Happy 18th Birthday, Dakota Fanning! Watch Her Age Through 10 of Her Movies
Does anyone else feel old now that Dakota Fanning is 18? Well, happy birthday anyway, Dakota! Let's see how you've aged over the years, shall we?
-Lucia Peters, BettyConfidential.com
You guys! Dakota Fanning is 18 today! That is CRAZY! No longer the petite little blonde thing we've all come to know and love, the actress can now buy cigarettes, porn, and lottery tickets. I wonder what she's going to do with her newfound powers of adulthood? Happy birthday, Dakota!
Anyway, because little Dakota turning 18 makes us feel old, let's go back and time and see how Dakota has grown through the years. Growing up on screen can be either a blessing or a curse, but in Dakota's case, we're pretty sure it leans on the "blessing" side of things. Ready to hop in our time machine with us? Here we go!
1. I Am Sam (2001). Age: 7
Though Dakota had enjoyed some success in a Tide commercial and on television shows likeER, it was her performance as Lucy Diamond, the daughter of Sean Penn's developmentally disabled Sam Dawson in I Am Sam, that got her on the map. She was nominated for a number of awards that year, include the SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role. She is, by the way, the youngest person ever to be nominated for a SAG Award. Bonus fun fact: Dakota's little sister Elle played the (even) younger version of Lucy. Elle was three at the time.
2. Taken (2002). Age: 8
Dakota's next role of note was that of Allie Keys in the 2002 sci-fi miniseries Taken. Aliens abound, and little Dakota earned a couple of more award nominations (Young Artist and Saturn, for the curious). Elle played the younger version of her character-again!
3. The Cat in the Hat (2003). Age: 9
Though this is probably one of the films that Dakota likes to forget she ever made (because it's TERRIBLE), it does represent her first foray into the world of movies for kids. Perhaps it's because this one was so bad that she's kept those types of projects down to a minimum: She has since provided voices for a couple of animated films, including the wonderful 2009 stop-motion animation film Coraline, and she played Fern in 2006's Charlotte's Web… but that's about it. We can't really blame her, if this is the type of fare she was offered.
4. Man On Fire (2004). Age: 10
Denzel Washington? Christopher Walken? Mickey Rourke? Talk about hitting the big time! When Dakota was 10, she played wealthy businessman Samuel Ramos' (Marc Anthony) daughter Lupita, known as Pita, who subsequently gets guarded by Denzel, then kidnapped by the baddies. All in a day's work.
5. Hide and Seek (2005). Age: 10
By this point, we had all gotten used to seeing Dakota as this cute, precocious, wholesome little blonde thing. Naturally, at some point she would choose to flip that image on its head-which is exactly what happened in Hide and Seek. She was still precocious as grieving widower Robert DeNiro's daughter Emily… but she was also brunette, difficult, and slightly trashy. AND she was still only 10 years old at the time. Versatile? Um, yes.
6. War of the Worlds (2005). Age: 11
Dakota spent much of her childhood playing the daughter of every famous actor ever, and withWar of the Worlds, she added Tom Cruise to the list. Though critics had some quibbles with the film itself, Dakota turned in another great performance. What I personally thought she nailed was the contrast between her character Rachel's super smart moments and her "I'm still a kid and this is TERRIFYING" moments.
7. Hounddog (2007). Age: 12
Ah, Hounddog. Such controversy! At the age of 12, Dakota knew that she needed to start making the transition from child actor to adult actor, and this was the film she chose to do it with. So what was the controversy about? A scene in which Dakota's character, Lewellen, is raped. The film was subsequently panned, but hey. A risk is a risk.
8. The Secret Life of Bees (2008). Age: 14
"I killed my mother when I was four years old, that's what I knew about myself. She was all I wanted and I took her away. Nothing else much mattered." This is how the 1964 period piece opens-and yes, it's Dakota as Lily, a 14-year-old girl haunted by the death of mother, who utters the words. In this one, Paul Bettany joined the ranks of all the actors who have played Dakota's father, and she gets to spend some time with Jennifer Hudson and Queen Latifah. The film got mixed reviews, but did well at the box office; Dakota also won a Young Artist Award for Best Leading Actress in a Feature Film.
9. The Runaways (2010). Age: 16
Dakota as Cherie Currie? Yowza! With a cast that included Dakota's Twilight costar Kristen Stewart as Joan Jett, The Runaways presented a portrait of the infamous girl band-and surprised a lot of people about how good it was as a film. Strong performances all round (and I don't particularly like Kristen Stewart most of the time, so that's saying something). Rock on, 16-year-old Dakota!
10. The Twilight Saga (2009 - Present). Age: 15 - 17
Although tiny girl vampire Jane Volturi is younger than Dakota in the books, who better to play an ancient-yet-child-sized vampire than her? After all, she specializes in these types of roles!
So what's next? Well, in addition to the second part of Twilight: Breaking Dawn , Dakota has four more films in the works for 2012: The Motel Life, Now Is Good, Effie, and Very Good Girls . Busy girl. Happy 18th, Dakota! We can't wait to see how you continue to evolve as an actress in your adult years!
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