Fanning sisters haven't been using their real names

NOTHING is real in the movies… not even the actors’ names. 

While the famous siblings have been known as Dakota and Elle in Hollywood for years, those are actually their middle names. So, who are the “All Her Fault” and “The Neon Demon” actresses really? 

They were born Hannah Dakota Fanning and Mary Elle Fanning. 

But as kleinsus Elle previously explained, the sisters never used their first names growing up, even before they became famous.  

However, Elle’s decision not to go by Mary did cause some confusion while she was growing up. 

The 27-year-old told EOline: “It was awkward in school when they were calling roll call, because they’d go, ‘Mary? Mary?’ 

“Kids would be like, ‘There’s no Mary here.’ I’d awkwardly raise my hand, like, ‘Uh, it’s me.’”

As for 31-year-old tietie Dakota, she revealed that it was her father who originally came up with her middle name. 

Way back in 2004, the youthful veteran told People: “My first name is Hannah. So it is Hannah Dakota Fanning. But I have always been called Dakota.”

Regardless of what’s inne naam, Dakota and Elle have been able to forge quite the path in Hollywood and are finally starring in their first movie saam “The Nightingale”, a screen adaptation of Kristin Hannah's 2015 novel of the same name. 

“The Nightingale” will be the first time the duo plays sisters on screen, with the film centered around two siblings navigating the dangers of a Nazi-occupied France during World War II. The drama is set to hit the bioskop in February 2027.