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Dakota Fanning
Hannah Dakota Fanning was born on 23 February 1994 in Conyers, Georgia, USA. Before her debut into the cinematic world, Dakota directed her own acting around her house. She was very imaginative for her age, and often put a blanket under her shirt and pretended to be having a baby, using her younger sister, Elle Fanning, who is also an actress now, as the baby. Dakota went to a playhouse near her home, where the children that attended put on a play every week to show to their parents. But the people running the playhouse noticed that Dakota stood out, and advised her parents, Joy and Steven Fanning, to take her to an agency. They believed that she was extremely talented.
The Fanning family spent six weeks in Los Angeles, a long way from their home in Georgia. But Dakota managed to get her first work; as the star in a national Tide commercial. She was chosen in an open audition.
The family then decided to move to Los Angeles permanently, to give Dakota's career the best possible chance. After they moved, Dakota signed with a professional agency, and soon won a role in the movie Tomcats (2001). She then went onto a small project called Father Xmas (2001) as Clairee.
But Dakota's big break-through was yet to come. She auditioned for one of the main characters in I Am Sam (2001), and the director and the rest of the crew were amazed by her extraordinary talent. Dakota was cast, and starred in the movie as Lucy Diamond Dawson, alongside major Hollywood stars Sean Penn and Michelle Pfeiffer.
After I Am Sam (2001) her talent was immediately recognized around the world. She went straight onto Trapped (2002) as Abby Jennings, alongside Charlize Theron, then played the younger version of Reese Witherspoon in 2002's Sweet Home Alabama (2002) But Dakota still had two more movies to come in 2002. Firstly she got a huge role in Steven Spielberg's " Taken" (2002), the mini-TV series, and narrated the ten whole episodes, as well as having a part. This was a little more challenging, as she was playing a troubled alien child, but she managed to do brilliantly. Her last movie for 2002 was the children's movie Hansel & Gretel (2002) as Katie.
2003 was also a brilliant year for Dakota, as she starred in a number of exciting projects. Firstly, it was as Sally Walden in The Cat In The Hat (2003) with Mike Myers, then she played Lorraine "Ray" Schleine, a bratty little girl, in the sweet comedy Uptown Girls (2003) alongside Brittany Murphy. She then voiced preschool Kim in Kim Possible: A Sitch in Time (2003) (TV).
In 2004, Dakota appeared in the violent thriller, Man On Fire (2004), alongside Denzel Washington. Her reviews were excellent.
First in 2005 was Nine Lives (2005), as Maria, then the chilling Hide And Seek (2005) alongside Robert De Niro. By now, she was the busiest child actress in Hollywood, with a resume to die for. Her younger sister, Mary Elle Fanning (Elle Fanning), had also been discovered a few years earlier.
After Hide And Seek (2005) came War Of The Worlds (2005), her biggest movie so far. Not only did it make her a household name, but she got to play the daughter of A-list Hollywood actor Tom Cruise. They had four very successful premieres; in Tokyo, Japan, France, London, England and New York, USA. The reviews were outstanding, especially Dakota's. She then voiced Lilo in Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch (2005) (V).
Her comingof age movie is the rock biopic The Runaways, with Kirsten Stewart. Only time will tell whether Dakota can make it as a successful adult actress after one of the most glittering child-careers since the Golden Age of the Studios.
News |
What members say |
Filmography
Dakota Fanning - news / articles
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Fanning still fussing over prom night -
26 April 2010
-Actress Dakota Fanning has a bigger dilemma than what to wear to the Oscars - who to take to the high school prom.-
-The Twilight Saga: New Moon star, who attends private academy Campbell Hall in California, has revealed her school's big night is coming up in a few wee
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Runaways role cements Fanning's move away from child films -
23 March 2010
-Dakota Fanning was delighted with her role as rocker Cherie Currie in The Runaways - because she was determined to shake off her child star image.-
-The 16 year old shot to fame aged seven in drama I Am Sam, before going on to land starring roles in children's favourit
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Fanning rehearsed for Runaways with Los Angeles band -
19 March 2010
-Dakota Fanning prepared to play The Runaways' Cherie Currie by fronting Los Angeles band the Living Things. -
-The teenage actress admits she was terrified about the idea of singing live in biopic The Runaways, and so director Floria Sigismondi suggested she rehearse w
Dakota Fanning - what members say
review by from RIDDRIE
18 April 2004
review by A customer from North Yorkshire, England
Purely Excellent!!! 31 December 2003
review by from Scotland
Brilliant 7 June 2005
Dakota Fanning - filmography
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The Twilight Saga - Eclipse
on DVD
(2010)
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Anna Kendrick
Director: David Slade
Certificate: 
Watch now: Included in all packages with LOVEFiLM Instant
As Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge, Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger. In the midst of it all, she is forced to choose between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob - knowing that her ..read more »
 
69%
from 29,231 members
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The Runaways
on DVD
(2010)
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Dakota Fanning, Michael Shannon
Director: Floria Sigismondi
Certificate: 
Watch now: Included in all packages with LOVEFiLM Instant
Kristen Stewart (The Twilight Saga, Adventureland) and Dakota Fanning (The Twilight Saga, Coraline) star as Joan Jett and Cherie Currie in The Runaways, the music-fuelled coming of age story of the ground breaking, all girl 1970's rock band, that paved the way for future generations of female ..read more »
63%
from 9,641 members
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The Twilight Saga - Eclipse - Blu-ray
(2010)
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Anna Kendrick
Director: David Slade
Certificate:
Watch now: Included in all packages with LOVEFiLM Instant
As Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge, Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger. In the midst of it all, she is forced to choose between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob - knowing that her ..read more »
64%
from 6,205 members
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Push - Blu-ray
(2009)
Starring: Dakota Fanning, Camilla Belle, Chris Evans
Director: Paul McGuigan
Certificate:
Watch now: Included in all packages with LOVEFiLM Instant
A group of people with special powers are being pursued by a top secret government agency. Only by banding together and uniting their powers do they have any hope of escaping them forever.
60%
from 5,232 members
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Push
on DVD
(2009)
Starring: Dakota Fanning, Camilla Belle, Chris Evans
Director: Paul McGuigan
Certificate:
Watch now: Included in all packages with LOVEFiLM Instant
A group of people with special powers are being pursued by a top secret government agency. Only by banding together and uniting their powers do they have any hope of escaping them forever.
61%
from 22,599 members
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The Twilight Saga - New Moon
on DVD
(2009)
Starring: Ashley Greene, Rachelle Lefevre, Dakota Fanning
Director: Chris Weitz
Certificate:
The supernatural tale of star-crossed lovers continues as the Cullen family flees Forks in order to protect Bella (Kristen Stewart), and the heartbroken high-school senior discovers that vampires aren't the only creatures in town. Realising that Bella will never be safe as long as he's around, ..read more »
69%
from 39,370 members
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Coraline
on DVD
(2009)
Starring: Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, Dawn French
Director: Henry Selick, Mike Cachuela, Pete Kozachik
Certificate: 
Coraline Jones is a girl of 11 who is feisty, curious, and adventurous beyond her years. She and her parents have just relocated from Michigan to Oregon. Missing her friends and finding her parents to be distracted by their work, Coraline tries to find some excitement in her new environment. ..read more »
70%
from 16,101 members
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Fragments
on DVD
(2008)
Starring: Marshall Allman, Kate Beckinsale, Dakota Fanning
Director: Rowan Woods
Certificate:
Watch now: Unavailable
A moment of random violence erupts in an ordinary Los Angeles diner. The survivors find that the meanings of their lives have changed. No matter how much their families and friends attempt to understand, these individuals must follow their own paths to recovery seeking to regain trust in a world ..read more »
52%
from 2,130 members
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Hounddog
(2007)
Starring: Dakota Fanning, Piper Laurie, David Morse
Director: Deborah Kampmeier
Certificate: 
In rural Alabama in the late 1950s, a spirited young girl, Lewellen, struggles to rise above the repression that surrounds her. Lewellen lives with her stern religious zealot grandmother, Grammie, but spends most of her time down the hill with her much-adored Daddy in his falling down shack. Daddy ..read more »
75%
from 17 members
Currently unavailable
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Charlotte's Web
on DVD
(2006)
Starring: Dakota Fanning, Julia Roberts, Oprah Winfrey
Director: Gary Winick
Certificate: 
Wilbur the pig is scared of the end of the season, because he knows that come that time, he will end up on the dinner table. He hatches a plan with Charlotte, a spider that lives in his pen, to ensure that this will never happen.
68%
from 20,413 members
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War Of The Worlds
on DVD
(2005)
Starring: Tom Cruise, Justin Chatwin, Dakota Fanning
Director: Steven Spielberg
Certificate:
While Martian war machines appear across the globe, the horror of the assault is depicted through the eyes of one American family who refuse to give up the fight for survival. Steven Spielberg retells H. G. Wells' seminal science fiction classic.
60%
from 99,192 members
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Dreamer
(2005)
Starring: Kurt Russell, Dakota Fanning, Kris Kristofferson
Director: John Gatins
Certificate:
Featuring Dakota Fanning (Cale Crane) as the catalyst behind an injured horse's comeback attempt to win the prized Breeder's Cup. Sonador, nicknamed Sonya, is a great horse owned by a small man, who after a severe injury gives the horse to trainer Ben Crane (Kurt Russell). Once a great trainer, Ben ..read more »
67%
from 8,940 members
Not currently released
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Hide And Seek
on DVD
(2005)
Starring: Robert De Niro, Dakota Fanning, Famke Janssen
Director: John Polson
Certificate:
Traumatised by the death of her mother, Emily Callaway (Dakota Fanning) finds solace in an imaginary friend named Charlie. But the games they play have become anything but simple and innocent. Instead, she finds herself in the middle of a series of increasingly nightmarish and gruesome acts that ..read more »
59%
from 33,483 members
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War Of The Worlds - Blu-ray
(2005)
Starring: Tom Cruise, Miranda Otto, Dakota Fanning
Director: Steven Spielberg
Certificate:
One cannot help but think of terrorist attacks while watching Steven Spielberg's update of the classic sci-fi fantasy THE WAR OF THE WORLDS. While the H.G. Wells story dates back to 1898, and has inspired previous adaptations, this particular version feeds off its 21st century audience's fear of a ..read more »
64%
from 1,327 member
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The Cat In The Hat
on DVD
(2004)
Starring: Mike Myers, Alec Baldwin, Kelly Preston
Director: Bo Welch
Certificate:
In this bright and happy film, set in a colourful make-believe world, Mike Myers (Austin Powers) plays the wily talking cat with plans to brighten up an otherwise very dull day for two lucky children. Sister and brother, Sally and Conrad, are forced to pass a rainy afternoon with their crotchety ..read more »
53%
from 13,604 members
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Man On Fire - Blu-ray
(2004)
Starring: Denzel Washington, Dakota Fanning, Marc Anthony
Director: Tony Scott
Certificate: 
Remorseful former mercenary-turned-bodyguard Creasy (Denzel Washington) is hired by a wealthy family to protect their 10-year-old daughter, Pita (Dakota Fanning), from a rash of Mexico City kidnappings. But when the child he befriends is kidnapped while under his watch, Creasy - aided by his only ..read more »
80%
from 4,382 members
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Man On Fire
(2004)
Starring: Denzel Washington, Dakota Fanning, Marc Anthony
Director: Tony Scott
Certificate:
Remorseful former mercenary-turned-bodyguard Creasy (Denzel Washington) is hired by a wealthy family to protect their 10-year-old daughter, Pita (Dakota Fanning), from a rash of Mexico City kidnappings. But when the child he befriends is kidnapped while under his watch, Creasy - aided by his only ..read more »
73%
from 89,695 members
Not currently released
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Uptown Girls
on DVD
(2003)
Starring: Brittany Murphy, Dakota Fanning, Marley Shelton
Director: Boaz Yakin
Certificate:
Brittany Murphy and Dakota Fanning star in this charming romp about a young woman and a young girl who are thrust together against the odds but ultimately teach each other something about life and love. Murphy is Molly Gunn, a rock and roll princess whose father was a famous music legend. She lives ..read more »
59%
from 6,596 members
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Hansel And Gretel
on DVD
(2002)
Starring: Taylor Momsen, Jacob Smith, Delta Burke
Director: Gary J. Tunnicliffe
Certificate:
Watch now: £2.49
If you go down to the woods tonight be sure of the biggest surprise of your life! When Hansel and Gretel's wicked stepmother leads them into the dark forest, the children find themselves in an enchanted world of magical creatures and hideous monsters. But when they stumble upon a house made of ..read more »
49%
from 136 members
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I Am Sam
on DVD
(2001)
Starring: Michelle Pfeiffer, Sean Penn, Laura Dern
Director: Jessie Nelson
Certificate:
Actor Sean Penn displays another facet of his versatility as the title character of this inspirational tearjerker--a mentally handicapped father fighting for custody of his young daughter (Dakota Fanning). The child welfare board of his native Santa Monica has taken her from him, worried that at ..read more »
72%
from 8,067 members
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My Neighbour Totoro
on DVD
(1988)
Starring: Chika Sakamoto, Hitoshi Takagi, Noriko Hidaka
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Certificate:
Hayao Miyazaki had been cradling the idea for this wonderful fantasy for a long time before he finally decided to write and direct it. Set in rural Japan during the 1950s, My Neighbour Totoro is full of the magical touches that Miyazaki has become famous for.
Tatsuo Kusakabe and his two daughters, ..read more »
81%
from 12,212 members
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Dakota Fanning facts
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...Sean Penn. This is one of the most touching films I have seen in a long time. Dakota Fanning's portrayal of Penn's daughter is stunning, she is one to keep an eye on in the...
