1994-present
Latest News: Dakota Fanning Stars in The Watchers
The Watchers director, Ishana Night Shyamalan, felt a “vibe” that Dakota Fanning was right for the lead role in the upcoming mystery thriller.
Produced by Ishana’s father, M. Night Shyamalan, and released on June 7, the film stars Fanning as Mina, an artist who is trapped in a shelter with three strangers (played by Georgina Campbell, Oliver Finnegan and Olwen Fouéré) as unknown creatures watch them each night.
The young director explained at the recent Summer of Shyamalan event that casting for the film played out much like the story itself, where the actors did not know one another before interacting. “Some of them met on the read-through, which was over Zoom, and then they just kind of jumped in together,” she said, according to Screen Rant. “It’s very much about a vibe that I feel, and I think that’s kind of what drew me to these four people. They all have a very, very singular, ethereal, compelling energy about them.”
The project is Fanning’s second of 2024, with the actor already starring alongside Andrew Scott in the Netflix limited series Ripley. The 30-year-old recently told Backstage magazine that maintaining a “childlike imagination” has fueled her versatility as a performer. “I feel scared to change [my process], and I also sometimes feel scared to define it because then it feels like I have to do the same thing every time. By not being able to put my finger on it, it gives me the freedom to do whatever I want,” Fanning said.
Who Is Dakota Fanning?
Dakota Fanning was born in Conyers, Georgia, on February 23, 1994. She landed her first commercial at 5 years old and earned a Screen Actors Guild Award for her work with Sean Penn on I Am Sam. She played Tom Cruise’s daughter in the 2005 War of the Worlds remake. Fanning also provided voice work for the animated film Coraline, based on a book by Neil Gaiman, and was featured in the Twilight film series.
Quick Facts
FULL NAME: Hannah Dakota Fanning
BORN: February 23, 1994
BIRTHPLACE: Conyers, Georgia
SIBLING: Elle Fanning
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Pisces
Sister Elle and Parents
Hannah Dakota Fanning was born on February 23, 1994, in Conyers, Georgia, to Steven Fanning and Hannah Joy Arrington.
Both of Dakota’s parents were professional athletes. The St. Louis Cardinals MLB franchise drafted Steven in 1988, and he played in the minor leagues until 1995—when he quit baseball and became an electronics salesman. Hannah played tennis and introduced her daughter to the sport at age 3. However, “I don’t like getting sweaty. I don’t like getting hot,” Dakota said, according to People. “And my mom sort of realized, ‘Oh my God, she’s not going to be an athlete.’ That really came out of the blue for them.”
Dakota, raised in the Southern Baptist faith, instead took an interest in performing. Hannah enrolled her daughter in acting classes, and she soon landed her first commercial—for Tide laundry detergent—at 5 years old.
Dakota’s younger sister Mary Elle Fanning—born four years after Dakota and similarly known by her middle name, according to family tradition—followed in her sibling’s footsteps and became an actor as well. She began her career playing a younger version of Dakota’s characters in the film I Am Sam (2001) and TV miniseries Taken (2002) and has since become a star on her own. She has appeared in films like Super 8 (2011), Maleficent (2014) and its sequel, alongside Angelina Jolie, The Neon Demon (2016), as well as the Hulu TV series The Great, in which she played the lead role of Catherine.
Dakota attended the Campbell Hall School in California, graduating in 2011, and had a “normal high school experience” despite establishing herself as one of Hollywood’s most promising young actors.
Movies and TV Roles
A young Fanning first found success on television. In 2000, she appeared on such programs as ER, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and The Practice. Having proven herself on the small screen, she quickly moved on to feature films. Fanning earned a Screen Actors Guild Award for her work with Sean Penn in I Am Sam, playing the daughter of a man with mental disabilities who becomes the subject of a custody battle.
In 2002, Fanning played a young version of Reese Witherspoon in the popular romantic comedy Sweet Home Alabama and appeared in the miniseries Taken, developed by Steven Spielberg.
In 2003’s The Cat in the Hat, Fanning played Sally, a beloved children’s book character who, along with her brother, must contend with a visit from the title character (played by Mike Myers). She also starred with Brittany Murphy in the widely panned comedy Uptown Girls (2003).
Man on Fire with Denzel Washington
Taking on a more substantial subject matter, Fanning appeared opposite Denzel Washington in the crime thriller Man on Fire (2004). She played a young girl kidnapped by a Mexican crime cartel, and Washington portrayed the former assassin-turned-bodyguard who works to save her.
The project began a bond with Washington, who collaborated with Fanning again for 2023’s The Equalizer 3. The two regularly keep in touch, and Fanning became a close friend to the actor’s daughter Olivia while studying at New York University. “He has always been so good to me and kind to me, and I feel such a connection to him because he’s known me for so long,” Fanning told Entertainment Tonight.
Blockbusters: War of the Worlds and Twilight series
Fanning worked with plenty of other A-list stars, first playing Tom Cruise’s daughter in the 2005 remake of the science fiction classic War of the Worlds. That same year, she also appeared in the thriller Hide and Seek with Robert De Niro and starred opposite Kurt Russell in Dreamer: Inspired By a True Story.
Returning to more kid-friendly fare, Fanning lent her voice as Lilo Pelekai in the Disney animated movie Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch. She also starred in the film adaptation of Charlotte’s Web (2006), based on the book by E.B. White.
Creating controversy, Fanning’s next project was the independent drama Hounddog (2007). She played a poor southern girl with an obsession with Elvis Presley, who endures a sexual assault at the hands of an older teen. Some were shocked by the film’s rape scene because of Fanning’s young age—she was then 12. Others criticized her parents for allowing her to work on the project. Objecting to the criticism, Fanning said that the personal attacks aimed at her family were “extremely uncalled for and hurtful,” according to a report in USA Today.
The following year, Fanning starred in another southern drama, The Secret Life of Bees. She plays a young girl who runs away from home with her caregiver (Jennifer Hudson) and finds sanctuary with three sisters. Trying her hand at an action film, Fanning appeared in Push (2009) as a girl with paranormal powers. The film proved to be a commercial and critical flop. She had better luck with her voiceover efforts that year, voicing the title character in Coraline, a fantastical tale by Neil Gaiman about a girl who finds a seemingly better version of her family by opening the door to an alternate world.
Also in 2009, Fanning appeared in the hit film New Moon, the second installment in the popular teen vampire films based on the Twilight books by Stephenie Meyer. She had a supporting role in the movie, playing Jane, a vampire who can hurt people just by looking at them. During the making of the film, Fanning became good friends with co-star Kristen Stewart. Fanning reprised the role of Jane in 2012’s The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2.
In the meantime, Fanning and Stewart also worked together on The Runaways (2010), which chronicled the rise and fall of the innovative 1970s all-girl punk band. Stewart played rock icon Joan Jett, while Fanning played Cherie Currie, the group’s lead singer known for her highly sexual stage persona. The film is based on Currie’s autobiography Neon Angel: A Memoir of a Runaway.
Recent Roles: The Alienist and Ripley
Following the smash success of the Twilight films, Fanning remained busy with roles in lower-profile movies like 2013’s Very Good Girls with Elizabeth Olsen, the 2014 biographical film Effie Gray, and the 2017 comedy-drama Please Stand By. Then, in 2019, she played Manson family member Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme in the Quentin Tarantino-directed Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood (2019).
In early 2018, Fanning returned to television for the first time in over a decade with a starring role in The Alienist. Set in late 19th century Manhattan, The Alienist features Fanning as an ambitious police secretary with eyes on becoming a detective as she helps investigate a serial killer. Fanning reprised the role in 2020 during the show’s second season, Angel of Darkness.
Fanning also appears in the 2022 anthology series The First Lady about former First Ladies Eleanor Roosevelt, Betty Ford, and Michelle Obama, as well as the 2024 Netflix drama Ripley.
In addition to taking on more acting projects, Fanning has said she hopes to get a chance to work behind the camera. “I would love to direct someday. I’ve learned a lot from watching the directors I’ve worked with, like Steven Spielberg and Gary Winick,” she told Time magazine.
Relationship History
Fanning has kept her personal life mostly private, although she has revealed she doesn’t like dating. “I find dates, in general, horrific. We have to sit there and ask these questions and pretend to eat a meal, and it just feels so stiff,” she told Town & Country in 2016.
Still, Fanning was in a relationship with model Jamie Strachan—13 years older than the actor—from 2013 through 2016.
After their split, she was romantically linked to Henry Frye from 2017 through 2018. However, they have not been seen together since, and their relationship status is unknown.
Net Worth
Celebrity Net Worth estimates Fanning’s total fortune at around $12 million as of April 2024.
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Tyler Piccotti first joined the Biography.com staff as an Associate News Editor in February 2023, and before that worked almost eight years as a newspaper reporter and copy editor. He is a graduate of Syracuse University. When he's not writing and researching his next story, you can find him at the nearest amusement park, catching the latest movie, or cheering on his favorite sports teams.
