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Dakota and Elle Fanning are sisters; Dakota is the older sibling. Their reported connection to Kate Middleton is much more distant: news accounts say genealogy research traced a shared line through the Fannings’ mother, Heather Joy Arrington, to Edward III. The exact cousin degree comes from those accounts, rather than an independently verified family tree.
How are Dakota Fanning and Elle Fanning related to each other?
They are sisters. Dakota is the older of the two, and Elle is the younger. The siblings grew up in Conyers, Georgia, and both began acting as children. In a February 2026 overview, ELLE reported that the family split time between Georgia and California before moving to Los Angeles as Dakota’s acting work increased.
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The sisters also formed the production company Lewellen Pictures in 2021, according to that ELLE account.
What is the Fannings’ reported connection to Kate Middleton?
In May 2014, ABC News reported that Ancestry.com research had identified a distant royal-family connection for the Fanning sisters through their mother, Heather Joy Arrington. A separate ABC News report that month described Elle as a distant cousin of Kate Middleton and as a 22nd great-granddaughter of Edward III, the medieval English king.
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ELLE’s 2026 account gives the reported relationship as 21st cousins and says the sisters are 22nd great-granddaughters of Edward III. Those terms describe an extremely remote genealogical connection, not a close family relationship. They should be understood as the relationship reported by those outlets: the underlying family tree and each ancestral link have not been independently confirmed here.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What did Elle Fanning say when the connection was reported?
ABC News quoted Elle reacting with surprise to the 2014 report. “It’s so weird,” she said, adding that she saw the claim and wondered, “Is this real?” She also said: “I’ve always wanted to do the ancestry.com thing because I think it would be really cool. But someone did it for me, which I think is great.” The quotations were attributed to Fanning by ABC News, which cited an E! News interview.
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How should the two relationships be understood?
| Relationship | What is reported | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Dakota and Elle Fanning | Sisters; Dakota is older than Elle. | Described directly in ELLE’s 2026 account. |
| The Fanning sisters and Kate Middleton | A very distant relationship through a line said to run through their mother; ELLE gives the degree as 21st cousins. | Media accounts of Ancestry.com research, including ABC News in 2014 and ELLE in 2026; the exact degree is not independently verified here. |
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