Dakota Fanning says becoming a mother is more important than acting
Hollywood star Dakota Fanning feels becoming a mother is “more important to me than anything” and is unsure of how much she would like to continue acting when she has children.
The American actress, 30, is known for the Twilight Saga film series and period drama Effie Gray, after her success as a child in 2001’s I Am Sam.
Speaking to Net-A-Porter’s digital title, Porter magazine, Fanning said: “Being an actor is a huge part of my identity. I don’t really know who I would be without it.
“But I also have a desire to set up my life and career so that I always have a choice.
“Having kids is probably more important to me than anything, even being an actor. If somebody said I had to choose, I would choose having kids. I’m one of those people who has always felt that pull.”
She could not say “how much I’ll want to work” after having children but said she will take “advantage of the adventures now”.
Fanning said: “I’m trying to push myself to keep saying yes to things that make me uncomfortable, to keep going to places for long periods of time that maybe I’m scared to do because, God willing, one day it won’t be as easy.”
She also talked about how she does not “want to be a person who is so consumed with my professional life that I miss all the other stuff”.
Fanning thinks any film project with her and her sister Elle Fanning, known for Hulu series The Great and Maleficent, will need vetting.
She said: “We’re very ceremonial about firsts in our family. Elle and me together in a movie – we will think about it and talk about it until we decide the right thing, because you can’t get it back.”
In I Am Sam, Elle played a younger version of Fanning’s character, for which the later became the youngest person to be nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award.
Fanning will soon be seen in Netflix series Ripley, based on US novelist Patricia Highsmith’s bestselling novel The Talented Mr Ripley.
To see the full feature with Dakota Fanning go to Porter’s website net-a-porter.com.