Dakota Fanning

Dakota Fanning is an award winning film actress that has been acting since she was just five years old. She has co-starred opposite Hollywood heavy-hitters, Tom Cruise, Denzel Washington, Robert De Niro and Sean Penn.

Dakota Fanning's newest role is that of 'Jane' in the Twilight sequel New Moon, which will be released on November 20, 2009.

Dakota Fanning just wrapped "The Runaways" with her New Moon co-star Kristen Stewart. The film follows the development of the first all-girl teen rock band in Hollywood in the 1970s.

Hannah Dakota Fanning was born in Conyers, Georgia on February 23, 1994. Her mother Joy played professional tennis. Her father Steve J. Fanning played minor league baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals and now works as an electronics salesman in Los Angeles. Fanning is the older sister of Elle who is also an actress.

At the age of five, Fanning appeared alongside Ray Charles on a television commercial for the state lottery. She guest starred on the NBC series ER, which she played a car accident victim with Leukemia. She also landed roles on Ally McBeal, Friends, Malcolm in the Middle and several other hit shows.

In 2001 Fanning was chosen for her first movie role, starring beside Sean Penn in the movie I Am Sam. She played the daughter of a mentally handicapped man. Social services didn't feel that her father was capable of being a parent to her, so she was taken away. The movie is about her father's fight to get his daughter back. Fanning's role in I Am Sam won her Best Young Actor/Actress at the 2001 critic's choice awards.

• Note: The majority of the links in this timeline are to IMDb, which has pop-ups.

• February 23, 1994: Born

• 2001: I Am Sam

• 2003: The Cat in the Hat

• 2004: Man on Fire

• 2005: Hide and Seek

• 2005: War of the Worlds

• 2006: Charlotte's Web

• 2007: Hounddog

• 2009: Coraline