Birth Name: Mary Elle Fanning
Place of Birth: Conyers, Georgia, U.S.
Date of Birth: April 9, 1998
Ethnicity:
*Irish, English, French, German (father)
*English (mother)
Elle Fanning is an American actress. She is the younger sister of actress Dakota Fanning (Hannah Dakota Fanning). She is known for her starring roles in Phoebe in Wonderland, Somewhere, We Bought a Zoo, and as Aurora in the 2014 film Maleficent. In 2011, Fanning had her breakout role, Alice Dainard, in J. J. Abrams’ sci-fi-drama, Super 8. For this role, she received overwhelming critical acclaim and was often cited as one of the film’s best aspects.
Elle’s father is of approximately one quarter Irish, one quarter English/French, and one half German ancestry. Elle’s mother has English ancestry.
Elle’s paternal grandfather was William E. “Bill” Fanning (the son of George Joseph Fanning and Dorcas Florence Godden). George was born in New York, to Irish parents Edward Fanning and Catharine Connelly (the surname “Fanning” is Irish). Dorcas was born in the Bronx, New York, to George Henry Godden (born in St. Helier, on the island of Jersey, U.K. Channel Islands) and Dorcas Caroline Thoumine (born in Saint Peter Port, on the island of Guernsey, U.K. Channel Islands). Their ancestry was English and French.
Elle’s paternal grandmother, Katharina Kramb, was German. Katharina was born in Ludwigshaven, Germany, c. 1937, and moved to the United States in the 1950s or in the 1960s.
Elle’s maternal grandparents were Richard “Rick” Cameron Arrington (the son of Richard Adler Arrington, Jr. and Hazel Cameron) and Mary Jane Odum (the daughter of William Henry Odum, Jr. and Ellouise V. Luke). Elle’s mother’s family has lived in the United States for many generations. The surnames on Elle’s mother’s family tree are English.
Sources: Genealogy of Elle Fanning – http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com
Interview where Dakota Fanning mentions some of her ancestry – http://timessquare.com
Ancestry.com article about Elle Fanning and Dakota Fanning’s distant ancestry – http://blogs.ancestry.com
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