Fanning, (Hannah) Dakota (1994– )

US actor. Before the age of ten she had starred in Hollywood films with some of the biggest stars of the time. She achieved her breakthrough role at the age of seven in the drama I Am Sam (2001) with Sean Penn and Michelle Pfeiffer and went on to appear with Denzel Washington in the dramatic thriller Man on Fire (2004), with Robert De Niro in the horror thriller Hide and Seek (2005), and with Tom Cruise in Steven Spielberg's science fiction adaptation War of the Worlds (2005).

She was born in Conyers, Georgia. At the age of five she was cast in a television commercial and she followed with guest appearances on hit television series including Ally McBeal, ER, Spin City, and Malcolm in the Middle. Her feature-film debut was a small role in the comedy Tomcats (2001). Other films include the romantic comedy Sweet Home Alabama (2002), the family fantasy adaptation Hansel and Gretel, the romantic comedy Uptown Girls (2003), and the children's adaptation The Cat in the Hat (2003). She was the youngest person ever to be nominated for a Screen Actor's Guild award, for her role in I Am Sam. She also appeared in Spielberg's science-fiction mini-series Taken (2002).