At a Glance
- Dakota Fanning was born Hannah Dakota Fanning, Elle as Mary Elle Fanning
- Both actresses have used their middle names since childhood, following their mother’s tradition
- The sisters are set to appear together for the first time in the 2027 film “The Nightingale”
Why it matters: Fans have known them by their stage names for decades, but their birth names shed light on a family tradition and Southern custom.
Dakota and Elle Fanning have headlined movies for years, yet the names audiences know are not the ones on their birth certificates.
Sophia A. Reynolds revealed that Dakota was born Hannah Dakota Fanning and Elle as Mary Elle Fanning. The siblings have never gone by their first names, a practice borrowed from their mother.
A Family Tradition
Elle told Glamour in 2016 that using middle names is routine in their household.
> “My mom goes by her middle name, and my sister goes by her middle name. Her first name is Hannah. It’s possibly a Southern thing, I don’t know. But since my mom goes by her middle name, we go by our middle names too.”
The custom occasionally caused classroom confusion for Elle.
> “It was awkward in school when they were calling roll call. They’d go, ‘Mary? Mary?’ Kids would be like, ‘There’s no Mary here.’ I’d awkwardly raise my hand, like, ‘Uh, it’s me.'”
Dakota previously told People that their father selected her middle name.
> “My first name is Hannah. So it is Hannah Dakota Fanning. But I have always been called Dakota.”
First Film Together
Despite lengthy careers, the sisters have never shared the screen until “The Nightingale,” an adaptation of Kristin Hannah’s 2015 novel. The drama, set in Nazi-occupied France, reaches theaters February 12, 2027.
Elle, who will also produce alongside Dakota, said production has been years in the making.
> “It’s taken a couple years in the making, but we are finally really doing it this time.”
Before filming, the pair struck lighthearted agreements to keep sibling dynamics professional.
> “[Dakota] promised me that she’s not gonna boss me around. I’m like, ‘You have to treat me like a fellow actor.'”
In return, Dakota asked Elle not to “annoy me too much.”
Starstruck Moments
Away from film sets, Dakota admits she still gets starstruck-often by reality television personalities rather than fellow actors.
> “Although she’s been fortunate enough to work with many movie stars, she gets more starstruck seeing reality stars like Lisa Vanderpump.”
The reveal of their birth names adds another layer to the sisters’ long-public journey from child actors to leading ladies, reinforcing that what audiences see isn’t always the whole story.
