Elle Fanning

Elle Fanning
File:Elle FanningNov2009.jpg Elle Fanning at the premiere of Summit Entertainment's 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon' in Westwood, California, Nov 2009
Born	Mary Elle Fanning
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2001 – present

Mary Elle Fanning (born April 9, 1998), credited as Elle Fanning, is an American actress. She is the younger sister of actress Dakota Fanning.

Personal life

Fanning was born in Conyers, Georgia, the daughter of Joy (née Arrington), who played tennis professionally, and Steve Fanning, who played minor league baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals and now works as an electronics salesman in Los Angeles. Her maternal grandfather is American football player Rick Arrington, and her aunt is ESPN reporter Jill Arrington.

Fanning is the younger sister of Dakota Fanning, also an actress. Fanning is of half German descent and her last name is of Irish origin. She and her family are members of the Southern Baptist Convention; she started attending private school recently. She was quoted as saying "We're just normal sisters. We both go to school and we just play together."

Career

Fanning began her acting career by playing the younger version of her older sister Dakota's characters in both the mini-series Taken and the movie I Am Sam. In 2002, at the age of four, Fanning won her first role independent of her sister, in the comedy Daddy Day Care.

In 2003, Fanning filmed The Door in the Floor opposite Jeff Bridges and Kim Basinger. Anecdotal evidence of her young skill was seen in the decision to cast her in the role of Ruth in The Door in the Floor. The film's producers had originally planned to hire identical twins for the intense shooting schedule, but were so impressed with Fanning that they used only her.

Late in 2003, Fanning filmed Because of Winn-Dixie in the small role of Sweetie Pie Thomas. In 2004, she did voicework in the English dubbed version of Miyazaki's animated film My Neighbor Totoro, in the role of Mei. Later that same year, she filmed I Want Someone To Eat Cheese With. In early 2005, Fanning filmed scenes in Charlotte's Web as the "future granddaughter" of Fern Arable played by Dakota Fanning. However, the scenes didn't make the final cut. In mid 2005, she played Debbie, the daughter of Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett in the Academy Award-winning film Babel. In early 2006, Fanning filmed scenes in both The Nines and Déjà Vu. In mid 2006 she filmed The Lost Room a sci-fi TV mini-series.

By the end of 2006, Fanning began to book lead roles. Her first being in Reservation Road playing Emma Learner, the grieving daughter of Joaquin Phoenix and Jennifer Connelly. The film deals with the aftermath of a tragic car accident in which Emma's brother is killed. Late in 2008, she had a small part in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button as a younger version of Cate Blanchett's character (as opposed to Babel where Fanning played her daughter). Mid-year 2007, Fanning filmed Phoebe in Wonderland as the title role Phoebe. It is the fantastical tale of a little girl who won't - or can't - follow the rules. It also stars Felicity Huffman and was released in March 2009.

From July to October 2007, Fanning filmed Nutcracker: The Untold Story, playing Mary. Set in 1920's Vienna, this is a tale of a little girl whose godfather gives her a special doll one Christmas Eve. The movie was filmed in Budapest, Hungary and is expected to be released late 2009.

In March 2008, Fanning and her sister Dakota were scheduled to star in My Sister's Keeper, but the opportunity fell through when Dakota learned she would have to shave her head. They were immediately replaced by Abigail Breslin and Sofia Vassilieva.

Variety reported in April 2009 that Fanning would be starring in Academy Award-winning screenwriter Sofia Coppola's new film, Somewhere. The plot centres around a "bad-boy" actor who is forced to re-evaluate his life when his daughter, played by Fanning, arrives unexpectedly.

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
2001	I Am Sam	Lucy Diamond Dawson, Age 2	This role is the younger version of a character played primarily by Fanning's older sister Dakota Fanning
2003	Daddy Day Care	Jamie
2004	The Door in the Floor	Ruth Cole
2005	My Neighbor Totoro	Mei (Voice)	English language version voice
	"P.N.O.K."	Rebecca Bullard	Short film
	Because of Winn-Dixie	Sweetie Pie Thomas
2006	The Lost Room	Anna Miller (character)	Sci-fi Channel Miniseries
	Déjà Vu	Abbey
	Babel	Debbie
	I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With	Penelope
2007	The Nines	Noelle
	Reservation Road	Emma
	Day 73 with Sarah	Sarah	Short film
2008	The Curious Case of Benjamin Button	Daisy, Age 7
	Phoebe in Wonderland	Phoebe Lichten
2009	Astro Boy	Grace	Voice
2010	Nutcracker in 3D	Mary
	Somewhere	Cleo	complete

Notable TV guest appearances

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2002	Taken	Allie Keys - Age 3	"Charlie and Lisa"
2003	Judging Amy	Rochelle Cobbs	"Maxine Interrupted"
	CSI: Miami	Molly Walker	"Death Grip"
2004	CSI: NY	Jenny Como	"Officer Blue"
2006	House:MD	Stella	"Need to Know"
	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Eden	"Cage"
	The Lost Room	Anna Miller	3 episodes
2006-2007	Criminal Minds	Tracey Belle	2 episodes "The Boogeyman" and "No Way Out 2: The Evilution of Frank"
2007	Dirty Sexy Money	Kiki George	"Pilot"

Awards and nominations

Award	Year	Category	Result	Work
Young Artist Award	2004	Best Young Ensemble in a Feature Film	Nominated	Daddy Day Care
	2007	Best Performance in a TV Movie, Miniseries or Special (Comedy or Drama) - Supporting Young Actress	Nominated	The Lost Room
		Best Performance in a Feature Film - Young Actress Age Ten or Younger	Nominated	Babel

External links

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