Mary Elle Fanning is an American actress. She made her film debut as a child as the younger version of her sister Dakota Fanning's character in the drama film
I Am Sam (2001). She gained wider prominence after starring opposite her sister Dakota Fanning and Joel Gretsch in the miniseries Taken (2002), 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, and the miniseries
The Lost Room (2006). In 2010, she starred in Sofia Coppola's drama
Somewhere, and in 2011, she gained wider recognition for her starring role in J. J. Abrams' science fiction film
Super 8.