Hannah Dakota Fanning was born on the 23rd of February 1994, in Conyers, Georgia, USA. Before her debut into the cinematic world, Dakota did her own acting around her house. She was very active for her age, and often put a blanket under her shirt and pretended to be having a baby, using her younger sister, who is also an actress now, Elle, as the baby. Dakota went to a playhouse near her home, where the children that attended put on a play every week to show to their parents. But the people running the playhouse noticed that Dakota stood out, and advised her parents, Joy and Steve Fanning, to take her to an agency. They believed that she was extremely talented.

The Fanning family were advised to spend six weeks in Los Angeles, a long way from their home in Georgia. But there Dakota managed to get her first work; to star in a national Tide commercial. She was chosen out of many, many other children.

The family then decided to move to Los Angeles permanently, for it looked like Dakota's career was looking very good. After they moved, Dakota signed with a professional agency, and soon won a role in the movie Tomcats. She then went onto a small project called Father Xmas as Clairee.

But Dakota's big break-through was yet to come. She auditioned for one of the main characters in _I am Sam (2001)_ , and the director and the rest of the crew were amazed by her extraordinary talent. Dakota was cast, and starred in the movie as Lucy Diamond Dawson, alongside major Hollywood stars Sean Penn and 'Michelle Pfiefer' .

After _I am Sam_(2001)_ her talent was immediately recognized around the world. She went straight onto Trapped as Abby Jennings, alongside Charlize Theron, then played the younger version of Reese Witherspoon in 2002's Sweet Home Alabama But Dakota still had two more movies to come in 2002. Firstly she got a huge role in Steven Spielberg's _"Taken" (2002) (mini)_ , the mini-TV series, and narrated the ten whole episodes, as well as having a part. This was a little more challenging, as she was playing a troubled alien child, but she managed to do brilliantly. Her last movie for 2002 was the children's movie _Hansel and Gretel (2002)_ as Katie.

2003 was also a brilliant year for Dakota, as she starred in a number of exciting projects. Firstly, it was as Sally Walden in _The Cat in the Hat (2003)_ with Mike Myers, then she played Lorraine "Ray" Schleine, a bratty little girl, in the sweet comedy Uptown Girls alongside Brittany Murphy. She then voiced preschool Kim in Kim Possible: A Stitch in time.

In 2004, Dakota appeared in the violent thriller, Man on Fire, alongside Denzel Washington. Her reviews were excellent.

First in 2005 was Nine Lives, as Maria, then the chilling Hide and Seek alongside Robert DeNiro. By now, she was the busiest child actress in Hollywood, with a resume to die for. Her younger sister, Mary Elle Fanning (Elle), had also been discovered a few years earlier.

After Hide and Seek came War of the Worlds, which was one of her major movies out of everything she'd worked in. Not only did it make her more popular, but she got to play the daughter of A-list Hollywood actor Tom Cruise. They had four very successful premieres; the first in Tokyo, Japan, the second in France, the third in London, England and the fourth in New York, USA. The reviews were outstanding, especially Dakota's. She then voiced Lilo in _Lilo and Stitch 2: Stitch has a Glitch (2005)_ , which she has just completed.



Hounddog (2007): Scale

She learned to read a little at the age of two. When she received the Best Young Actor/Actress award from the Broadcast Film Critics Association for her performance in I Am Sam (2001), she was too short to reach the microphone to give her acceptance speech. Presenter Orlando Bloom held her up to the mike for the duration of her speech, which turned out to be quite long. Her father named her Dakota, her mother named her Hannah. She then was named Hannah Dakota Fanning. Parents: Joy and Steven Fanning. Collects dolls. Looks up to Meryl Streep and Hilary Swank, "not just because they're great actresses, but because they are amazing people". She donated many signed items to Rocky Stone to be given away as prizes in a Dakota Fanning Contest to benefit less fortunate kids as part of the Toy Mountain Campaign 2005 and Toy Mountain Campaign 2006. Loves to knit and has knitted scarfs for Tom Cruise, Robert De Niro, Denzel Washington, Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg and Tim Robbins. Carries a book of baby names with her wherever she goes. Is a member of the Red Cross. Is friends with Daveigh Chase. Listed as a potential nominee on the 2004 Razzie Award nominating ballot. She was suggested in the Worst Supporting Actress category for her role in The Cat in the Hat (2003). She was also suggested as an official nominee in the "Worst Screen Couple" couple category with co-star Spencer Breslin in the The Cat in the Hat (2003). She was relieved to get neither of these nominations. Is learning to speak French. She also learned to speak some Spanish for her role in Man on Fire (2004). Began kindergarten at the age of four and one-half. She began her freshman year of high school (the 9th grade) in the fall of 2007. Is now a Girl Scout [Oct. 2005]. Tutor is Jan Cerwonka. Has said she would love to be a director. Plays the piano, knits, collects dolls, ride horses and dances ballet. She was the youngest member of the "Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences", which admitted her in 2006. Has been in three productions with her sister Elle Fanning, yet they have never shared scenes. Elle played the younger version of Dakota's characters in I Am Sam (2001) and "Taken" (2002), and the two girls voiced sisters in a dub for Tonari no Totoro (1988). Her first word was "Momo," which was the family cat's name. For her, the hardest thing at the end of a movie is saying goodbye to the cast. She was friends with her late Uptown Girls (2003) co-star Brittany Murphy. Was originally offered the part of Leslie in Bridge to Terabithia (2007), but turned it down because of conflicting schedules. AnnaSophia Robb was later given the part. While she lived in in Georgia, she attended a Montessori school for a brief period of time. Ranked number 94 on the Forbes List of "The Celebrity 100" in 2007. Ranked number six in "Interview" magazine's "Hollywood Faces to Watch" article: "Future Stars of Tomorrow". Was ranked #8 alongside Abigail Breslin on TV Guide Top 10 Teen Star Countdown (2008). For the 2008 - 09 school year, she was a cheerleader for the "Campbell Hall", a private Episcopal Church college-preparatory school in North Hollywood, Calif., which fields a number of sports teams. She had not read all of the books from the "Twilight" series by the writer Stephenie Meyer before she got hired for the cast of the movie New Moon (2009), but she wanted to take the part because she loved the cast and the script. She chose her costumes and looks in Push (2009). Some of the clothes were actually her own. While filming Push (2009) in Hong Kong, she wasn't recognized. Has the rare distinction of being in the cast of two movies that opened on the same day in the United States: - Coraline (2009) and Push (2009), on February 6, 2009. Good friends with Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner.