Elle Fanning

Mary Elle Fanning (born April 9, 1998, Conyers, Georgia) is an American actress. His awards include an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award and four Golden Globe Award nominations.

Fanning entered the cinema world at the age of three with the film I Am Sam (2001), in which she played the younger version of her sister Dakota Fanning's character. A prolific child actor, she appeared in films such as Daddy Day Care (2003), Babylon (2006), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and Phoebe in Wonderland (both 2008).

She is known for her leading roles in Sofia Coppola's drama Somewhere (2010), J. J. Abrams' science fiction film Super 8 (2011), and Sally Potter's Ginger & Rosa (2012). She gained international attention for her portrayal of Princess Aurora in Disney's fantasy film Maleficent (2014).

As an adult, Fanning's career has continued with Nicolas Winding Refn's The Neon Demon (2016), Mike Mills' 20th Century Women (2016), Sofia Coppola's The Beguiled (2017), and Joachim Trier's He progressed with his performances in acclaimed independent films such as Sentimental Value (2025); the latter earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. The sequel Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019) returned to mainstream films with James Mangold's A Complete Unknown (2024) and Dan Trachtenberg's Predator: Badlands (2025).

On television, she starred as Catherine the Great in the period satire series The Great (2020–2023) and Michelle Carter in the miniseries The Girl from Plainville (2022), for which she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. He made his Broadway debut in Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' play Appropriate (2023).

Filmography

Film

• 2001 — I Am Sam — Young Lucy Dawson — Jessie Nelson
• 2003 — Daddy Day Care — Jamie — Steve Carr
• 2004 — The Door in the Floor — Ruth Cole — Tod Williams
• 2005 — Because of Winn-Dixie — Sweetie Pie Thomas — Wayne Wang
• 2005 — My Neighbor Totoro — Mei Kusakabe (voice) — Hayao Miyazaki — Disney English dub
• 2005 — P.N.O.K. — Rebecca Bullard — Carolyn McDonald — Short film
• 2006 — Déjà Vu — Abbey — Tony Scott
• 2006 — Babel — Debbie Jones — Alejandro González Iñárritu
• 2006 — I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With — Penelope — Jeff Garlin
• 2007 — Day 73 with Sarah — Sarah — Brent Hanley — Short film
• 2007 — The Nines — Noelle — John August
• 2007 — Reservation Road — Emma Learner — Terry George
• 2008 — The Curious Case of Benjamin Button — Daisy Fuller (7 years old) — David Fincher
• 2008 — Phoebe in Wonderland — Phoebe Lichten — Daniel Barnz
• 2009 — Astro Boy — Grace (voice) — David Bowers
• 2010 — The Nutcracker in 3D — Mary — Andrei Konchalovsky
• 2010 — Somewhere — Cleo — Sofia Coppola
• 2011 — The Curve of Forgotten Things — Girl — Todd Cole — Short film
• 2011 — Super 8 — Alice Dainard — J. J. Abrams
• 2011 — Twixt — V — Francis Ford Coppola
• 2011 — We Bought a Zoo — Lily Miska — Cameron Crowe
• 2012 — Ginger & Rosa — Ginger — Sally Potter
• 2012 — Leaning Toward Solace — Sara — Floria Sigismondi — Short film
• 2014 — Young Ones — Mary Holms — Jake Paltrow
• 2014 — Low Down — Amy-Jo Albany — Jeff Preiss
• 2014 — Maleficent — Aurora — Robert Stromberg
• 2014 — The Boxtrolls — Winnie (voice) — Graham AnnableAnthony Stacchi
• 2015 — Trumbo — Nikola Trumbo — Jay Roach
• 2015 — 3 Generations — Ray — Gaby Dellal
• 2016 — The Neon Demon — Jesse — Nicolas Winding Refn
• 2016 — 20th Century Women — Julie Hamlin — Mike Mills
• 2016 — Ballerina — Félicie Le Bras (voice) — Éric SummerÉric Warin
• 2016 — Live by Night — Loretta Figgis — Ben Affleck
• 2017 — The Vanishing of Sidney Hall — Melody Jameson — Shawn Christensen
• 2017 — How to Talk to Girls at Parties — Zan — John Cameron Mitchell
• 2017 — The Beguiled — Alicia — Sofia Coppola
• 2017 — Mary Shelley — Mary Shelley — Haifaa al-Mansour
• 2018 — I Think We're Alone Now — Grace — Reed Morano
• 2018 — Galveston — Rocky — Mélanie Laurent
• 2018 — Teen Spirit — Violet — Max Minghella
• 2019 — A Rainy Day in New York — Ashleigh Enright — Woody Allen
• 2019 — Maleficent: Mistress of Evil — Aurora — Joachim Rønning
• 2020 — The Roads Not Taken — Molly — Sally Potter
• 2020 — All the Bright Places — Violet Markey — Brett Haley — Also producer
• 2022 — The Nightingale — Isabelle Rossignol — Mélanie Laurent
• 2025 — Sentimental Value — Joachim Trier

Television

• 2002 — Taken — Allie Keys (age 3) — Episode: "Charlie and Lisa"
• 2003 — Judging Amy — Rochelle Cobbs — Episode: "Maxine Interrupted"
• 2003 — CSI: Miami — Molly Walker — Episode: "Death Grip"
• 2004 — CSI: NY — Jenny Como — Episode: "Officer Blue"
• 2006 — House — Stella Dalton — Episode: "Need to Know"
• 2006 — Law & Order: Special Victims Unit — Eden — Episode: "Cage"
• 2006 — The Lost Room — Anna Miller — 3 episodes; miniseries
• 2006–2007 — Criminal Minds — Tracy Belle — 2 episodes
• 2007 — Dirty Sexy Money — Kiki George — Episode: "Pilot"
• 2014 — HitRecord on TV — Daughter — Episode: “RE: The Number One”
• 2020 — The Disney Family Singalong — Himself — Television show
• 2020–present — The Great — Catherine the Great — Lead role; 20 episodes and also executive producer
• 2021 — Robot Chicken — Sarah, Logan's Friend, Nerd's Wife — Voice; Episode: “May Cause the Need for Speed”
• 2022 — The Girl from Plainville — Michelle Carter — Lead role; also executive producer

Awards

• Nominated — 2004 — Young Artist Award — Best Young Ensemble in a Feature Film — Daddy Day Care
• Nominated — 2007 — Young Artist Award — Best Supporting Young Actress — The Lost Room
• Nominated — 2007 — Young Artist Award — Best Young Actress Age Ten or Younger - Film — Babel
• Nominated — 2011 — Broadcast Film Critics Association Award — Best Young Actor/Actress — Somewhere
• Won — 2011 — Young Hollywood Award — Actress of the Year Award — Somewhere
• Second — 2011 — International Cinephile Society Awards — Best Supporting Actress — Somewhere
• Nominated — 2011 — Young Artist Award — Best Leading Young Actress - Feature Film — The Nutcracker in 3D
• Won — 2011 — Hollywood Film Festival — Spotlight Award — Super 8
• Nominated — 2011 — Satellite Award — Best Actress in a Supporting Role — Super 8
• Nominated — 2011 — Scream Award — Breakout Performance: Female — Super 8
• Nominated — 2011 — Teen Choice Award — Choice Movie Actress: Sci-Fi/Fantasy — Super 8
• Nominated — 2011 — Teen Choice Award — Choice Movie Chemistry — Super 8
• Nominated — 2012 — Broadcast Film Critics Association Award — Best Young Actress — Super 8
• Nominated — 2012 — Young Artist Award — Best Leading Young Actress - Feature Film — Super 8
• Nominated — 2012 — Young Artist Award — Best Young Ensemble Cast - Feature Film — Super 8
• Nominated — 2012 — MTV Movie Award — Best Breakthrough Performance — Super 8
• Nominated — 2012 — British Independent Film Award — Best Actress in a British Independent Film — Ginger & Rosa
• Nominated — 2013 — Broadcast Film Critics Association Award — Best Young Actress — Ginger & Rosa
• Nominated — 2014 — Teen Choice Award — Choice Movie Actress: Action — Maleficent
• Nominated — 2015 — Saturn Award — Best Performance by a Younger Actor — Maleficent
• Nominated — 2015 — Kids' Choice Award — Favorite Movie Actress — Maleficent
• Nominated — 2016 — Critics' Choice Movie Award — Best Acting Ensemble — Trumbo
• Nominated — 2016 — Screen Actors Guild Award — Outstanding Cast Ensemble in a Motion Picture — Trumbo
• Nominated — 2016 — Critics' Choice Movie Award — Best Acting Ensemble — 20th Century Women
• Nominated — 2020 — TCA Award — Individual Achievement in Comedy — The Great
• Nominated — 2021 — Independent Spirit Awards — Best Female Performance in a New Scripted Series — The Great
• Nominated — 2021 — Golden Globe Awards — Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy — The Great
• Won — 2021 — Satellite Awards — Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy Series — The Great
• Nominated — 2021 — Screen Actors Guild Awards — Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series — The Great

Mary Elle Fanning was born on April 9, 1998 in Conyers, Georgia, USA. The daughter of a tennis player mother and a baseball player father, as well as the sister of famous actress Dakota Fanning, Elle started her acting career at a very early age. When she was only three years old, she was introduced to sets by playing younger versions of the characters played by her older sister; the first of which was the movie "I Am Sam" (2001).

Her first notable role was in the comedy film "Daddy Day Care" (2003), in which she starred alongside Eddie Murphy.

Fanning, who started her career as a child actor and rose rapidly, proved her talent by taking roles in prestigious productions such as "Babel" (2006) and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (2008). However, the real turning point that made him the focus of critics and the cinema world was the Golden Lion-winning film "Somewhere" (2010), directed by Sofia Coppola and J.J.

Abrams' sci-fi thriller "Super 8" (2011). With these performances, he broke away from his child star image and began to be accepted as one of the most talented young actors of his generation.

Throughout the 2010s, he demonstrated his versatility by appearing in both independent cinema and big-budget studio films. She gained global recognition with her role as Princess Aurora in Disney's blockbuster "Maleficent" (2014) and its sequel "Maleficent: Mistress of Evil" (2019). During the same period, she portrayed more mature and complex characters in productions such as Nicolas Winding Refn's psychological horror film "The Neon Demon" (2016), Mike Mills' "20th Century Women" (2016) and "The Beguiled" (2017), in which she reunited with Sofia Coppola.

One of the brightest periods in Elle Fanning's career came with the satirical comedy-drama series "The Great" (2020-2023) from Hulu. This series, in which she played the Russian Empress Catherine the Great, received full marks from both the audience and the critics. Fanning also registered her success in the comedy genre by being nominated for the Golden Globe and Emmy awards for this role.

Productions in which he took part

He took part in a total of 101 productions; 12 of the most well-known are listed.

• The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (2015)
• Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999) — Eden
• The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (2014)
• Late Night with Seth Meyers (2014) — Self - Guest
• The Kelly Clarkson Show (2019) — Self - Guest
• Criminal Minds (2005) — Tracy Belle
• House, M.D. (2004) — Stella Dalton
• Conan (2010)
• CSI: Miami (2002) — Molly Walker
• LIVE with Kelly and Mark (1988) — Self - Guest
• Jimmy Kimmel Live! (2003) — Self - Guest
• CSI: NY (2004) — Jenny Como

Production and imprint information was taken from TMDB.