Cassandra Kulukundis
Occupation Casting director
Relatives Manuel Kulukundis (grandfather)
Eddie Kulukundis (first cousin once removed)

Cassandra Kulukundis is an American casting director.[1][2] For her work on the film One Battle After Another (2025), she became the first recipient of the Academy Award for Best Casting.[3]

Life and career

Kulukundis is the daughter of Manuel Michael Kulukundis, and the granddaughter of Manuel E. Kulukundis, both of the Kulukundis shipping family. Her first cousin once removed is entrepreneur and theater impresario Eddie Kulukundis.[4][5]

She graduated from Vassar College in 1993. She began her career as an intern on director Paul Thomas Anderson's debut film Hard Eight (1996).[6] She won the inaugural Best Casting Academy Award for the film One Battle After Another (2025).[3]

Personal life

As of 2026, Kulukundis lives in Sutton House in New York City.[7]

Selected filmography

  • Magnolia (1999)
  • Ghost World (2001)
  • Punch-Drunk Love (2002)
  • Shattered Glass (2003)
  • Spartan (2004)
  • Jailbait (2004)
  • Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004)
  • Haven (2004)
  • Art School Confidential (2006)
  • The Elephant King (2006)
  • Breach (2007)
  • There Will Be Blood (2007)
  • The Master (2012)
  • A Late Quartet (2012)
  • Her (2013)
  • Inherent Vice (2014)[8]
  • Phantom Thread (2017)[9]
  • Vox Lux (2018)
  • Licorice Pizza (2021)[10]
  • Gossip Girl (2021–2023)[11]
  • The Greatest Hits (2024)[12]
  • The Brutalist (2024)[13]
  • One Battle After Another (2025)[12]

References

  1. ^ "Cassandra Kulukundis to Receive Outstanding Achievement in Casting Award for 'One Battle After Another' at SCAD Savannah Film Festival". Savannah Tribune. October 15, 2025. Retrieved January 22, 2026.
  2. ^ Lawrence, Derek (October 21, 2025). "Inside the Long Search for the Young Star of 'One Battle After Another'". Backstage. Retrieved January 22, 2026.
  3. ^ a b "The 98th Academy Awards (2026) Nominees and Winners". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on February 8, 2026. Retrieved January 22, 2026.
  4. ^ "Paid Notice: Deaths KULUKUNDIS, CALLIOPE M." The New York Times. October 1, 2006. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  5. ^ "Sir Eddie Kulukundis obituary". www.thetimes.com. February 23, 2021. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  6. ^ "Inside the Long Search for the Young Star of 'One Battle After Another'". www.backstage.com. October 21, 2025. Retrieved January 23, 2026.
  7. ^ "Cassandra Kulukundis". US Phone Book. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  8. ^ "Casting the Psychedelic Trip That Is "Inherent Vice"". www.backstage.com. December 12, 2014. Archived from the original on November 12, 2025. Retrieved March 17, 2026.
  9. ^ Welk, Brian (March 16, 2026). "First-Ever Oscar Winner for Best Casting Cassandra Kulukundis Talks Making 10 Movies with Paul Thomas Anderson". IndieWire. Retrieved March 17, 2026.
  10. ^ Pond, Steve (February 19, 2026). "One Movie After Another: Paul Thomas Anderson's Casting Director Tells All". TheWrap. Retrieved March 17, 2026.
  11. ^ Macias, Ernesto (August 13, 2021). "Gossip Girl's Emily Alyn Lind Is Not Who You Think She Is". Interview Magazine. Archived from the original on September 8, 2025. Retrieved March 17, 2026.
  12. ^ a b Gardner, Chris (March 16, 2026). "Cassandra Kulukundis Makes Academy Awards History by Winning First-Ever Casting Oscar". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 17, 2026.
  13. ^ Shoard, Catherine (March 16, 2026). "Cassandra Kulukundis wins inaugural casting Oscar for One Battle After Another". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved March 17, 2026.
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