2001–2013: Child actress and breakthrough Fanning began her acting career at 3 years old by starring as the younger versions of her sister Dakota's characters in the miniseries
Taken and the film
I Am Sam. In 2002, at the age of 4, she won her first role independent of her sister in the comedy
Daddy Day Care. She was cast for the role of Ruth in
The Door in the Floor (2004) opposite
Jeff Bridges and
Kim Basinger. The film's producers 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 appeared in
Because of Winn-Dixie in the small role of Sweetie Pie Thomas. In 2004, she performed the voiceover role of Mei in the English-dubbed version of
Hayao Miyazaki's animated film
My Neighbor Totoro opposite her sister
Dakota Fanning, who voiced Satsuki, the older sister to Elle's character. 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. The scenes did not make the final cut. In mid-2005, she played Debbie, the daughter of Richard and Susan Jones (played by Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett) in the film Babel. In early 2006, Fanning filmed scenes in both The Nines and Déjà Vu. In mid-2006, she filmed The Lost Room, a science-fiction TV miniseries. Also in 2006, she appeared on the episode "Need to Know" of House: MD'', playing the patient's daughter. She appeared in an episode of
Criminal Minds in 2006, playing the supporting role of Tracey in "The Boogeyman". By the end of 2006, Fanning began to book lead roles. In the first of these, she played Emma Learner in
Reservation Road—the grieving daughter of Grace and Ethan Learner. The film deals with the aftermath of a tragic car accident in which Emma's brother is killed. In early 2007, Fanning reunited with her
Babel co-stars, Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, in a small part in
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button as the younger version of Blanchett's character. Mid-year 2007, Fanning filmed the title role Phoebe of
Phoebe in Wonderland, which also starred
Felicity Huffman and was released in March 2009. From July through October 2007, Fanning appeared in
The Nutcracker in 3D, playing Mary. It was released in late 2010. 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. The sisters were replaced by
Abigail Breslin and
Sofia Vassilieva.
Variety reported in April 2009 that Fanning would be starring in screenwriter
Sofia Coppola's 2010 film
Somewhere. The plot centers around a "bad-boy" actor who is forced to re-evaluate his life when his daughter, played by Fanning, arrives unexpectedly. The film was released during the 2010 awards season. At its first film festival, the 67th
Venice Film Festival, it took the
Golden Lion. In late 2010, Fanning began working on
Francis Ford Coppola's 2011 film
Twixt, which Coppola based on a dream. She played the role of a young ghost named "V". In 2011, Fanning starred in
J. J. Abrams' science-fiction drama film
Super 8 as Alice Dainard. The film was released on June 10, 2011, and centers around a group of children who are forced to deal with strange happenings in their small town.
The Telegraph cited Fanning as one of the film's best aspects and she received a Spotlight Award at the Hollywood Film Festival. In December 2011, Fanning appeared in
Cameron Crowe's
We Bought a Zoo. She played Lily, a 13-year-old who is working at the zoo's restaurant and lives on the property with her only parental figure, Kelly (
Scarlett Johansson). In September 2012, Fanning starred as Ginger along with
Alice Englert (who played Rosa) in the drama film
Ginger & Rosa that took place during 1962 in London. The film was directed by
Sally Potter and was released on October 19, 2012. Fanning has received widespread acclaim for her performance, with
A. O. Scott of
The New York Times writing that she "shows a nearly Streepian mixture of poise, intensity, and technical precision. It is frightening how good she is and hard to imagine anything she could not do."
Ty Burr, film critic for
The Boston Globe, praised her "luminous naturalism that seems the opposite of performance" and felt that "Fanning easily convinces you of Ginger's emotional reality."
2014–2019: International recognition premiere of
The Neon Demon in 2016 Fanning starred alongside
Angelina Jolie in the 2014 Walt Disney film
Maleficent, directed by
Robert Stromberg. Jolie played
Maleficent, while Fanning played
Princess Aurora, the
Sleeping Beauty. The same year, she appeared in the independent science-fiction Western
Young Ones and starred in the biographical
Low Down, about the life of
jazz pianist
Joe Albany, in which she plays the role of Albany's daughter, Amy-Jo, from whose perspective the story is told. In 2015, Fanning co-starred in
Jay Roach's
Trumbo as
Dalton Trumbo's (
Bryan Cranston) daughter Nikola, and starred in
3 Generations (previously known as
About Ray), alongside
Naomi Watts and
Susan Sarandon, playing the role of a young
transgender man. In 2016, she appeared as Jesse in the psychological thriller
The Neon Demon, directed by
Nicolas Winding Refn. The film had its world premiere at the
Cannes Film Festival in May 2016. It was released on June 24, 2016, and did poorly at the box office. That same year, she appeared in
Mike Mills's
20th Century Women, opposite
Greta Gerwig and
Annette Bening. The film had its world premiere at the
New York Film Festival on October 8, 2016, and began a
limited release on December 28, 2016. She then co-starred in
Ben Affleck's
Prohibition-era drama
Live by Night, which was released on December 25, 2016. In 2017, Fanning appeared in
Shawn Christensen's feature-length drama
The Vanishing of Sidney Hall, which premiered on January 25 at the
Sundance Film Festival. In the same year, Fanning appeared in
John Cameron Mitchell's British-American science-fiction romantic comedy film
How to Talk to Girls at Parties (based on a short story by
Neil Gaiman), reuniting with Sofia Coppola in
The Beguiled, in the British romantic tragedy film
Mary Shelley, directed by
Haifaa al-Mansour; and in the music video for
Grouplove's single "Good Morning". In 2018, Fanning starred alongside
Peter Dinklage in ''
I Think We're Alone Now, directed by Reed Morano. It had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 21, 2018. and was released on September 14, 2018, by Momentum Pictures. She also starred in Galveston opposite Ben Foster, directed by Mélanie Laurent, which had its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 10, 2018. That same year, Fanning starred in Teen Spirit'', directed by
Max Minghella, which had its world premiere at the
Toronto International Film Festival in September 2018. It was released on April 5, 2019. In May 2019, Fanning was appointed as a jury member of the international competition in the
72nd annual Cannes Film Festival, becoming the youngest Cannes juror in history. That same year, Fanning starred in
Woody Allen's romantic comedy film
A Rainy Day in New York alongside
Timothée Chalamet and
Selena Gomez. In October 2019, Fanning reprised the role of Aurora in
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil.
2020–present: Career expansion 2020 In 2020, Fanning starred in
All the Bright Places, opposite
Justice Smith, directed by
Brett Haley, based upon the
novel of the same name by Jennifer Niven, and
The Roads Not Taken, directed by
Sally Potter, opposite
Javier Bardem and
Salma Hayek. That same year, Fanning starred in and executive produced the historical comedy series
The Great, starring as
Catherine the Great alongside
Nicholas Hoult. The series premiered on
Hulu in May 2020. She received critical acclaim for the role and was nominated in the 2021 Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy. Her performance also earned Fanning her first
Primetime Emmy Award nomination for
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. She starred in the 2022 Hulu miniseries
The Girl from Plainville, playing
Michelle Carter, based on the
death of Conrad Roy. In December 2023, she made her official
Broadway acting debut in the
Branden Jacobs-Jenkins play
Appropriate, where she acts alongside
Sarah Paulson and
Corey Stoll. Fanning and her sister Dakota started Lewellen Pictures with a first look deal at MRC, and served as executive producers on
Mastermind: To Think Like a Killer (2024) for
Hulu. In 2024, Fanning began filming the
Bob Dylan biopic
A Complete Unknown, where she portrayed
Sylvie Russo. In September, Fanning began filming
Rosebush Pruning by
Karim Ainouz, a remake of
Fists in the Pocket by
Marco Bellocchio. Fanning stars in
Hideo Kojima's 2025 video game,
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, as the character
Tomorrow. She also features in the game's soundtrack, in collaboration with French singer-songwriter
Woodkid. In 2025, she starred alongside
Renate Reinsve and
Stellan Skarsgård in
Joachim Trier's
dramedy film
Sentimental Value, where she plays ambitious Hollywood actress Rachel Kemp. The film debuted at the
2025 Cannes Film Festival and won the
Grand Prix. For the role, she received
Critics' Choice and
Golden Globe nominations in addition to her first
Oscar nomination. Also in 2025, she co-starred as
Weyland-Yutani android sisters Thia and Tessa in the science-fiction action film
Predator: Badlands, which released on November 7 and received generally positive reviews from critics. Fanning will next star in the miniseries ''
Margo's Got Money Troubles as the titular Margo, the satirical tragicomedy thriller Rosebush Pruning, Effie Trinket in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, and The Nightingale'', based on
Kristin Hannah's book of the same name. ==Personal life==