Dakota Fanning was just a child when she starred in movies like “”.i am sam”Uptown Girls” and ”Man on Fire” starring alongside legends like Sean Penn, the late Brittany Murphy and Denzel Washington, but now she’s grown up and a respected actress in her own right .
Fanning has had a long career, starting in television at the age of five (she is now 30). But unlike many child stars, she has been able to avoid the dramatic rise and fall that many young actors fall victim to.
Even though she was able to avoid being featured in newspapers due to her deviant behavior, Fanning says she was not able to avoid the media’s “extremely inappropriate questions.”
10 former child stars candidly talking about life in the spotlight
Dakota Fanning starred opposite Denzel Washington in the 2004 film “Man on Fire”. (Twentieth Century Fox/Regency/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images)
“I remember journalists asking me in interviews at a young age, ‘How are you avoiding becoming a tabloid girl?’ People will ask super-inappropriate questions,” he said in a new interview cut“As a kid I was in an interview and someone asked, ‘How can you have any friends?’ It’s like that, huh?”
He added, “I feel great pity for those who have become examples.”
The generation before Fanning included stars like Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears and Paris HiltonAll of whom got their fair share of trouble.
“If society and the media had not played their role, who knows? I don’t think it’s necessarily a hundred percent linked to being in this business; there are other factors as well. I just didn’t get into it, and I don’t know the exact reason. Don’t know, except that my family consists of very nice, kind, protective people.”
Dakota and Elle Fanning have both had successful acting careers throughout their childhood and adulthood. (John Nación/FilmMagic/Getty Images)
Like what you’re reading? Click here for more entertainment news
“People would ask super-inappropriate questions. I was in an interview as a kid and someone asked, ‘How can you possibly have any friends?’ It’s like that, huh?”
fanning’s little sister, ellieShe is also an acclaimed actress.
“I have a mother who taught me how to treat other people and how to treat myself. And she was there every moment. I was always treated with respect. It was never that ‘child inside Get him out!’ I wasn’t working with people who treated me that way – I was being respected as much as was possible as an actor and for that age, looking back on my life, my career. There’s a present part of it, but I also really think about childhood memories. My life doesn’t feel inconsistent with work, and I’m very grateful to be doing work that matters.”
Dakota Fanning says she sometimes felt like people wanted her to fail. (Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty Images)
Fanning admitted she was troubled by the public’s attention matted hair stars,
“That’s the thing. It’s like, ‘Do you somehow want the same thing to happen to me? Do you want the same thing to happen to these people?’ I’ve definitely felt this feeling from people almost wanting me to fail or something. It makes you feel a little safer that I’m out here just living my life.”
“I also think I was a little younger when that time completely dawned on me. So it was cool. People couldn’t get away with that kind of thing anymore. When I got to that age, This was probably not considered the best way to treat people.”
“I have a mother who taught me how to treat other people and how to treat myself.”
Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning, who starred together in “War of the Worlds”, pose at the 2005 MTV Movie Awards. (KMazur/WireImage/Getty Images)
Click here to sign up for the entertainment newsletter
“There’s some detachment in me too. I think maybe it’s something special to me. Work is the thing that I like. So the stuff that comes with it, this part of it, it’s not the thing that I like that much I don’t think it’s just me being an actor and there are other things that come with it.
Dakota Fanning says she sees acting as a job, not a lifestyle. (Steven Ferdman/WireImage/Getty Images)
Click here to get the Fox News app
In 2020, “perfect coupleThe actress told Fox News Digital that loving her art has also contributed to keeping her on the straight and narrow.
“For me, I think, I’ve always maintained my pure love for what I do. You know? When you start at such a young age, it’s like being really pretentious and you’re just trying to live up to your imagination.” And it’s like an elevated version of playing at home and so I think I’ve always approached it that way… it’s supposed to be fun.”
Dakota Fanning waving on the carpet in 2007. (Mark Sullivan/WireImage/Getty Images)
Now, 25 years into the industry, Fanning said she has no regrets about that child-actor part of her life.
“I’m very happy with who I was at that time. I don’t look back and have no regrets,” she told The Cut. “I never let public perception or any of that really influence the choices I made, and I just tried to stay true to myself. I’m very proud of my past.”
Dakota Fanning says she has no regrets about her youth. (Vince Bucci/Getty Images)
