Born Feb. 23, 1994, in Conyers, Ga., Hannah Dakota Fanning launched her acting career at age 5 when she appeared in a national TV ad for Tide detergent.

Fanning's subsequent guest spots on "ER" and "Ally McBeal" led to a high-profile role as Sean Penn's daughter in I Am Sam (2001) -- a performance that earned the 8-year-old honors as the youngest Screen Actor's Guild Award nominee in history. Two years later, she landed parts in Uptown Girls and The Cat in the Hat (both 2003). Fanning then won accolades for her impressive turn opposite Denzel Washington in Man on Fire (2004) before starring in a string of films in 2005: Hide and Seek, Nine Lives, Dreamer and the box-office smash War of the Worlds.

As Fanning has matured, the in-demand young actress has continued to flex her considerable acting muscle by taking on serious subjects in films such as Hounddog (2006). ... - from Netflix