The Twilight Star You Probably Didn't Know Is Related To Kate Middleton
According to a blog on Ancestry.com from 2014, actors Dakota Fanning and Elle Fanning are related to real-life royalty. Specifically, they're related to Catherine "Kate" Middleton, England's Princess of Wales.
As the chart points out, King Edward III of England — himself the grandson of King Edward I — is the 22nd great-grandfather to the Fanning sisters. Though their lineages split after King Edward III, Middleton is also related to King Edward III, making the two very distant cousins.
"It's so weird," Dakota's sister Elle told E! News at the premiere of her fairytale story "Maleficent." "I saw it the other day. My cousins called me up and they were like, 'Look online!' I looked online and like King Edward III is my great-great-great-grandfather. I was like, 'Is this real?' I've always wanted to do the ancestry.com thing because I think it would be really cool. But someone did it for me, which I think is great."
Beyond Elle, Dakota sort of played royalty in the "Twilight" films as Jane, a particularly high-ranking member of the "royal" vampiric council known as the Volturi. When it comes to the Fannings, though, Elle has more experience playing royalty ... which makes sense when you consider it's in her blood.
Dakota Fanning's sister Elle is also from regal blood — and played royalty on-screen multiple times
As historian Michelle Ercanbrack told Ancestry.com at the time, "It's exciting when art imitates reality, and Elle's storied family history adds another layer of magic to her portrayal of Aurora. Whether it's royals or villains, there's a story in every family tree, and you'll never know what you might discover unless you look." Obviously, Ercanbrack was talking about Elle Fanning's role in "Maleficent" as Princess Aurora alongside Angelina Jolie as the legendary titular Disney villain. The younger Fanning would go on to play real-life royalty after her start as Aurora, though.
From 2020 to 2023, Fanning played real regal figure Catherine the Great on Hulu's original series "The Great," pioneered by Tony McNamara (known for his other historical epic "The Favourite"). With Nicholas Hoult in a hilarious turn as Catherine's famously hapless husband Emperor Peter III, Fanning handily leads the series as Catherine, the woman who overthrew both Peter and all of her detractors to become Russia's Empress and usher in an age of cultural and geopolitical relevance. Sadly, the series ended with its third season ... but it will forever be fitting that Fanning got to play such a famous royal, considering that she's related to past and present members of the English monarchy.
What has Dakota Fanning been doing since Twilight?
Aside from her sister Elle, Dakota Fanning has been staying plenty busy since playing vampire royalty in the "Twilight" films. After playing Jane in three of the franchise's movies — "New Moon," "Eclipse," and "Breaking Dawn — Part 2" — the elder Fanning showed up in indie flicks like Kelly Reichardt's "Night Moves" and "Very Good Girls" alongside future Marvel star Elizabeth Olsen. Other big-screen ventures include a 2016 adaptation of Philip Roth's novel "American Pastoral," a small role in Gary Ross' 2018 caper flick "Ocean's 8," and a scene-stealing turn as "Squeaky" (based on Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme) in Quentin Tarantino's 2019 revisionist history film "Once Upon A Time in Hollywood." In 2023, Fanning reunited with her "Man on Fire" star Denzel Washington in "The Equalizer 3," and she'll appear in M. Night Shyamalan's new movie "The Watchers" in 2024.
Fanning, like her sister, has also led a handful of television shows. From 2018 to 2020, she played the main role of Sara Howard on "The Alienist," and she also appeared on the miniseries "The First Lady" in 2022 as real historical figure Susan Ford Bales. As of this writing, she's set to star alongside Andrew Scott on the new Netflix original series "Ripley."