Guys, I can’t believe it, but the Fanning sisters are all grown up.
The two first captured our hearts in the early 2000s, with breakout acting roles in I Am Sam and Super 8 .
Now, they’re both adults, and it’s blowing my mind.
Dakota Fanning hit it big at a very young age.
Like, we’re talking the age of seven.
She landed the role of Lucy in I Am Sam , starring alongside Sean Penn as the daughter of a man with an intellectual disability.
That role helped her break records.
For her portrayal of Lucy, Dakota earned herself a Screen Actor’s Guild Award nomination.
She was the youngest person to ever be nominated for a SAG Award. Even though she lost, she had already won everyone’s hearts.
Elle also got her start on “I Am Sam.”
Dakota’s younger sister, Elle, actually portrayed the younger version of Dakota’s character, Lucy, in I Am Sam .
She also portrayed a younger version of her sister in the miniseries Taken .
The two worked together frequently when they were younger.
After Taken and I Am Sam , Elle won her own roles.
However, the two would team back up for the English version of My Neighbor Totoro , where they voiced sisters.
She also filmed scenes where she portrayed a future granddaughter of Dakota’s in Charlotte’s Web , but her scenes were cut.
Dakota broke records again in 2006.
What can’t this girl do?
In 2006, she was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She was the youngest member ever invited to join at the age of twelve.
It was onto franchises for them after that.
With films like War of the Worlds and Push under her belt, Dakota moved on to a worldwide phenomenon: Twilight .
She took on the role of Jane in Eclipse and New Moon .
Elle headed to Disney.
In 2014, one of the first of Disney’s live-action “versions” of their previous films hit the big screen: Maleficent .
Elle played Sleeping Beauty, aka Aurora, next to Angelina Jolie’s wicked Maleficent.
She’s set to reprise that role in late 2019.
Oh, and by the way…
Somewhere in between major films and award shows, Dakota found time to not only finish high school, but join the varsity cheer team.
Also, she was voted prom queen. Because of course she was!
Elle broke some records of her own.
In 2016, she was appointed a jury member of the international competition in the 72nd annual Cannes Film Festival.
That made her the youngest ever juror in Cannes history. Those Fanning girls are badasses.
They’re basically inseparable, and have been since they were just babies.
Look at this sweet shot Elle shared on her Instagram with the caption, “I’m thinking about the generations of sisterhood in my family. Thank you Cody for teaching me what a strong woman should be. “
Elle also shared this adorable video of one of the sisters’ earliest performances.
“This video pretty much sums up our sisterhood. Copying you since the ‘Santa Claus Lane’ days. I love you,” she wrote in a birthday post for her sister.
They both also took on television.
For Dakota, it was a role in TNT’s The Alienist . The show revolved around a team looking into a serial killer in the 1980s.
For Elle, it’s starring in The Great , where she’ll portray Catherine the Great in 2020 for Hulu.
So, basically, they’re all grown-up now.
Award show jurors, award winners, models, and incredible actresses?
That’s the name of the game for the Fanning sisters, and they are absolutely killing it 24/7.
Even their Instagram game is strong af.
They’re total hams together.
Dakota captioned this photo:
“Find someone who looks at you like @ellefanning looks at me, and I look at warm pretzel bread.”
Dakota’s facial expression is 100% me after waking up and stumbling into the kitchen for food.
Also, Elle sings now.
For her new movie, Teen Spirit , Elle jumped into the recording studio.
The film is centered around a teen who enters a singing competition. Elle recorded her own songs for the movie, and for the album!
They’re clearly the best of friends.
Elle dedicated a post to Dakota (or Cody, as she calls her) on her birthday, and it was adorable.
“You are my favorite person in this world. My best friend. The greatest sister. I love you. Happy Birthday @dakotafanning […]”
Of course, like any set of siblings, they didn’t always get along perfectly.
In an interview with Marie Claire , Dakota said, “There are a few years where you’re both experiencing such different things; age nine and 13 – nothing in common; 12 and 16 – we didn’t know what to do with each other. Now as she’s getting older and I’m getting older we’re getting closer… and that’s really lovely.”
Dakota also revealed a familiar source of tension for any siblings.
Dakota said that Elle “thinks I’m turning into our mom, which I guess is inevitable for everybody, I don’t know. She’s like, ‘You and Mom – you’re like two moms!’ Our mom is a constant reminder of ‘don’t forget to do this, and don’t forget to do that’ and I am turning into a reminder. I can’t help it.”
They are showing no signs of slowing down.
For 21 year-old Elle, Maleficent 2 is on the horizon.
For Dakota, season 2 of The Alienist is a go.
They fit acting in between modelling and hitting up the Met Gala red carpet, and they are cool as hell. We stan.
Dakota also surprised audiences in Quentin Tarantino’s newest film.
In Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood , Dakota appears as Squeaky, one of Charles Manson’s followers. Though she’s had her fair share of roles in darker films, people were shocked to see her all grown up in this heavy role.
Elle has also seen her share of dark films.
In 2016, she made headlines for starring in the film The Neon Demon , a dark thriller-horror film about a young model who becomes the target of gruesome violence for her beauty.
What really made headlines was the director of the film’s comments on his reasoning for casting Elle.
Nicolas Winding Refn said that casting Elle allowed him to “live out my perverse dream of being a 16-year-old-girl, which I think every man has inside of him.”
Obviously, both sisters are not afraid to take on gritty roles.
They’ve both shone in dramatic roles and have gotten a lot of attention for their acting talents, so this definitely will not be the last we hear from the Fanning sisters.
