Dakota Fanning

Dakota Fanning , Fanning at the premiere of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 in November 2012 Born Hannah Dakota Fanning, (1994-02-23) February 23, 1994 (age 19), Conyers, Georgia, U.S. Education Campbell Hall School, New York University Occupation Actress Years active 2000-present Relatives Elle Fanning (sister) Hannah Dakota Fanning (born February 23, 1994), known as Dakota Fanning, is an American actress who rose to prominence after her breakthrough performance at age seven in the 2001 film I Am Sam. Her performance earned her a nomination for a Screen Actors Guild Award at age eight in 2002, making her the youngest nominee in history. As a child actress, she went on to appear in high-profile films such as Man on Fire (2004), War of the Worlds (2005) and Charlotte's Web (2006). Fanning then began the transition to more adult roles with Hounddog (2007) and The Secret Life of Bees (2008). Her recent film roles have included the eponymous character in the fantasy/horror animated children's movie Coraline (2009), Cherie Currie in the drama The Runaways (2010) and Jane Volturi in The Twilight Saga (2009-12). Early lifeedit: 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 now as an electronics salesman in Los Angeles, California. Her maternal grandfather is former American football player Rick Arrington, and her aunt is former ESPN reporter Jill Arrington. Dakota is the elder sister of Elle Fanning, also an actress. Fanning has English, French, German and Irish ancestry. She and her family are Southern Baptist. Acting careeredit: 2000-2003edit: When Fanning was a small child, she was an actress at the Towne Lake Arts Center in Woodstock, Georgia starring in small plays, then 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."). 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. She also won the Best Young Actor/Actress award from the Broadcast Film Critics Association for her performance. In 2002, director Steven Spielberg cast Fanning in the lead child role of Allison "Allie" Clarke/Keys in the science fiction miniseries Taken. By this time, she had received positive notices by several film critics, including Tom Shales of The Washington Post, who wrote that Fanning "has the perfect sort of otherworldly look about her, an enchanting young actress called upon ... to carry a great weight." In the same year, Fanning appeared in three films: as a kidnap victim who proves to be more than her abductors bargained for in Trapped, as the young version of Reese Witherspoon's character in Sweet Home Alabama, and as Katie in the movie Hansel and Gretel. A year later, she starred in two prominent films: playing the uptight child to an immature nanny played by Brittany Murphy in Uptown Girls and as Sally in The Cat in the Hat. In addition, Fanning did voice-over work for four animated projects during this period, including voicing Satsuki in Disney's English language release of My Neighbor Totoro, a little girl in the Fox series Family Guy, and a young Wonder Woman in an episode of Cartoon Network's Justice League. 2004-2007edit: In 2004, Fanning appeared in Man on Fire as Pita, a nine-year-old who wins over the heart of a retired mercenary (Denzel Washington) hired to protect her from kidnappers. Roger Ebert wrote that Fanning "is a pro at only 10 years old, and creates a heart-winning character." Hide and Seek was her first release in 2005, opposite Robert De Niro. The film was generally panned, and critic Chuck Wilson called it "a fascinating meeting of equals - if the child star Fanning challenged the master De Niro to a game of stare-down, the legend might very well blink first." Fanning voiced Lilo (succeeding Daveigh Chase) in the direct-to-video film Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch. She also had a small part in the Rodrigo García film Nine Lives (released in October 2005), in which she shared an unbroken nine-minute scene with actress Glenn Close, who had her own praise for Fanning: "She's definitely an old soul. She's one of those gifted people that come along every now and then." Fanning also recorded voice work for Coraline during this time. Fanning completed filming on Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story (opposite Kurt Russell) in late October 2004. Russell declared he was astonished by his co-star's performance in the film. Russell, 54, who plays her father in the movie, says, "I guarantee you, (Dakota) is the best actress I will work with in my entire career."Kris Kristofferson, who plays her character's grandfather in the movie, said that she's like Bette Davis reincarnated. While promoting her role in Dreamer, Fanning became a registered member of Girl Scouts of the USA at a special ceremony, which was followed by a screening of the film for members of the Girl Scouts of the San Fernando Valley Council. She then went directly to the set of War of the Worlds, starring alongside Tom Cruise. Released in reverse order (War in June 2005 and Dreamer in the following October), both films were a critical success. War director Steven Spielberg praised "how quickly she understands the situation in a sequence, how quickly she sizes it up, measures it up and how she would really react in a real situation." Afterwards, Fanning moved straight to another film without a break: Charlotte's Web, which she finished filming in May 2005 in Australia. Producer Jordan Kerner said, "...when she was so caught up in War of the Worlds, we had to end up going on a search for other young actresses. They would have been nothing compared to her." Over the summer of 2006, Fanning worked on the film Hounddog, described in press reports as a "dark story of abuse, violence and Elvis Presley adulation in the rural South." Fanning's parents have been criticized for allowing her to film a scene in which her character is raped. However, Fanning defended the film by saying "It's not really happening," to Reuters. "It's a movie, and it's called acting." In the same year, at the age of twelve, she was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, becoming the youngest member in the Academy's history. Later that year, she was ranked 4th in Forbes list of "Top Earning Stars Aged Under 21", having earned an estimated $4 million in 2006. In the spring of 2007, she filmed Fragments - Winged Creatures alongside Kate Beckinsale, Guy Pearce, Josh Hutcherson, and Academy Award winners Forest Whitaker and Jennifer Hudson. She plays Anne Hagen, a girl who witnesses her father's murder and who turns to religion in the aftermath. In July, Fanning appeared on a short film titled Cutlass, one of Glamour's "Reel Moments" based on readers' personal essays. Cutlass was directed by Kate Hudson. Then from September to the end of the year, Fanning filmed Push, which centers on a group of young American expatriates with telekinetic and clairvoyant abilities who hide from a U.S. government agency in Hong Kong and band together to try to escape the control of the division. Fanning played Cassie Holmes, a 13-year-old psychic. 2008-presentedit: In January 2008, Fanning began filming the movie adaptation of The Secret Life of Bees, a novel by Sue Monk Kidd. Set in South Carolina in 1964, the story centers on Lily Owens (Fanning), who escapes her lonely life and troubled relationship with her father by running away with her caregiver and only friend (played by Jennifer Hudson) to a South Carolina town where they are taken in by an eccentric trio of beekeeping sisters (played by Queen Latifah, Sophie Okonedo, and Alicia Keys). Her movies Coraline and Push were released on the same day, February 6, 2009. Fanning played Jane, a member of the Volturi Guard, in New Moon and reprised the role in Eclipse, based on novels by Stephenie Meyer.New Moon was released on November 20, 2009, and Eclipse was released on the following June. In 2010, she starred in the movie The Runaways, alongside Kristen Stewart, Stella Maeve, and Scout Taylor-Compton, where she played Cherie Currie, the lead singer of the band. Then from the end of the year till early 2011, Fanning filmed Breaking Dawn, reprising the role of Jane. Fanning's voice was heard in Rise, a documentary film commissioned by U. S. Figure Skating to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the crash of Sabena Flight 548 which resulted in the loss of the entire American team and subsequent cancellation of the 1961 World Figure Skating Championships. She read a poem written by US national champion Laurence Owen (who died in the crash) that was said to be an eerie premonition of the afterlife. During the summer of 2011 she played Tessa in Now Is Good. Fanning also became the face of Marc Jacobs' Oh, Lola! perfume campaign, but the ad was banned in the U.K. as the Advertising Standards Authority judged that "the ad could be seen to sexualize a child." In 2011, she played Annie James in The Motel Life, due to be released in mid-2012. In the fall of 2011, Fanning played the starring role in Effie, directed by Richard Laxton, written and co-starred by Emma Thompson, with Greg Wise, Tom Sturridge, Robbie Coltrane, Julie Walters, Derek Jacobi and Claudia Cardinale. In August 2012, she signed on to play the lead role of a wealthy financial eco-terrorist, Dena Brauer, who finances a plan, in a thriller film Night Move opposite actors Jesse Eisenberg and Peter Sarsgaard. The movie was to be directed by Kelly Reichardt. Night Moves tells the story of three eco-terrorists who work at an organic farm and collaborate on a plot to blow up a hydroelectric dam. The shooting started on October 16, 2012 and will release sometime in 2013. Personal lifeedit: In June 2011, Fanning graduated from Campbell Hall School in North Hollywood, California, where she participated on the varsity spirit cheerleading squad and was voted homecoming queen. She is currently studying at New York University. In January 2012, it was reported that Fanning signed to be represented by WME (William Morris-Endeavor), thus ending a 10-year-plus relationship with Osbrink Talent Agency. Filmographyedit: Film and television mini-series Year Title Role Notes 2001 Father Xmas Clairee Short 2001 Tomcats Little Girl in Park 2001 I Am Sam Lucy Diamond Dawson 2002 Taken Allie Keys TV miniseries 2002 Trapped Abigail "Abbie" Jennings 2002 Sweet Home Alabama Young Melanie 2002 Hansel and Gretel Katie 2003 Uptown Girls Lorraine "Ray" Schleine 2003 Cat in the Hat, TheThe Cat in the Hat Sally Walden 2003 Kim Possible: A Sitch in Time Preschool Kim Voice 2004 Man on Fire Lupita "Pita" Martin Ramos 2004 My Neighbor Totoro Satsuki Kusakabe Voice 2004 In the Realms of the Unreal Narrator Voice 2005 Hide and Seek Emily Callaway 2005 Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch Lilo Voice 2005 Nine Lives Maria 2005 War of the Worlds Rachel Ferrier 2005 Dreamer Cale Crane 2006 Charlotte's Web Fern Arable 2007 Hounddog Lewellen 2007 Cutlass Lacy Short 2008 Secret Life of Bees, TheThe Secret Life of Bees Lily Owens 2009 Coraline Coraline Jones Voice 2009 Push Cassie Holmes 2009 Fragments - Winged Creatures Anne Hagen 2009 Twilight Saga: New Moon, TheThe Twilight Saga: New Moon Jane Volturi 2010 Runaways, TheThe Runaways Cherie Currie 2010 Twilight Saga: Eclipse, TheThe Twilight Saga: Eclipse Jane Volturi 2012 The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 Jane Volturi 2012 Celia Hannah Jones Short 2012 The Motel Life Annie James 2012 Now Is Good Tessa Scott 2013 Effie Effie Gray Post-production 2013 Very Good Girls Lilly Berger Completed 2013 Night Moves Dena Brauer Post-production Television appearances Year Title Role Episode title 2000 ER Delia Chadsey "The Fastest Year" 2000 Ally McBeal Ally (5 years old) "Ally McBeal: The Musical, Almost" 2000 Strong Medicine Edie's Girl "Misconceptions" 2000 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Brenda Collins "Blood Drops" 2000 Practice, TheThe Practice Alessa Engel "The Deal" 2000 Spin City Cindy "Toy Story" 2001 Malcolm in the Middle Emily "New Neighbors" 2001 Fighting Fitzgeralds, TheThe Fighting Fitzgeralds Marie "Pilot" 2001 Family Guy Little girl "To Love and Die in Dixie" 2001 Ellen Show, TheThe Ellen Show Young Ellen "Missing the Bus" 2004 Justice League Unlimited Young Wonder Woman (voice) "Kids' Stuff" 2004 Friends Mackenzie "The One with Princess Consuela" Awards and nominationsedit: List of awards and nominations Year Title of work Award Category Result 2001 I Am Sam Broadcast Film Critics Association Award Best Young Actress Won 2002 I Am Sam Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award Youth in Film Won 2002 Screen Actors Guild Award Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role Nominated 2002 Satellite Award Outstanding New Talent Won 2002 Chicago Film Critics Association Award Most Promising Performer Nominated 2002 Young Artist Award Best Performance in a Feature Film - Young Actress Age Ten or Under Won 2003 Taken Young Artist Award Best Performance in a TV Movie, Mini-Series or Special - Leading Young Actress Won 2003 Saturn Award Best Supporting Actress in a Television Series Nominated 2004 Man on Fire Broadcast Film Critics Association Award Best Young Actress Won 2004 Cat in the Hat, TheThe Cat in the Hat Young Artist Award Best Performance in a Feature Film - Leading Young Actress Nominated 2005 Man on Fire Young Artist Award Best Performance in a Feature Film - Leading Young Actress Nominated 2005 Nine Lives Gotham Award Best Ensemble Cast Nominated 2005 Locarno International Film Festival Best Actress Won 2005 Hide and Seek MTV Movie Award Best Frightened Performance Won 2005 N/A Relly Awards Best Junior Achiever Won 2005 War of the Worlds Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards Youth in Film Won 2005 Irish Film and Television Award Best International Actress Nominated 2005 Broadcast Film Critics Association Award Best Young Actress Won 2006 War of the Worlds MTV Movie Award Best Frightened Performance Nominated 2006 Saturn Award Best Performance by a Younger Actor Won 2005 Dreamer Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards Favorite Movie Actress Nominated 2005 Young Artist Award Best Performance in a Feature Film (Comedy or Drama) - Leading Young Actress Won 2006 Charlotte's Web Broadcast Film Critics Association Award Best Young Actress Nominated 2007 Charlotte's Web Young Artist Award Best Performance in a Feature Film - Leading Young Actress Nominated 2007 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards Favorite Movie Actress Won 2008 Secret Life of Bees, TheThe Secret Life of Bees Black Reel Award Best Ensemble Cast Nominated 2008 Broadcast Film Critics Association Award Best Young Actress Nominated 2009 Secret Life of Bees, TheThe Secret Life of Bees Young Artist Award Best Performance in a Feature Film (Comedy or Drama) - Leading Young Actress Won 2010 Coraline Young Artist Award Best Performance in a Voice-Over Role - Young Actor/Actress Nominated 2010 Runaways, TheThe Runaways MTV Movie Award Best Kiss Nominated

Source: Wikipedia

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