Elle Fanning praises Kirsten Dunst for helping her navigate stardom

Elle Fanning took a moment at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival to praise her fellow ‘The Beguiled’ star, Kirsten Dunst, for being a role model for her career.

Fanning credits Dunst for helping her learn to navigate her career and successfully transition from being a child actor.

At Cannes, Fanning was in attendance for the premiere of the new Johnny Depp movie ‘Jeanne du Barry’, wearing a stunning Alexander McQueen gown, and is also working the festival as an ambassador for L’Oréal.

Praise for Kirsten Dunst

“I mean, I’m really lucky. I have a lot. Kirsten Dunst is someone that I also love,” Fanning told People at Cannes. Fanning has been acting since she was three years old, alongside her older sister, Dakota.

“And I think her navigating the child actor into who she’s become now and maintaining that longevity, is something that I think about a lot,” she said.

“Because when you’ve been around for a while, you also want to keep surprising yourself and keep surprising others. And I think that’s something that she’s done,” Fanning said of Dunst, who began her own career at the age of six, before gaining recognition for her role as Claudia in ‘Interview with the Vampire’ when she was 12.

“Also, she’s kind of genre-less. She’s so incredibly funny but in such dramatic roles,” Fanning continued. “She’s always making kind of interesting choices. And I’ve always looked up to her too.”

Fanning also looks up to Nicole Kidman

Fanning also noted Nicole Kidman as another role model, who she also starred alongside in ‘The Beguiled’ and ‘How to Talk to Girls at Parties’.

“I’ve always admired Nicole and dreamed of working with her one day because she’s tall and I’m tall. It’s unusual for actresses to be of a taller size so it’s cool that now we actually are friends,” Fanning said in a 2018 interview with Body and Soul.

“[S]he gave me a lot of advice, most notably that in this business you have to have your support group,” Fanning recalled. “She said, ‘Find your tribe of people that you can stick with and who love you for the right reasons and will support you through everything you do’.”

Fanning currently stars in the Hulu comedy-drama series ‘The Great’, which premiered on May 12 and is now available to stream.