Hannah Dakota Fanning[1] (born February 23, 1994), better known as Dakota Fanning, is an American actress. Fanning's breakthrough performance was in I Am Sam in 2001. As a child actress, she appeared in high-profile films such as Man on Fire, War of the Worlds, and Charlotte's Web. Fanning began the transition to more adult roles with Hounddog and The Secret Life of Bees. Recent films have included The Twilight Saga, the fantasy/horror animated children's movie Coraline, and The Runaways. She has won numerous awards and is the youngest nominee for a Screen Actors Guild Award. Fanning was born in Conyers, Georgia. Her mother, Heather Joy (née Arrington), played tennis professionally, and her father, Steven J. Fanning, played minor league baseball, and works as an electronics salesman in Los Angeles. Her maternal grandfather was former American football player, Rick Arrington, and her aunt is former ESPN reporter Jill Arrington. Dakota is the elder sister of Elle Fanning, also an actress. Fanning has German, Irish ancestry (her paternal grandmother was born in Ludwigshafen, Germany). She and her family are Southern Baptist. In June 2011, she graduated from Campbell Hall School in North Hollywood, California, where she participated on the varsity spirit cheerleading squad and was voted homecoming queen.[8][9] As of September 2011, she attends New York University.
