
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).

Predator: Badlands
2025 · as Thia / Tessa

Maleficent
2014 · as Princess Aurora

Déjà Vu
2006 · as Abbey

Super 8
2011 · as Alice Dainard

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
2019 · as Princess Aurora

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
2008 · as Daisy Age 7

Sentimental Value
2025 · as Rachel Kemp

The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping
2026 · as Effie Trinket

Ballerina
2016 · as Felicie (voice)

Babel
2006 · as Debbie Jones

Because of Winn-Dixie
2005 · as Sweety Pie Thomas

A Complete Unknown
2024 · as Sylvie Russo

The Boxtrolls
2014 · as Winnie Portley-Rind (voice)

Rosebush Pruning
2026 · as Martha

The Neon Demon
2016 · as Jesse

I Am Sam
2001 · as Lucy (2 Years Old)

Daddy Day Care
2003 · as Jamie

We Bought a Zoo
2011 · as Lily Miska