If anyone in Hollywood knows a thing or two about sisterhood and the power of telling your own stories, it’s Elle Fanning.
Not only is she one half of one of the entertainment industry’s most iconic sister duos, she also holds her female friendships close to her – not least with director extraordinaire Sofia Coppola.
In fact, working with the Oscar-winning director for the first time at the age of 11 – on Hollywood drama Somewhere – was what made Elle see her own full potential. “It was inspiring to see her at the helm of this big movie,” she recalls to GLAMOUR. “I just remember as an 11-year-old girl being like, ‘Maybe one day I can do that’”.
After working with Jenna Ortega and Jennifer Garner, she's set to lead the BBC's TV adaptation of BookTok sensation, A Good Girl's Guide To Murder.
Now, she is indeed at the helm of her own Hollywood projects. Back in 2021, Elle and sister Dakota launched their own production company, Lewellen Pictures, allowing her to executive produce smash TV series The Great while starring in it, as well as co-produce upcoming docuseries tackling police handling of violence against women, Mastermind: To Think Like a Killer.
Working alongside other women, particularly Dakota and Sofia, has clearly been a source of inspiration for Elle to tell female-led and inspired stories. “To have that experience being led by a woman, and Sofia no less, who's just such a brilliant artist and auteur,” she says. "Her interpretation of girlhood and growing up through that coming of age lens… she's always done that so beautifully.”
Most recently, Elle reunited with Sofia to star in a campaign promoting The House of Suntory (the whiskey brand featured in Sofia’s incredible Lost In Translation), and its Japanese Roku gin. “She’s one of my closest friends,” Elle says. “Our relationship has been so beautiful, because it has changed as I've got older. She used to be, and kind of still is, a fun aunt to me, I feel. But as we've got older, our relationship has just got richer.”
She tells GLAMOUR that her time on set on the campaign gave her a renewed love for G&Ts, and a “refreshing” new garnish idea, she says: a slice of ginger. Elle is quick to express her love for the classic drink, which originated from so much time spent in London. “I'm also a huge martini girl," she says. "But that's not a daytime drink – I feel like you need a martini at night.”
From her first role all the way through to gin on set, each project Sofia has directed Elle in has ended up being a marker in her life and career, with their bond strengthening over the years.
Elle describes working with Sofia on gothic thriller The Beguiled – also starring Kirsten Dunst, Angourie Rice and Colin Farrell – when she was eighteen as a “new chapter in my life”. “I didn't go to college, but I did go film The Beguiled,” she says, calling it her coming-of-age experience.
Having just arrived back in LA from filming Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown with Timothée Chalamet in New York, Elle sat down with GLAMOUR over her morning coffee to talk about what sisterhood means to her, her sporadic self-care routine and the empowerment she has found in choosing the stories she tells.
You’ve worked with your sister Dakota on such an interesting and important upcoming docuseries Mastermind: To Think Like a Killer – based on the story of the FBI’s Ann Burgess, who worked with sexual assault survivors in the 1970s and 1980s. Tell me about why you wanted to spotlight Ann and her work.
She was a trailblazer… She was a woman in a man's world and had to break through that. The documentary series follows that and her incredible work.
It was also really incredible to get to hear her side of the story and how it was back then, breaking into the field and talking to the serial killers and profiling them. My sister [Dakota], particularly, is a real crime nut, like she watches all of those shows and documentaries. I go to her, I'm like, ‘okay, which one should I watch?’ Because I know she's watched all of them. Working with her on the series was such a dream – that we get to produce important content that we think should have a spotlight on it.
From this project, what did you learn about violence against women and the work needed to be done to stop it?
It was so interesting that these rape victims' stories were really put to the side, and not valued. Dr. Burgess came in and gave value and a voice to those women. It's such a beautiful thing, and it's still something that I think is a struggle today. It's not like it's completely tied up with a bow, and I think it's also an incredible reminder to us all, how we have to keep pushing forward. And also maybe, in an aching way, how it also is similar to even today… Sometimes women are disregarded in their stories or are not believed and so it's it's a good reminder for all of us, I think.
Trauma, it's a lot, it can be triggering, but I think it's important to highlight that.
What is empowering for you in your own life, professionally or personally?
It can be so many things, right? I think it changes due to what phase of your life you're in. Right now, I think feeling like I have autonomy and that I'm able to make choices in my life for myself. Not that I haven’t before, but being a child actor, you're younger, and so you don't have as much control over things and even the parts that you're gonna get. I think as I've gotten older, I've grown into myself and found my voice more to be able to make decisions on my own. And I find that really empowering, especially with the producing side of finding projects and putting them together myself and getting to seek out things for myself has been very empowering.
Or we could just go with the dancing in your bedroom route, because I also find that kind of empowering, too.
I would love to know what you do to take care of your wellbeing, to deal with overwhelm from working in such an intense industry?
I have work out kicks, I like hot yoga or a hot Pilates. I love the heat. So there'll be months where I'll have a big kick, where I'll be like, ‘oh my god, I'm feeling so good’. And then I'll just stop. Right now I'm in the ‘I haven't done anything in months’ phase. But we’ll pick back up again. But when I am doing [hot yoga and pilates], gosh, you feel like you can do anything. You feel so good. I love to cook, I think that's really calming. I play tennis, which just gets you out of your head. I draw and sketch – I used to do that more, but I've gotten a little bit back into it.
Of course, as well as close female friends in Hollywood you have a fabulous ally in your sister Dakota. How does sisterhood and your relationship with her help you navigate your life and career?
I’m so lucky that I have that, especially as she's four years older, so I’ve had this built-in role model to admire and look up to, and balance my choices against the choices she made. Ever since I was little all I wanted to do was just anything that she did – I just followed her everywhere.
Also, what's nice about our age gap [of four years] is that when you're younger you're truly sisters – and you're kind of on a different wavelength and you fight a lot. But then as we've got older, the four years has just shrunk so much and we're best friends, and tell each other everything.
She gives the best advice. She's very wise. She's very honest. Like she is very honest. So I know she's always going to tell it like it is, I think it's important to have that sounding board. And with work, she's my interpreter because sometimes I’m the dreamy, kind of heady one that has all these concepts and she can see what I mean – but she can articulate it. She knows what I'm trying to say. And so she's kind of a logistical one and can interpret my creativity for me.
You’re also set to star alongside Timothée Chalamet in Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown. What can you tell us about the character you played and what it was like to film?
So her name is Sylvie in the script, but she's roughly based off of Suze Rotolo, who was on The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan album cover with him. She was an incredible woman, reading her memoir was really interesting, and just aspects of their relationship. I mean, she really was his first love.
It was great to form that relationship, with Timmy, he’s worked so hard for this part. He's singing everything live, like he's really like going for it. It was very special to watch him do that. And he's been a friend for a long time. So yeah, I'm just happy to be a part of it.
Mastermind: To Think Like a Killer lands on Disney+ on 11 July.
You can watch Elle Fanning in the 'Come Alive' campaign for Roku Gin here.