Elle Fanning

The younger sister -- by four years -- of actress Dakota Fanning (The Cat in the Hat, War of the Worlds), angel-faced Elle Fanning broke into show business as a child star about three years after her ascendant sibling. Born in 1998, Elle started out as an actress with traditionally child-oriented roles in family-friendly material; she provided a voice for the American version of Miyazaki's My Neighbor Totoro, then appeared in such pictures as the 2003 Daddy Day Care (as one of Eddie Murphy's young charges) and the 2005 Because of Winn-Dixie before making the broad leap to adult-oriented content. Subsequent projects included Babel (2006) and The Nines (2007). Fanning first received premier billing in not a feature but a short -- Brent Hanley's Day 73 with Sarah (2007) -- as a little girl who teams up with the ghost of her dead father to liberate her beleaguered mom from an abusive relationship. At about the same time, Elle and Dakota signed to jointly appear in Hurricane Mary (2008), a sensitive #92;drama about a mother who struggles to get her two handicapped girls into the school system. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

• Also Credited As:
  Mary Elle Fanning
• Born:
  Mary Elle Fanning on April 9, 1998 in Conyers, Georgia, USA
• Job Titles:
  Actress

Family

• Aunt: Jill Arrington. ESPN college football reporter
• Father: Steven Fanning. Played minor league baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals
• Grandfather: Rick Arrington. Maternal grandfather; was the quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1970-1972
• Mother: Joy Fanning.
• Sister: Dakota Fanning. Born Feb. 23, 1994; best known for her roles in I Am Sam (2002), Man on Fire (2004) and War of the Worlds (2005)

Milestones

• 2002 Made acting debut playing the younger version of her older sister Dakota s character in I Am Sam
• 2002 Once again played a younger version of her older sister Dakota s character in the Sci-Fi Channel miniseries, Taken
• 2003 First role independent of her sister, Daddy Day Care
• 2004 Played the young daughter of Jeff Bridges and Kim Basinger in The Door in the Floor
• 2005 Cast as Sweetie Pie Thomas in the family film, Because of Winn Dixie
• 2006 Appeared in the Sci-Fi Channel miniseries, The Lost Room
• 2006 Cast as the daughter of Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett in the Academy Award-winning film, Babel
• 2007 Played Emma Learner, the grieving daughter of Joaquin Phoenix and Jennifer Connelly in Reservation Road
• 2008 Portrayed the younger version of Cate Blanchett s character in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• 2009 Played the title role in Phoebe in Wonderland