Dakota Fanning
Fanning at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival
Born	Hannah Dakota Fanning (1994-02-23) February 23, 1994 (age 18) Conyers, Georgia, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1999–present
Relatives	Elle Fanning (sister)

Hannah Dakota Fanning^[1] (born February 23, 1994), better known as Dakota Fanning, is an American actress who rose to prominence after her breakthrough performance in the 2001 film I Am Sam. As a child actress, she appeared in high-profile films such as Man on Fire, War of the Worlds, and Charlotte's Web.

In 2006, Fanning began the transition to more adult roles with Hounddog and The Secret Life of Bees. Her recent films have included The Twilight Saga, the fantasy/horror animated children's movie Coraline, and The Runaways. In 2002, she became the youngest nominee for a Screen Actors Guild Award.^[2]

Early life[link]

Fanning was born in Conyers, Georgia. Her mother, Heather Joy (née Arrington), played tennis professionally, and her father, Steven J. Fanning, played minor league baseball, and works as an electronics salesman in Los Angeles.^[3][4] Her maternal grandfather was former American football player, Rick Arrington, and her aunt is former ESPN reporter Jill Arrington.^[5] Dakota is the elder sister of Elle Fanning, also an actress.

Fanning has German and Irish ancestry (her paternal grandmother was born in Ludwigshafen, Germany).^[6] She and her family are Southern Baptist.^[7]

Acting career[link]

1999–2000[link]

Starting in 2000, Fanning began acting at the age of five after appearing on a Tide commercial. Her first significant acting job was a guest role in the NBC prime-time drama ER, which remains one of her favorite roles ("I played a car accident victim who has leukemia. I got to wear a neck brace and nose tubes for the two days I worked.").^[8]

Fanning subsequently had several guest roles on established television series, including CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, The Practice, and Spin City. She also portrayed the title characters of Ally McBeal and The Ellen Show as young girls. In 2001, Fanning was chosen to star opposite Sean Penn in the movie I Am Sam, the story of a mentally challenged man who fights for the custody of his daughter (played by Fanning). Her role in the film made Fanning the youngest person ever to be nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award, being seven years of age at the time.^[9] She also won the Best Young Actor/Actress award from the Broadcast Film Critics Association for her performance.^[10]