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Dakota Fanning Opens Up About Moving from Child Star to Adult Actress — 3 Kid Stars Who Made the Move Successfully
ByÂ James Schlarmann
April 6, 2012

Dakota Fanning is 18 years old and has over a decade of showbiz experience under her belt. She appeared on “E.R.” at just six, and her first film role in “I am Sam” came just a year later. In that decade or so, Dakota has proven to have acting talent beyond what her age would normally suggest. In the recent issue of Wonderland, she opens up about her transition from child star to working adult actress.

To Fanning, the transition doesn’t seem so daunting because she,”…never really felt like a child star, that name always felt really odd to me. I’ve just felt like I was an actor at 6 and 7 and, you know, a child who happened to act.” She does see that turning 18 years old means she’ll be “…seen as able to do more things and more roles.”
Dakota does seem to be well on her way to breaking away from any image she may have had as just a kid actress. In films like the “Twilight” series and her turn in “The Runaways” will help to move her in the audience’s eyes into the realm of actress that can play more mature or grown-up roles. Dakota can also look to some of these other actresses who were able to jump from kid roles to adult roles without any issue.

Drew Barrymore – Drew was just 6 years old when shooting commenced on “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial,” which was her debut on the silver screen. Despite a well-publicized period of drug and alcohol abuse before she could even legally drive, Drew has managed to come out on top, becoming not only a successful actress but a producer as well.

Anthony Michael Hall – When he started acting in TV specials he was just 12 years old. He was 15 when “Vacation” was released in theaters and he starred opposite Chevy Chase. Anthony was even a member of the cast of “Saturday Night Live” for one forgettable year alongside Robert Downey, Jr. Though he’s not taking as many lead roles, there’s been no shortage of work for him, appearing in “The Dark Knight” and on NBC’s comedy sleeper hit “Community.”

Mayim Bialik – Mayim was just 13 years old when she was in “Beaches,” a film in which she played a younger version of the same character Bette Midler was playing. Then at just 15 years old she got her own sitcom on NBC called “Blossom,” which ran for six seasons. Now she’s all grown up and a star on “The Big Bang Theory.” Oh, and she also holds a PhD in neuroscience, in case the whole acting thing doesn’t pan out for her.