Elle Fanning facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Elle Fanning
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Fanning at the 2020 Berlin Film Festival
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Mary Elle Fanning
April 9, 1998 Conyers, Georgia, U.S.
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| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 2001–present |
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Works
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Full list |
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| Awards | Full list |
Mary Elle Fanning (born April 9, 1998) is an American actress. She started acting when she was very young. Her first movie role was in I Am Sam (2001), where she played a younger version of her older sister Dakota Fanning's character.
As a child actress, Elle appeared in movies like Daddy Day Care (2003) and Babel (2006). She also starred in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008). Later, she took on main roles in Somewhere (2010) and the science fiction film Super 8 (2011).
Elle Fanning is well-known for playing Princess Aurora in the fantasy movies Maleficent (2014) and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019). She has also acted in many independent films. From 2020 to 2023, she played Catherine the Great in the TV series The Great on Hulu. For this role, she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award and two Golden Globe Awards. She also made her Broadway debut in 2023 in the play Appropriate.
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Elle Fanning's Early Life
Elle Fanning was born in Conyers, Georgia. Her mother is Heather Joy Fanning and her father is Steven J. Fanning. Her dad used to play minor league baseball.
Elle's grandfather, Rick Arrington, was an American football player. Her aunt, Jill Arrington, is a reporter for ESPN. Elle is the younger sister of actress Dakota Fanning. Both sisters use their middle names as their first names, which is a family tradition. They grew up in the Southern Baptist faith.
Elle Fanning graduated from Campbell Hall School in 2016.
Elle Fanning's Acting Career
Becoming a Child Star (2001–2013)
Elle Fanning started acting before she was three years old. She first played younger versions of her sister Dakota's characters in the TV miniseries Taken and the movie I Am Sam.
In 2002, when she was four, Elle got her first role without her sister in the comedy Daddy Day Care. She was chosen for the role of Ruth in The Door in the Floor (2004). The filmmakers were so impressed with her that they decided to use only her, even though they first planned to hire twins.
In 2004, Elle voiced the character Mei in the English version of the animated film My Neighbor Totoro. Her sister Dakota voiced Satsuki, Mei's older sister.
In 2005, Elle played Debbie in the movie Babel. Her character was the daughter of characters played by Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. In 2006, she appeared in the TV miniseries The Lost Room. She also had roles in TV shows like House: MD and Criminal Minds. By the end of 2006, Elle began getting main roles, like Emma Learner in Reservation Road.
In 2007, Elle Fanning worked again with Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. She played a younger version of Blanchett's character. Later that year, she filmed the main role of Phoebe in Phoebe in Wonderland, which came out in 2009.
In 2009, it was announced that Elle would star in Sofia Coppola's 2010 film Somewhere. She played the daughter of a famous actor. The movie won the top award, the Golden Lion, at the 67th Venice Film Festival. In 2011, Elle starred in J. J. Abrams' science-fiction film Super 8 as Alice Dainard. Critics praised her performance in the film.
In December 2011, Elle appeared in We Bought a Zoo. She played Lily, a 13-year-old who works at a zoo restaurant. In 2012, Elle starred as Ginger in the drama film Ginger & Rosa. Critics highly praised her acting in this movie.
Gaining International Fame (2014–2019)
In 2014, Elle Fanning starred with Angelina Jolie in the Disney movie Maleficent. Angelina Jolie played Maleficent, and Elle played Princess Aurora, also known as Sleeping Beauty. That same year, she was in Young Ones and Low Down. In Low Down, she played Amy-Jo, the daughter of a jazz pianist.
In 2015, Elle co-starred in Trumbo as Nikola, the daughter of Dalton Trumbo. She also starred in 3 Generations, playing a young transgender man.
In 2016, she appeared in the thriller The Neon Demon. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. That same year, she was in 20th Century Women and Live by Night.
In 2017, Elle Fanning appeared in The Vanishing of Sidney Hall. She also reunited with Sofia Coppola in The Beguiled. She starred in the romantic film Mary Shelley, where she played the famous writer.
In 2018, Fanning starred in I Think We're Alone Now and Galveston. She also starred in Teen Spirit, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2018.
In May 2019, Elle Fanning became a jury member at the 72nd annual Cannes Film Festival. She was the youngest juror in the festival's history. That same year, she starred in A Rainy Day in New York. In October 2019, she played Aurora again in Maleficent: Mistress of Evil.
New Projects and Roles (2020–Present)
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In 2020, Elle Fanning starred in All the Bright Places and The Roads Not Taken. That same year, she starred in and helped produce the historical comedy series The Great. She played Catherine the Great alongside Nicholas Hoult. The series started on Hulu in May 2020. She received great reviews for her role and was nominated for awards like the Golden Globe and Primetime Emmy Award.
In 2022, she starred in the Hulu miniseries The Girl from Plainville. In this series, she played Michelle Carter. In December 2023, Elle made her official Broadway debut in the play Appropriate. She acted alongside Sarah Paulson and Corey Stoll.
Elle and her sister Dakota have started their own production company called Lewellen Pictures. They are executive producers for projects like Mastermind: To Think Like a Killer (2024) for Hulu. Elle Fanning is also set to star in a new video game called Death Stranding 2: On the Beach. In 2024, she began filming A Complete Unknown, a movie about Bob Dylan. It was also announced that she will lead the next movie in The Predator series, called Predator: Badlands.
