Profile Text
Fanning in 2010, photo by Helga Esteb / Shutterstock.com
Birth Name: Hannah Dakota Fanning
Place of Birth: Conyers, Georgia, U.S.
Date of Birth: February 23, 1994
Ethnicity: German, English, as well as Irish, French, Channel Islander [Jersey, Guernsey], Scottish, Welsh, Scots-Irish/Northern Irish, and Cornish
Dakota Fanning is an American actress and model. Her roles include the films My Neighbor Totoro , I Am Sam , Trapped , Sweet Home Alabama , Hansel and Gretel (2002), Uptown Girls , Dr. Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat (2003), Man on Fire , Hide and Seek , War of the Worlds , Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch , Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story , Nine Lives (2005), Charlotte’s Web (2006), Hounddog , Winged Creatures , The Secret Life of Bees , Coraline , Push (2009), The Twilight Saga: New Moon , and its sequels; The Runaways (2010), Now Is Good , The Motel Life , Very Good Girls , Night Moves (2013), The Last of Robin Hood , Every Secret Thing , Effie Gray , Yellowbird , The Benefactor , Brimstone , American Pastoral , The Escape (2016), Please Stand By , Ocean’s 8 , Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood , Sweetness in the Belly , Viena and the Fantomes , The Equalizer 3 , The Watchers (2024), and Vicious (2025); the video game Coraline: The Game ; and the series Taken , The Alienist , Gen:Lock , The First Lady , Ripley , The Perfect Couple , and All Her Fault .
Dakota is the daughter of Heather Joy and Steven J. Fanning. Her father played minor league baseball. Her mother played tennis professionally. She is the older sister of actress Elle Fanning (Mary Elle Fanning). Her aunt, mother’s sister, is ESPN reporter Jill Arrington. Her paternal grandmother was German. On her mother’s side, she is descended from Joseph Martin, a brigadier general in the Virginia militia during the American Revolutionary War.
Dakota’s paternal grandfather was William Edward “Bill” Fanning (the son of George Joseph Fanning and Dorcas Florence Godden). William was born in New York City, New York. George was born in New York City, to Irish parents, Edward William Fanning and Catherine/Catharine Connelly, who was from Donegal. Dakota’s great-grandmother Dorcas was born in the Bronx, New York, the daughter of George Henry Godden, who was born in St. Helier, island of Jersey, U.K. Channel Islands; and of Dorcas Caroline Thoumine, who was born in Saint Peter Port, on the island of Guernsey, Channel Islands. Dakota’s great-grandmother Dorcas also had English and French ancestry.
Dakota’s paternal grandmother was Katharina “Kathe” Kramb (the daughter of Jakob/Jacob Kramb/Kraab and Marie Bauer). Katharine was German, born, c. 1937, in Ludwigshaven, Rheinland-Pfalz. She moved to the U.S. in the 1950s or 1960s.
Dakota’s maternal grandfather was Richard Cameron “Rick” Arrington (the son of Richard Adler Arrington, Jr. and Hazel Cameron). Dakota’s grandfather Richard was born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, and was an NFL quarterback, for the Philadelphia Eagles. Dakota’s great-grandfather Richard was born in Charlotte, Mecklenburg, the son of Richard Adler Arrington and Nell/Nellie L. Covington. Dakota’s great-grandmother Hazel was born in Barbecue, Harnett, North Carolina, the daughter of McBryde/McBride Cameron and Pearlie Thomas.
Dakota’s maternal grandmother was Mary Jane Odum (the daughter of William Henry Odum, Jr. and Ellouise Virginia Luke). William was born in Covington, Newton, Georgia, and was sheriff of Newton County. He was the son of William Henry Odum and Mamie Olive Ozburn. Ellouise was born in Ray City, Berrien, Georgia, the daughter of Silas Auley Luke and Myrtle Jone/Jane Swindle.
Sources: Genealogy of Dakota Fanning – https://www.geni.com https://famouskin.com
Genealogies of Dakota Fanning – http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com http://gw.geneanet.org https://www.wikitree.com
Obituary of Dakota’s maternal great-grandmother, Hazel (Cameron) Arrington – http://www.findagrave.com
Ancestry.com article about Dakota Fanning and Elle Fanning’s distant ancestry – http://blogs.ancestry.com