It takes more than Dakota and Elle Fanning standing side by side in a stunning Vanity Fair cover to know the two are sisters. When Dakota Fanning first made her mark on the entertainment industry as a child star, you better believe her younger sister still did kid-sister things to her famous sibling. In fact, The Great actress revealed the “maniacal” thing she did to her older sister before they both experienced fame. I gotta say, it is kind of evil.
Dakota Fanning first established herself as a child actress with her cameo on ER. Then came big roles in Uptown Girls, Man on Fire, War of the Worlds and more. While Elle Fanning’s time for fame as an actress didn’t come until a little later, this is all the more reason to find ways to poke fun at her famous older sister. In a TikTok video with AP Entertainment to promote A Complete Unknown, the 26-year-old actress spoke about what it was like to have a famous sibling:
I was used to it with my sister because she would get recognized all the time. And I remember us being in like Universal Citywalk once -- we would go there, I still love Citywalk, and walk around -- but my sister one time, she got like mobbed. But I would be the little sister, saying like 'It's Dakota Fanning,' I would do that to her to make people recognize her because I like watching it. Yes, like maniacal. I would be like 'Oh Dakota Fanning!' Like, say it loud. Like, what is wrong with me?
That’s an incredibly “maniacal” thing to do, especially when your older sister is trying to get some quality time with her little sis’ in Citywalk compared to being mobbed by fans! But, it’s definitely a typical kid-sister thing to do to mess with your older siblings. It’s all in good fun, after all.
The first movie Elle Fanning did actually was with older sister Dakota acting alongside each other in I Am Sam. She played the younger version of her sister’s character Lucy. She continued to play more side roles in films like Daddy Day Care and Because of Winn-Dixie until one J.J. Abrams film established her career away from her older sibling’s fame:
But then, people would recognize me as Dakota a lot when I was younger. And I think after I did Super 8, I remember that movie made people recognize me for me. And I was like 'Oh, they asked me if I was Elle,' because I used to always just be like 'Yeah, no, I'm her sister.'
When Elle Fanning joined the cast of Super 8, it truly was the perfect role to make a name for herself away from her sister. She portrayed the complex emotions of Alice Dainard, who’s the object of affection in school, but struggles with a hard home life.
From then on, Elle Fanning made great accomplishments in her adult acting career like receiving Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for her lead role in one of the best Hulu original shows, The Great. The Beguiled actress also portrayed Michelle Carter in the cast of the miniseries The Girl From Plainville. With her 2024 movie release of A Complete Unknown receiving Golden Globe nominations this year, Elle Fanning clearly has an identity of her own and I can’t imagine anyone mistaking her for Dakota again.
Elle Fanning may have been a bit evil turning a mob of fans on her older sister during their Citywalk time. But now that the two former child stars are still acting today, Dakota Fanning can turn the crowd of fans on her younger sister! I can already imagine the tables turning now in the sibling rivalry games.
