Growing up on screen can’t be easy, but Elle Fanning has gone from being one of the most promising young actors in Hollywood to one of the most accomplished and varied performers of her generation. Her filmography is broad, encompassing everything from intimate indie dramas and psychological horror to big-budget sci-fi and sumptuous period pieces. She has consistently been willing to take risks and work with a wide range of directors, each with a distinct cinematic voice, even switching to TV productions when the material was good enough.
Born Mary Elle Fanning on 9th April 1998 in Conyers, Georgia, she began acting at age three and made her film debut as the younger version of her sister Dakota Fanning’s character in I Am Sam (2001). Her early roles in Daddy Day Care (2003), Babel (2006), and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) proved she was a capable young actress who could stand in the same breath as the more seasoned adult actors she was often playing younger versions of.
In 2014, she got a much bigger audience as Princess Aurora in Disney’s Maleficent (opposite Angelina Jolie). Rather than go down the route of big-studio blockbusters, though, she continued to seek out challenging independent work. Her role in Nicolas Winding Refn’s The Neon Demon (2016) took her into the world of the fashion industry’s obsession, while Mike Mills’ 20th Century Women (2016) was a very different kind of role, one that explored the uncertainty of adolescence and the search for female identity. She then appeared in Sofia Coppola’s The Beguiled (2017) and played author Mary Shelley in the biopic Mary Shelley (2017)..
Her TV work has been just as impressive. As Catherine the Great in The Great (2020–2023), she had tremendous comic timing and a very strong dramatic presence. More recently, her film work has continued to build her reputation with A Complete Unknown (2024) and Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value (2025), which earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
The following five films are my personal selection of Fanning’s very best performances. It’s a balance of artistic merit, emotional resonance, cultural significance, and sheer quality. It’s not an official list of the best.
Sentimental Value
Genre: Drama, family drama
Director: Joachim Trier
Also Starring: Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas
Released: 2025
Synopsis: Following their mother’s death, the sisters come back to their father, Gustav (a former film director whose career is currently in decline). He offers Nora a role in his new film, which is intended to be his comeback. As the film and the family history intersect, the sisters are forced to confront their grief, their resentment, and the possibility of reconciliation.
20th Century Women
Genre: Comedy-drama, coming-of-age
Director: Mike Mills
Also Starring: Annette Bening, Greta Gerwig, Billy Crudup, Lucas Jade Zumann
Released: 2016
Synopsis: In 1979 Santa Barbara, Dorothea (a single mum with a teenage son, Jamie) invites two younger women into her life to help guide Jamie towards adulthood. As punk rock, feminism and the shifting social landscape of the time take hold, the household becomes a complex community of affection, independence, desire and generational confusion.
The Neon Demon
Genre: Psychological horror, thriller, drama
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
Also Starring: Jena Malone, Karl Glusman, Bella Heathcote, Abbey Lee, Keanu Reeves
Released: 2016
Synopsis: Sixteen-year-old Jesse comes to LA hoping to become a model. Her youth and beauty attract photographers and fashion people of all sorts, but also naturally provoke jealousy in those who see her as a threat. As ambition turns to obsession, she finds herself in a very unpleasant world where beauty is worshipped, used, and ultimately eaten.
Somewhere
Genre: Drama, comedy-drama
Director: Sofia Coppola
Also Starring: Stephen Dorff, Chris Pontius, Michelle Monaghan
Released: 2010
Synopsis: Johnny Marco is a successful Hollywood actor living a rather hollow existence of hotel rooms, parties, and meaningless encounters. His rut is broken when his 11-year-old daughter Cleo turns up for a visit. As they spend time together, he begins to see his own emotional deficiencies and considers the possibility that fatherhood might be the path to real connection.
Ginger & Rosa
Genre: Coming-of-age drama, historical drama
Director: Sally Potter
Also Starring: Alice Englert, Alessandro Nivola, Christina Hendricks, Annette Bening, Timothy Spall
Released: 2012
Synopsis: In 1960s London, Ginger and Rosa were inseparable teenagers growing up in the shadow of the Cold War and the ever-present threat of nuclear war. Ginger became increasingly politically involved and deeply troubled by the state of the world, while Rosa was all about personal freedom. The friendship was ultimately tested by betrayal, desire and the process of growing up.
Honorable Mentions
Super 8 (2011): A group of teenagers filming a movie witnesses a catastrophic train crash, uncovering a terrifying extraterrestrial mystery that threatens their small Ohio town.
Maleficent (2014): A betrayed fairy curses a newborn princess, but discovers unexpected affection as the child grows, challenging her desire for revenge..
The Beguiled (2017): During the Civil War, an injured Union soldier is sheltered at a girls’ school, unsettling its isolated community and routines.
A Complete Unknown (2024): In 1960s New York, Bob Dylan navigates folk music fame, artistic ambition and relationships while transforming the American music scene.
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