Mary Elle Fanning (born April 9, 1998) is an American actress. As a child, she made her film debut as the younger version of her sister Dakota Fanning's character in the drama film I Am Sam (2001). She appeared in several other films as a child actress, including Daddy Day Care (2003), Babel (2006), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Phoebe in Wonderland (both 2008), and the miniseries The Lost Room (2006). She then had leading roles in Sofia Coppola's drama Somewhere (2010) and J. J. Abrams' science fiction film Super 8 (2011).
Fanning played Princess Aurora in the fantasy films Maleficent (2014) and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019) while working in independent films such as Sally Potter's Ginger & Rosa (2012), Nicolas Winding Refn's The Neon Demon (2016), Mike Mills' 20th Century Women (2016), and Coppola's The Beguiled (2017). From 2020 to 2023, she starred as Catherine the Great in the Hulu period satire series The Great, for which she received nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award and two Golden Globe Awards. She has since portrayed Michelle Carter in the Hulu limited series The Girl from Plainville (2022), made her Broadway debut in the play Appropriate (2023), and played a character based on Suze Rotolo in the biographical drama A Complete Unknown (2024).
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Known For
Predator: Badlands
Thia
2025
Sentimental Value
Rachel Kemp
2025
A Complete Unknown
Sylvie Russo
2024
Always at The Carlyle
Self (archive footage)
2018
The Vanishing of Sidney Hall
Melody
2018
How to Talk to Girls at Parties
Zan
2017
Mary Shelley
Mary Shelley
2017
The Beguiled
Alicia
2017
20th Century Women
Julie
2016
Live by Night
Loretta Figgis
2016
Ballerina
Félicie Milliner (voice)
2016
3 Generations
Ray
2016
The Neon Demon
Jesse
2016
Trumbo
Nikola Trumbo
2015
The Boxtrolls
Winnie Portley-Rind (voice)
2014
Young Ones
Mary Holm
2014
Maleficent
Princess Aurora
2014
Low Down
Amy Albany
2014
First Stars I See Tonight
Girl
2014
Likeness
Mia
2013
Ginger & Rosa
Ginger
2012
We Bought a Zoo
Lily Miska
2011
Twixt
V.
2011
Super 8
Alice Dainard
2011
The Curve of Forgotten Things
Girl
2011
The Nutcracker
Mary
2010
Somewhere
Cleo
2010
Astro Boy
Grace (voice)
2009
First the Egg
2009
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Daisy Age 7
2008
Phoebe in Wonderland
Phoebe Lichten
2008
Reservation Road
Emma Learner
2007
Day 73 with Sarah
Sarah
2007
The Nines
Noelle
2007
Déjà Vu
Abbey
2006
Because of Winn-Dixie
Sweety Pie Thomas
2005
The Door in the Floor
Ruth Cole
2004
Chippendales
Rosebush Pruning
I Am Sybil
Shirley Mason
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping
Effie Trinket
2026
On the Red Carpet Presents: "A Complete Unknown"
Self
2025
The Girl from Plainville
Michelle Carter · (8 episodes)
2022
Penn & Teller: Try This at Home
Self
2020
The Great
Catherine II of Russia · (30 episodes)
2020
The Roads Not Taken
Molly
2020
All the Bright Places
Violet
2020
That Click
Self
2019
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
Princess Aurora
2019
The Kelly Clarkson Show
(1 episode)
2019
A Rainy Day in New York
Ashleigh Enright
2019
Camp! The Movie
Self
2019
Teen Spirit
Violet Valenski
2019
Galveston
Rocky
2018
I Think We're Alone Now
Grace
2018
No Activity
Madison · (1 episode)
2017
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Self · (1 episode)
2015
Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter
Self · (1 episode)
2015
Variety Studio: Actors on Actors
Self · (1 episode)
2014
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Self · (3 episodes)
2014
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Self - Guest · (1 episode)
2014
Twixt: A Documentary
Self
2013
Sigur Rós: Valtari Film Experiment
Sara (Leaning Towards Solace)
2013
Wide-Awake
The Rainmaker
2012
The Rosie Show
Self - Guest · (1 episode)
2011
Making Somewhere
Self
2011
Conan
Self · (1 episode)
2010
Common Ground: Under Construction Notes
Self
2007
Dirty Sexy Money
(1 episode)
2007
A Very Brave Witch
2007
The Nightingale
Isabelle
The Maid of Orleans
Rebecca Spielman
The Lost Room
Anna Miller · (3 episodes)
2006
Babel
Debbie Jones
2006
I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With
Penelope
2006
Criminal Minds
Tracy Belle · (2 episodes)
2005
Robot Chicken
Sarah Williams / Logan's Friend #2 / Nerd's Wife (voice) · (1 episode)
2005
P.N.O.K.
Rebecca Bullard
2005
House
Stella Dalton · (1 episode)
2004
CSI: NY
Jenny Como · (1 episode)
2004
Daddy Day Care
Jamie
2003
Taken
Allie at 3 yrs · (1 episode)
2002
CSI: Miami
Molly Walker · (1 episode)
2002
I Am Sam
Lucy (2 Years Old)
2001
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Eden · (1 episode)
1999
Judging Amy
Rochelle Cobbs · (1 episode)
1999
MTV Movie & TV Awards
Self / Presenter · (1 episode)
1992
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
Self - Guest · (1 episode)
1988
Margo's Got Money Troubles
Margo Millet · (1 episode)
The Oscars
Self - Presenter · (1 episode)
1953