Guide Note

Dakota Fanning is an award winning film actress that has been acting since she was just five years old. Her incredible talent has gotten her lead roles, starring beside well known film actors including Tom Cruise and Denzel Washington.

Hannah Dakota Fanning was born in Conyers, Georgia on February 23, 1995. Her mother Joy played professional tennis. Her father Steve J. Fanning played minor league baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals and now works as an electronics salesman in Los Angeles. Fanning is the older sister of Elle who is also an actress.

At the age of five, Fanning appeared alongside Ray Charles on a television commercial for the state lottery. She guest starred on the NBC series ER, which she played a car accident victim with Leukemia. She also landed roles on Ally McBeal, Friends, Malcolm in the Middle and several other hit shows.

In 2001 Fanning was chosen for her first movie role, starring beside Sean Penn in the movie I Am Sam. She played the daughter of a mentally handicapped man. Social services didn't feel that her father was capable of being a parent to her, so she was taken away. The movie is about her father's fight to get his daughter back. Fanning's role in I Am Sam won her Best Young Actor/Actress at the 2001 critic's choice awards.

In 2006, Fanning began working on the movie Hound Dog. In the movie her character gets raped, which caused many people to criticize her parent's for letting her have a role like that. But Fanning knew that it was just acting, so the role didn't bother her. Fast Facts:

1. Birth Name: Hannah Dakota Fanning
2. Date of Birth: February 23, 1994
3. Home Town: Conyers, Georgia
4. Big Sister of: Elle Fanning
5. Notable Film: World of the Worlds
6. Loves to ride horses
7. Awards