Hannah Dakota Fanning was born on February 23, 1994 in Conyers, Georgia where her parents lived. Her father, Steve Fanning, was a baseball player for several minor league teams in the 1990's, but now works as an electrician. At a very young age Dakota showed an interest in acting and as she says she "got with a playhouse" which was her first contact with the world of professional acting. Soon after that she was featured in a Tide commercial and then made a television appearance on the hit TV series "ER" at the age of six, followed soon after that with an appearance on the Ally McBeal show as 5-year old Ally. Because of all the work that young Dakota was getting in the Los Angeles area, her family moved there from Georgia to live close to a relative who lived in the L.A. area. Appearances on the TV series Strong Medicine and C.S.I.: Crime Scene Investigations.

Dakota got her first role in a feature film in the year 2000 as the daughter of a mentally handicapped man played by Sean Pean in the movie I Am Sam, and her performance was unanimously praised by the critics. After her roles in I Am Sam and the teenager film Tomcats, she has appeared in such films as Trapped, Sweet Home Alabama, 24 Hours, Hansel and Gretl. She is featured in the 20 hour Sci-Fi Channel miniseries Taken, both as the narrator in all 10 episodes, but also in the pivotal role of the part human child Allie Keys. Future roles are scheduled in The Cat in the Hat, Uptown Girls and Man on Fire. Dakota's recent television appearances, besides Taken, are in The Ellen Show, Malcolm in the Middle, and Spin City. Dakota is home schooled and has a teacher who goes with her to all the movie and TV sets, and Dakota says that her teacher has taught her everything that she knows. Dakota is currently represented by the Osbrink Talent Agency of Universal City, California.

Dakota Fanning’s Milestones 

- At age five appeared in a TV commercial for Tide detergent. 
- 2000 TV debut in an episode of NBC's "ER" in a story line involving a sick child requiring a bone marrow transplant. 
- 2000 Portrayed the title character at age five in an episode of "Ally McBeal" (Fox). 
   Had guest roles on several popular TV shows like "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation", "The Practice" and "Spin City". 
- 2001 Film debut in bit role in "Tomcats". 
- 2001 First major feature film role as the daughter over whom a mentally-challenged man fights to retain custody in "I Am Sam"; was the youngest actor ever nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for her performance. 
- 2002 Played an asthmatic child kidnapped and held for ransom in the thriller "Trapped". 
- 2003 Co-starred with Brittany Murphy in "Uptown Girls". 
- 2003 Played Sally Walden in the feature "Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat". 
- 2004 Starred opposite Denzel Washington in ''Man on Fire''.