Growing Wings

Elle Fanning has been unstoppable since the age of three, both onscreen and off it, gradually turning into the muse of our times.

- Raphael Cioffi

El Fanning, at just about 19 years of age, has done more movies than the number of years she has been acting. She began at the age of three when she played a younger Lucy (the character played by her actor sister, Dakota) in I am Sam, a feature film with Sean Penn and Michelle Pfeiffer as her co-stars. Since then she has been filming with some of the biggest names. The dizzying list includes David Fincher, Alejandro González Iñárritu, JJ Abrams, Woody Allen, and the Coppolas, daughter and father. Her career in cinema hasn’t been interrupted ever since her first appearance onscreen. Far from the clichés of Hollywood child actors, who, as they grow up lead chaotic lives, Elle is all about joie de vivre and spontaneity. She uses her laughter as punctuation, a comma at times, which allows her to not take this rather busy existence too seriously.

What really intrigues us though is her ability to juggle her cinematic commitments (both artistic and commercial) and also be a part of some of the biggest fashion houses. Even though 2017 has appeared to be a packed year for Elle, with the release of four movies, she also now the face of brands such as L’Oréal and Miu Miu. Looks like her presence will be felt the next year too. We caught up with Elle to know more about her idea of fashion and working with women filmmakers.

You are so young and yet your career has been quite extensive. Do you feel older sometimes?

Oh boy! It is true that I started acting rather young. My sister Dakota and I have studied the terrain well surrounded by adults. I spent a large portion of my childhood interacting with people a lot older than myself and I was always at ease with them. So, I suppose I will say yes, I do feel a little old at times (laughs). But I also feel like a young woman of my age, especially when I think of all the things that I haven’t done yet.