All About Elle Fanning and Dakota Fanning’s Sister Relationship

Elle Fanning and Dakota Fanning have a shared passion for acting, but that doesn’t mean they feel competitive with each other.

In a September 2025 interview with Vanity Fair, Dakota emphasized that there has always been “zero” competition between them because of how different the sisters are.

“So I don’t even see something that’s right for her as being right for me,” she said. “I don’t feel competitive. But I know that people probably don’t believe that.”

The sisters, who were born Mary Elle Fanning and Hannah Dakota Fanning, used to perform elaborate scenes around their home in Georgia, Elle told Porter in March 2019. Soon enough, Elle and Dakota landed roles in the 2001 film I Am Sam and their careers took off from there.

Elle has found success with projects like the Disney film Maleficent and her Hulu series The Great, while Dakota is known for films such as Charlotte’s Web, The Twilight Saga and Ocean’s 8. The actresses also have their own production company, Lewellen Pictures.

So, who are Elle Fanning and Dakota Fanning? Here’s what to know about the actresses and their relationship with each other.

They’re from Georgia

The actresses grew up in Conyers, Georgia. Per The New York Times Magazine, they went back and forth between Georgia and California until they permanently moved to Los Angeles when Dakota’s acting career took off at just 6 years old.

During a September 2020 interview with Vanity Fair, Elle taught some Georgia slang. She explained that in Georgia, people tend to say “fall” rather than “autumn” and that Waffle House is “the best restaurant in the world” with “the best breakfast in existence.”

She also mentioned that “pretty as a peach” is a great compliment and that “tea” in Georgia is synonymous with sweet tea.

They were already performing as young children

Elle and Dakota both caught the acting bug when they were young.

“My sister and I would play these elaborate scenes around the house,” Elle told Porter in March 2019. “Like birthing scenes … I would be the baby, coming out … Crazy stuff like that.”

The actress remembered that she would often dance and sing, but Dakota wasn’t a fan. “My sister would yell at me to shut up ’cause I was singing all the time, too loud,” she told the outlet. “I had this hyper, like, ‘Whoo, I gotta go-go-go’ personality, you know? I still do.”

During a Q&A at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, Dakota explained that she fell into acting unexpectedly. “It all started so coincidentally for me,” she said. “I did this commercial and I had a good time so I did another one, then I did a TV show which turned into a movie and then I was an actor all of a sudden. I wasn’t a kid that was like, ‘I want to be in the movies.’ ”

Dakota continued: “I just liked to play around the house and make up scenarios and my mom kind of noticed that I was disinterested in all of the lessons she put me in. I just wanted to play at home so she put me in a drama camp to see if I liked doing that.”

They have some royal ancestry

In May 2014, Ancestry.com researchers found historical documents, including census, birth and death records, that the sisters are actually the 22nd great-granddaughters of King Edward III. They’re related to the royal family through their mother, Heather Joy Arrington.

This relation also means that the Fanning sisters are 21st cousins of Kate Middleton. Kate’s mother, Carole Middleton, is a great-granddaughter of Edward III as well.

They’re working on a movie together

The sisters have wanted to act together for a long time, and they have a movie in the works called The Nightingale, based on Kristin Hannah’s best-selling novel of the same name.

In May 2020, Elle told Entertainment Tonight that “it was so exciting and special to finally find a script.”

“We’ve been looking for something for so long, and this story is completely a sister story,” she continued. “That’s the heart of it. What more could we ask for?”

Although the project was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Elle told Porter in April 2022 that they were deeply invested in their first time acting together. “It’s a very rare and special thing that we both do this,” she said. “We can’t have the first time over again, so we want it to be the right thing.”

Another update on the project came in July 2025, when the sisters were finally able to announce that The Nightingale will premiere in theaters on Feb. 17, 2027.

They have a production company

Elle and Dakota launched their production company, Lewellen Pictures, in March 2021, signing a first look deal with Civic Center Media and MRC Television.

“We are thrilled to be launching this company together and to be teaming up with MRC who have been excellent partners on The Great,” the sisters said in a statement. “Our goal is to tell stories, through comedy and drama, which are authentic to the human experience, and not just from our own perspective.”

Per Deadline, the sisters plan to develop television shows, films and other types of media. According to MRC Entertainment, they produced the 2022 Hulu miniseries, The Girl from Plainville, which starred Elle as Michelle Carter, the woman who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter after convincing her boyfriend to die by suicide in 2014.

They share a special bond

In the July/August 2019 issue of Shape, Dakota opened up about her relationship with her sister.

“My sister, Elle, and I are really close,” she said. “We always have been. We’re very different, but we’re very connected. We don’t talk every day, but we don’t have to. We just have that special bond.”

She noted that they’re always rooting for each other, adding, “There’s no one I want to succeed more in this business than my sister, and I know she wants the same for me.”

During her May 2020 interview with Entertainment Tonight, Elle shared a similar sentiment.

“Your sister knows you more than anyone,” she said. “I mean, she can sniff anything out of you. She can push your buttons more than anybody. That dynamic is so special and unique. They know your family more than anybody.”

Elle emphasized, “She is my closest person.”

Since then, they’ve only continued to stay close. In September 2025, Elle told Vanity Fair that they are enjoying the opportunity to work together more.

“When we were younger, we wanted to make sure that people saw us differently, and we wanted to give each other space to carve our own path,” she said. “But as adults, it’s been very fulfilling to merge.”