Dakota Fanning Reveals Which Celebs Gave Her Crazy Gifts

Dakota Fanning RONDA CHURCHILL/AFP via Getty Images

Dakota Fanning has been in Hollywood since she was a kid — and has received some pretty awesome gifts from A-listers throughout her years as a child star.

Fanning starred alongside Michelle Pfieffer in her first movie, 2001’s I Am Sam. Fanning celebrated her 7th birthday on set and got a pretty awesome gift from Pfieffer — but more on that later.

The duo reunited 20 years later for the 2022 series The First Lady because Fanning “just wanted to work with Michelle again,” she told Entertainment Weekly in April 2022.

“I’ve always held Michelle on this really special pedestal because she was the first actress I ever worked with,” Fanning continued. “And so, just getting to know her as an adult — and spend time with her and work with her — was such an unbelievable experience.”

While Pfieffer made a huge impact on Fanning’s life, she’s not the only one. Keep reading to see which A-listers used their star power to give Fanning memorable gifts over the years:

Michelle Pfieffer

Fanning celebrated her 7th birthday on the I Am Sam set and got a major surprise from Pfieffer.

Michelle Pfeiffer, Dakota Fanning and Sean Penn Vince Bucci/Getty Images

“I’ll never forget it, she decorated my trailer for my birthday and she gave me all these Barbies in this Barbie car,” Fanning recalled to Harper’s Bazaar in April 2024. “I was like, I guess they’re always gonna do that for me on my birthday on set.”

Tom Cruise

In that same interview, Fanning recalled Cruise gifting her a cell phone — her first ever cell phone, mind you. “It was a Motorola Razr,” she recalled. “I was so excited. I didn’t have anybody to call or text at that time, you know, I was 11. … But I loved having it.”

She went on to say that “thoughtful” Cruise still sends her a birthday gift “every year” since they worked on 2005’s War of the Worlds together.

Marc Jacobs

When discussing her first-ever fashion campaign with Harper’s Bazaar, Fanning name-dropped the iconic designer — who also gave her a major gift.

“Marc made all the runway clothes in my size and gave them to me in the end,” she said of the photo shoot she did at 12 or 13 years old.

Kurt Russell

Fanning revealed that Russell gifted her with the best wrap gift after they shot the movie Dreamer.

“Kurt Russell gave me a horse,” she told Elle in April 2024. “Kurt is one of the loveliest most amazing people. We were making a movie about horses, and he gave me a horse.