she met her demise at the hands of Vecna — becoming his first of four victims.
Like most young stars, Van Dien didn’t just happen upon stardom; we can rightly assume that her famous father, Casper Van Dien, had a hand in guiding Grace towards acting as a career. She landed her breakout role in Stranger Things, but Casper was making waves in the film industry back in the late ’90s.
Casper Van Dien, 54, was married to Carrie Mitchum from 1993 to 1997. In that time, they had two children, one of whom was Grace Van Dien. They met through fateful circumstances that led Van Dien to co-star with Robert Mitchum, Carrie’s grandfather, in James Dean: Race with Destiny. During his long career, Van Dien has appeared in countless television and film roles, namely 1997’s Starship Troopers and several of its sequels. In more recent years, Van Dien has starred in Alita: Battle Angel as Amock, The Warrant as The Saint, and even Commissioner Gordon in the fan-made film Batman: Dying Is Easy.
Van Dien was raised in the Pensacola suburb of Milton, Florida, born to a preschool teacher and a U.S. Navy Commander. Ironically, Casper grew up on Van Dien Avenue, a street named after his great-great-great-grandfather. After graduating from high school, Casper attended Florida State University. Once he’d discovered a passion and talent for acting, Casper landed his first recurring roles in the soap opera One Life to Live and the prime-time drama Beverly Hills, 90210. He even had a run as Tarzan in Tarzan and the Lost City (1998).
Right now, Van Dien is married to Jennifer Wenger, whom he tied the knot with in June 2018.