Dakota Fanning is on the cover of November’s Town & Country Magazine. She looks beautiful in the photos, very farm-girly and slightly reminiscent of a young Goldie Hawn. The black and white picture below with the Prada dress and corset is my favorite. Dakota’s main focus for the last four years has been completing her degree in Women in Film at New York University. At 22, Dakota has transitioned from child star to adult actor without going off the rails. She is rarely controversial and consistently turns in a good performance. In short, I appreciate how Dakota has conducted herself and her career.
Dakota stars in American Pastoral based on Philip Roth’s novel. The story is about a socialite who turns terrorist and blows up a post office to protest the Viet Nam war. Ewan McGregor directs and stars as her father. I find the pairing of Dakota and Ewan intriguing and can’t way to see how they play off each other. Dakota was interviewed by Town & Country to promote the movie. She’s been interviewed by T & C before, which is nice that they have a relationship, but it’s also apparent they throw her softball questions.
On the perception of her as the “perfect child”:
“I’ve been thinking lately about how much do I care what other people’s preconceived notions of me are. They definitely exist. They always will, to an extent, because I’ve been acting for 16 years already and I’m 22… I was raised by very traditional Southern parents with Southern manners. You don’t air your dirty laundry to people that aren’t your family or your friends. Why would I ever want to portray myself as anything other than together?”On being subjected to lewd comments at work:
“I’ve been lucky that I haven’t had anything directly done to me. It’s different when you’re a kid. People protect you from that. [As I’ve gotten older, I’ve noticed] an energy change. I’m sure it will happen soon. Hopefully not, but odds are it probably will.”On single life and first dates:
“The way I prefer to meet someone is through a friend [because that means the person] is most likely not a freak. I find dates, in general, horrific. We have to sit there and ask these questions and pretend to eat a meal, and it just feels so stiff.”
Dakota loves to play up her traditional Southern values and how LA is so foreign to her. It just strikes me as bizarre for someone who was moved here when she was four. Believe it or not, some of us are actually bothered by the reputation that nothing civilized can come from California. Based on Dakota’s interviews, it seems she likes her surroundings controlled so her thoughts on dating make perfect sense. Assuming you trust your friends to have your best interest, why not have your dates vetted before you have to deal with them? I understand but can’t relate – I loved dating. Maybe it’s because I’m a Californian.
As Kaiser reported, Dakota is producing and starring in an adaption of The Bell Jar that should begin filming in the spring. She hired Kirsten Dunst to direct it, saying that she felt a kinship with Kirsten given their similar experiences growing up. Like Kaiser – I don’t know. I don’t want to dismiss two strong women due to my bias about their ages and life experiences but it’s hard not to be protective of The Bell Jar. However, it’s also not fair for me to assume that the story isn’t equally as important to Kirsten and Dakota so I am really trying to remain open-minded. I just hope they know the mantle they’ve taken on.
Here is Dakota at the Valentino show during PFW. I hate this dress and I am not wild about her hair styling either
Photo credit: Victor Demarchelier/Town & Country and Fame/Flynet Photos
She also said that she looks up to Lena Dunham, so girl bye.
wtf why
i’m not american so idk, but maybe she just means she doesn’t think she fits in with the typical hollywood raised girl? it’s true that both dakota and her sister keep their shit tight, especially compared to many other actors, who share everything about themselves then complain they have no privacy.
Kinda mean. No wonder why guys are so insecure!!
I can relate to her quite a lot here, which is surprising because I can almost never relate to Hollywood people. Especially about not sharing things with people who are not family or very close friends, or the horror show that is dating. It is bizarre how some people feel comfortable airing their dirty laundry so publicly,
I find dates horrific, too. That’s why I’m single.
Me, too. I am cruising shelters for a rescue dog, though! It’s time.
as a rescuer/rehabber- thank you for getting a rescue dog! Facebook thinks I am married to one of mine- every time I mention him they send me ads with wedding rings and couples’ counseling!
I air my dirty laundry all the time. My husband says I have no filter because in any given moment I don’t know what to say, so I talk about myself. I think he’s right. Often I’m horrified at my big mouth when I think back on those conversations when I’ve spilled it all. I honestly don’t mean to, but it comes rolling out. The other day I found myself talking about blow jobs to a fairly new co-worker. I didn’t realize until It was too late. I do live in CA, but the Bay Area, not LA. I also loved dating, especially the free meal and the chance to interrogate someone. Maybe she’s Right about us Californians.
I think in the Bay Area that is just fine. For New York, too.
I like Dakota, she’s is such an underrated actress!
I know her family. She’s definitely been brought up the way southern parents do it. Her grandmother lives with them and has supervised many aspects of her life and her sister’s. The family was very unhappy about the older boyfriend.
I get it. If you go out with a friend of a friend, you have some level of confidence (whether misplaced or not) that they are at least not a serial killer. Especially as a celebrity. And dating never really worked for me in terms of how I found my long-term relationships. My relationships that actually worked evolved more organically.
I’m so excited for their adaptation of The Bell Jar. I hope it’s dark and unsettling yet so intellectual like the book was.
Yellow dress is super cute , she’s gorgeous and great hair
So who’s this good friend who introduced her at 19 to her 32 year old boyfriend?
I met my first husband when I was 20 and he was 35. We had a wonderful relationship and marriage.
Congratulations to you. I guess you weren’t one of the commenters calling Cavill a freak about to permanently damage an immature, with an unfinished brain poor creature. That was the same gap, the same ages (19 and 32). “What can they possibly have in common?” You’d think he was a pedophile.
At that time I thought about Fanning and her boyfriend and wondered why there was no outrage and the tone was usually the same as in this article “the girl with the head on her shoulders”.
So one is an idiot, the other one is sooo smart. My question just came from that double standard. Just wondered if the person who matched Fanning and her bf would be seen as evil incarnate.
For the record, I was one of the rare who didn’t see the tragedy of the pairing.
I don’t believe in judging people for their relationships/age differences as long as both parties are of age and able to make their own decisions. My marriage was wonderful, and I was devastated to be left a widow at 40 (my 55 year old husband was killed after he was hit head on by a drunk driver). Not every relationship with a big age gap works, but a lot do.
I’m not getting what the big deal is. Sure it was a gap but it wasn’t crazy. They were both legal and she seems mature for her age so why not? I can’t imagine dating a 32 year old at 19 but I don’t have a problem with people doing it either.
After all of these failed dates, has it ever occurred to her that maybe she’s the freak?
Where does she mention “all these failed dates”?
Everyone tries to portray themselves as togetheir, especially in the workplace. I don’t see any upside to publicly owning up to something that would cast you in a bad light .
I agree with her about dating too. I’ve never found dates enjoyable. Some are better than others but enjoyable? Not really.
Looking forward to The Bell Jar. Dunst actually adapted a screenplay version a few years ago and had been sitting on it with intention to direct, she must have met up with Dakota who also had interest. Dakota was cast with her being brought on as producer as part of the deal, not sure she actually ‘hired’ Kirsten.