Mary Elle Fanning is an American actress. Her accolades include nominations for an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and four Golden Globe Awards.
Fanning made her film debut at age three as the younger version of her sister Dakota Fanning's character in I Am Sam (2001). A prolific child actress, she went on to appear in films such as Daddy Day Care (2003), Babel (2006), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Phoebe in Wonderland (both 2008). She gained recognition for her leading roles in Sofia Coppola's drama Somewhere (2010), J. J. Abrams' science fiction film Super 8 (2011), and Sally Potter's Ginger & Rosa (2012). She received international attention for portraying Princess Aurora in the Disney fantasy film Maleficent (2014). As an adult, Fanning's career progressed with performances in acclaimed independent films such as Nicolas Winding Refn's The Neon Demon (2016), Mike Mills' 20th Century Women (2016), Sofia Coppola's The Beguiled (2017) and Joachim Trier's Sentimental Value (2025); the latter earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.