Hannah Dakota Fanning (born February 23, 1994 in Conyers, Georgia), better known simply as Dakota Fanning, is an American actress.

It is said that Fanning learned to read at age two. She rose to stardom quickly, being chosen for a Tide commercial at age five.

At the age of 8, she became the youngest person to be nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award, for her supporting performance in I Am Sam (2001). When she received the Best Young Actor/Actress award from the Broadcast Film Critics Association for her performance in I Am Sam, 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.

Dakota Fanning's sister, Elle Fanning, is a budding actress. Elle's first roles were as the younger version of Dakota's character in I Am Sam and Taken.

Dakota appeared on The Tonight Show on November 10, 2003, where she declared that she and her sister shared a room, and described co-star Mike Myers as very funny.

Following The Cat in the Hat, Dakota starred in Man On Fire with Denzel Washington, directed by Tony Scott. She played Pita, the kidnapped nine-year-old who wins over the heart of the retired assassin (Washington). She was hailed for her grounded and realistic portrayal of Pita. In early 2005, she starred alongside Robert DeNiro in Hide and Seek. The movie was slammed by critics, but as was becoming the norm, her performance was hailed as nothing short of a must-see.

The filming on Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story was completed in late October 2004, from which she then went directly to the set of War of the Worlds, where she stars alongside Tom Cruise. Again, she moved straight to another film without a break - in May 2005, she wrapped filming Charlotte's Web with Robert Redford in Australia.

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