Actors - Dakota Fanning

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	Actors - Dakota Fanning

Hannah Dakota Fanning (born February 23 1994) is an American child actress. Known professionally as Dakota Fanning, she is one of the first major stars among the youngest members of Generation Y, and is generally considered one of the best child actors of her generation.

Biography

Early career

Fanning was born in Conyers, Georgia to Steven Fanning (a former baseball player who now works as an electronic salesman in Los Angeles) and Joy, who played tennis professionally. Her mother had wanted to name her "Hannah" and her father wanted to name her "Dakota"; she has always used Dakota among her friends and family. She has a sister, Elle, who is now also an actress. Fanning began acting at the age of five, after appearing with legendary musician Ray Charles in a television commercial for the Georgia State Lottery and being chosen for a Tide commercial. Her first significant acting job was a guest-starring 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, Friends, The Practice, Spin City and Malcolm in the Middle. 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 I am Sam
, the story of a mentally challenged man who fights for the custody of his daughter (played by Fanning). This role made Fanning the youngest person (in 2002, at age eight) ever to be nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award, for her supporting performance. When she won the Best Young Actor/Actress award from the Broadcast Film Critics Association for the film, she was too short to reach the microphone; presenter Orlando Bloom held her up for the duration of her acceptance speech (which turned out to be quite long).

2002-2003

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 Hansel & Gretel.

Fanning was featured even more prominently in two films released in 2003: Playing the uptight child to Brittany Murphy's immature nanny in Uptown Girls
, and one of two children "babysat" by Mike Myers as The Cat in the Hat
. She appeared on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno on November 10 2003, where she declared that she and her sister share a room, and described The Cat in the Hat co-star Mike Myers as "very funny".

Fanning has done voice-over work for five animated projects: As Satsuki in Disney's English-language release of My Neighbor Totoro
; as Lilo (succeeding Daveigh Chase) in the direct-to-video film, Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch
; as Kim Possible in preschool in the Disney Channel series, Kim Possible; as a little girl in the Fox series, Family Guy; and, as young Wonder Woman in Cartoon Network's Justice League.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Dakota Fanning ]

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Actors - Dakota Fanning

Biography

Early career

2002-2003

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