Dakota Fanning on Child Stardom, Unwanted Questions, and Translating Paris Hilton’s Memoir
Dakota Fanning is getting candid about the struggles of coming into adulthood as a former child star in Hollywood. Renowned for her first major role in ‘I Am Sam’ at only seven years old – a role which garnered her a nomination for the Screen Actors Guild Award, Fanning has just told all in an interview with The Cut.
Questioning behaviour as a Kiddie Star
Dakota Fanning began her career as an actress from the age of five and faced uncomfortable questions about the beginning stages of his life. Thinking back to her early years, we share that reporters would pester the tyke star for private subtleties. I remember doing interviews from a young age and people would ask me like, ‘Well what are you doing to avoid becoming a tabloid girl? The questions were way more personal and invasive than I had EVER imagined — fanning (@dakotafanning) January 8, 2015
Another bad memory was recounted by Fanning, now 30: “I was in an interview as a child and somebody asked, ‘How could you possibly have any friends?’ The self-professed HGTV fan also shared her well-wishes for fellow raised-in-the-public-eye children, mentioning how society and the media can often make matters worse giving anyone who becomes a child star.
Family Support and Not Falling into the Hollywood Entanglement
Fanning was also able to not become embroiled in the tabloid culture, something that cannot be said for the vast majority of Hollywood child stars due chiefly to her family. However, she was fortunate in having a mother who ensured that she did not lose her dignity throughout the whole process: Hannah Joy Arrington. My mother was right there every minute. I was always spoken to respectfully.
Even if exposed to the entertainment business so early on, Fanning still managed to have sort of a normal childhood. It allowed her to keep a balanced lifestyle—away from work and within school. She puts that down to a balanced approach avoiding the pitfalls of some Hollywood tales of young stars.
Growing Up in the Public Eye
While she has steered clear of tabloid scandals, Fanning confesses life in the spotlight was not always straightforward. ″SOOOO much of my life was opened up to so many people that I didn’t know well, but who decided what they liked about me or what they didn’t and then used it against me,” she told her followers by way of context to share how it felt in those moments knowing she could be used against herself. But with the passage of time, she is more at ease. “Growing as a person has helped because I can just be,” she said.
Even younger was Dakota’s sister, Elle Fanning. She starred alongside Dakota in “I Am Sam” at just age 3 and has had a successful career of her own.
Paris Hilton memoir series: A childhood dream come true
She’s currently gearing up for her next project, a series inspired by Paris Hilton’s 2023 memoir. Fanning is partnering with A24 and her sister, Elle, to produce the untitled film about Hilton. Of the project, Fanning said: “It is a childhood dream come true to play Anastasia Romanov and for my family and I to be given the opportunity to tell this story.
Skip advert “This is honestly dive in the 2000s. Paris is bestie status now which like, if you told me that at 12 … She’s an icon. All she knows is what’s happening. Nobody’s been fooling her. Fanning considers Hilton resilient and smart, as the socialite has lived through “super-traumatic situations in her life.”
Fanning and her sister are excited about the project considering, as they say they grew up on the time of Hilton’s greatest fame. “We’re in it still,” Dakota quipped, referring to Hilton as an “unwastable icon.”
Conclusion
Dakota Fanning’s Grounded Approach To Child Stardom — Offers The Family. Now, as she adds the Paris Hilton memoir adaptation to her resume, Fanning is proving herself a no-nonsense kind of actor who hasn’t let anything go to her head.