Dakota Fanning

Dakota Fanning began acting at the Towne Lake Arts Center in Woodstock, Georgia, at age five, appearing in small plays. In 1999, she began her professional acting career with a Tide television commercial. She subsequently made her first significant acting appearance as a guest on ER and had guest roles on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, The Practice and Spin City. She also portrayed the adolescent versions of the title characters on Ally McBeal and The Ellen Show.

In 2001, Fanning starred opposite Sean Penn and Michelle Pfeiffer in I Am Sam, playing the daughter of a mentally challenged man involved in a child custody case. Her performance earned her a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination and the Broadcast Film Critics Association's Best Young Actor/Actress award. In 2002, she starred as Allison "Allie" Clarke/Keys in Steven Spielberg's science-fiction miniseries Taken. That year, she also appeared in Trapped, Sweet Home Alabama and Hansel and Gretel. In 2003, she starred in Uptown Girls and The Cat in the Hat and provided voice-over work for four animated projects.

In 2004, Fanning appeared in Man on Fire and Friends, where she played Mackenzie in the show's 10th season. She also narrated the documentary In the Realms of the Unreal. Her 2005 credits included Hide and Seek, Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch and Nine Lives, and she recorded her lead voice role in Coraline. She also completed filming on Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story, which was released in 2005. In 2005, she starred opposite Tom Cruise in War of the Worlds.

Fanning starred in Charlotte's Web, which premiered in 2006, and appeared in Hounddog that same year. She also became the youngest member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In 2007, she appeared in Fragments – Winged Creatures, played a role in the short film Cutlass and filmed Push, in which she played Cassie Holmes. In 2008, she starred as Lily Owens in The Secret Life of Bees. In 2009, she provided the voice of Coraline in Coraline and played Jane, a member of the Volturi Guard, in The Twilight Saga: New Moon. She reprised the role in The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, released in 2010.

In 2010, Fanning starred as Cherie Currie in The Runaways. She also provided voice acting for the documentary Rise and reprised her role as Jane in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn. In 2011, she played Tessa in Now Is Good and Annie James in The Motel Life, which was released in 2013. She also appeared in Effie Gray. In 2012, she starred as Dena Brauer in Night Moves.

In 2013, Fanning starred as Beverly Aadland in The Last of Robin Hood and as Olivia in Franny. She also starred as Viena in Viena and the Fantomes, which was released digitally in 2020. In 2014, she recorded a voice role for Yellowbird. In 2015, she appeared in Every Secret Thing and starred in Brimstone.

In 2018, Fanning had a cameo in Ocean's 8 and began starring as Sara Howard in the TNT historical television series The Alienist. She reprised the role in the sequel series The Alienist: Angel of Darkness. In 2019, she played Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme in Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. She and the cast were nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.

In 2023, Fanning starred in The Watchers and The Equalizer 3, reuniting with Denzel Washington. She was also cast in the Netflix miniseries The Perfect Couple. Fanning starred as Marge Sherwood in the Netflix series Ripley, earning Golden Globe and Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress for the performance.

Fanning and her sister Elle Fanning announced in 2019 that they would star together in an adaptation of Kristin Hannah's The Nightingale. In 2021, the sisters formed the production company Lewellen Pictures, which has a first-look deal with MRC Television/Civic Center Media. Fanning was also attached to an adaptation of The Bell Jar, which was being considered as a television series.