Name: Hannah Dakota Fanning
Birthdate: February 23, 1994
Birthplace: Conyers, Georgia
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Strawberry blonde
Parents: Joy and Steve Fanning
Sibling: Younger sister, actress Elle Fanning
Color: Pink
Food: Italian
Fast-food restaurant: Taco Bell—"Nachos Bel Grande, meat and cheese only"
TV show: I Love Lucy
Day of the week: Tuesday
Kinds of clothes: Jeans
Books: Harry Potter series, Lemony Snicket, and Nancy Drew
Movies: 'My Best Friend's Wedding, Gone with the Wind, Titanic, Steel Magnolias
Hobby: Knitting

On February 23rd, 1994, a little star was born - in Conyers, Georgia, baby Hannah Dakota Fanning made her unassuming entrance into the world. A charming, intelligent child, she "always wanted to be an actress", though her earliest love was ballet. Her dream of becoming an actress was made real in 1999, when the talented five year old was chosen, from thousands of other young hopefuls, to star in a nationwide commercial campaign for Tide dishwashing agent. Several small television roles followed, including a guest appearance as a leukaemia patient on ER, which remains an enduringly favourite character of Dakota's: "I got to wear a neck brace and nose tubes for the two days I worked." She also starred as Clairee in a small independant film called "Father Xmas".

When "I Am Sam" began filming, in early 2001, little Dakota was a tender six years old. This would be the film that would eventually catapault her to stardom around the globe. It brought her not only the overwhelming praise of critics, but also several internationally recognized awards, as well as a slew of adoring fans, who were enchanted by the bright eyed blonde with a soul as wise as the earth is old.

By this time the family had relocated from Georgia to Los Angeles, under the recommendations of an agent who predicted a glittering future for Dakota. She was, in hindsight, quite justified in her prediction - at the age of eight, Dakota became the youngest person in history to receive a nomination for a SAG award. She also won a further four awards for her touching performance as Lucy Diamond Dawson, including the prestigious Broadcast Film Critic Association Award.

Since such amazing onscreen breakthrough, Dakota has been busy as the gorgeous Hollywood "it" kid of today, starring in several blockbuster movies alongside some huge names in entertainment. At seven, she was impressing as Charlize Theron's daughter in "Trapped", which won her the respect of the adult cast and crew - she not only memorized her own lines, but fed the other actors theirs as well. Producer Mimi Polk Gitlin described Dakota as a "little miracle child". Later in that year she also filmed the epic mini-series conceived by Steven Speilberg, "Taken", playing the part of central character Allie Keys.

In 2003, at the age of eight, Dakota starred alongside Brittany Murphy in Uptown Girls. Her elder co-star had nothing but praise for little Dakota, pronouncing her "extremely wise, and so bright, sharp, and intelligent. She's just one of the greatest, most balanced, grounded humans I've ever met in my entire life." In that same year, Dakota filmed the Hollywood adaption of the famed Dr Seuss book, "The Cat in the Hat". She was, again, working with some of the most well known actors in the business, including funnyman Mike Myers, who paid homage to his young co-stars in an appropriately offbeat manner - "She's so sweet you just want to bite her face. Not break the skin - just gnaw," he said of Dakota.

The next role for this blossoming starlet took her all the way to Mexico City, for the film "Man On Fire". As Pita Ramos, Dakota showed astonishing emotional depth and mirrored her imposing co-star, Denzel Washington's every dramatic beat, with a wisdom beyond her years. This film also gave her the opportunity to explore a foreign country (although, as she charmingly admitted in an interview with Jay Leno, the only Mexican food she is game to try is from Del Taco). For all the international travel and work, she was still just a 9 year old kid.

Dakota's agent, Cindy Osbrink, has gone on record as saying that Dakota tries to alternate the genre of roles she chooses - "We always want to challenge her," she says. It seemed a natural progression for Dakota to try her hand at the one genre she had yet to tackle - horror. In "Hide and Seek", Dakota proved that she is capable of transforming every aspect of her natural personality for the lens. In perfect contrast to her bubbly self was the haunted character of Emily, who - even in appearance - was as far removed from Dakota herself as a person could come. With her dark haired wig and black wardrobe, it was as though another girl had slipped in front of the camera when no one was watching.

All this took place shortly after her tenth birthday in February 2004, when it clear that her popularity among both fans and critics showed little sign of diminishing with age. Although she had always been popular, the demand for Dakota was taken to new levels when the lead character in "Dreamer" was re-written especially for her - from a boy to a girl. The quiet movie of a girl's connection with her father, and with her horse, was a change of pace for Dakota before the action thriller "War Of The Worlds" which she filmed in late 2004. This was her highest profile movie to date, and saw her globetrotting across the world on a promotional trail with Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise. To Dakota, it all just a chance for fun (and her first mobile phone, courtesy of Tom Cruise). "War of The Worlds" was really what catapaulted the talented youngster into global consciousness and set her as the standard. Steven Spielberg was less effuse in his praise - "I think we all agree that Dakota Fanning has a gift."

International travel was nothing new but at age 11, Dakota added a new stamp to her thick passport - Australia, where she spent four months filming a live action adaption of the classic children's story "Charlotte's Web". Her famously delicate palate was tested again by the local cuisine, especially the breakfast spread Vegemite. ("I put a bit on my finger and ate it," she said. "It's awful!") but the real fun was in filming such a kid friendly flick. The real life farmyard and fairground set - complete with working rides and sugar candy - were a treat by any measure.

Dakota keeps growing, as children are wont to do, and with age come new challenges. At age 12, she faced her first controversial role when she took on the emotional baggage of "Hounddog". It was the most dramatic role of her life, testing not just the strength of her acting but also the strength of her endurance for controversy in the real world. Despite unfounded rumours about the filming process, Dakota and her family maintained a dignified silence throughout the maelstrom. In the end, the finished movie will speak for itself. We can trust in Dakota's parents to love and protect this astonishing child as they always have.

Dakota has always been a bright spark; born to shine. The gift for performing is in her genes, and running through the veins of her eight-year-old sister Elle, whom Dakota shares a room with in their LA home. Though Elle tends to maintain a cheerfully messy portion of the room (Dakota herself is fastidiously neat), the girls relationship is, by their own proclamation, one of pure love. Even though they were born with the ability to summon both tears and laughter from an audience with only their instincts for performing, Dakota and Elle are just normal girls. "When I go home, I play with my baby dolls and strollers and stuffed animals, pretend like they're real dogs," says Dakota. More than money or fame, for this child it's all about loving what you do an doing what you love. "She's so grateful for anything and everything," says Cindy Osbrink. "That's the big thing that kids lose. Once they almost expect [recognition] and they lose that humbleness, the magic's gone." For Dakota, the magic is here to stay. She is a truly special child inside and out - with a life story that has only just begun.