She’s been a working actor since kindergarten (just like her younger sister, Elle), so one has to ask how has she navigated the rocky path of cliches that many child actors trip over. “I still don’t know how to answer this,” she says. “I think because I’ve always maintained that I never felt that I was entitled to anything because I did movies. I guess that comes from my mum. It took her years and years to admit that we lived in Los Angeles. 

When people were like: ‘Oh, where do you live?’, her answer was always: ‘We’re from Georgia, we live in Georgia, we’re just out here doing this for some film Dakota is doing for a little while.’ There was no: ‘We’re moving to Hollywood so Dakota can be an actress!’” Which arguably says more about Fanning and her family’s down-to-earth way of raising spotlit children more than anything else.

“I just never wanted to make too big of a mistake that jeopardized what I love doing,” she adds thoughtfully. “There can be other reasons that it goes away – nothing is ever guaranteed. But, I never wanted it to be taken away from me because I had made a really bad decision, you know? And I’m also really scared of my mum and didn’t want to get in trouble or disappoint anybody.” What a woman Mrs Fanning must be.

Emma Summerton | Photographer

Natasha Royt | Fashion Editor/Stylist

Serge Normant | Hair Stylist

Jeanine Lobell | Makeup Artist

Viki Rutsch | Set Designer

Yuko Tsuchihashi | Manicurist

Noelle Faulkner | Text

Casey Showalter | DP

Pier59 Locations