Dakota Fanning is back on our screens in the Netflix hit The Perfect Couple alongside Nicole Kidman and Liev Schreiber.
As Abby Winbury, the actress, 30, plays a pregnant woman and though The Watchers star isn't a mother herself, she has previously opened up about her desire to have children.
In an interview with Porter, The Equalizer 3 actress spoke about where motherhood sits as a priority in her life as a successful actress who has also appeared in Ripley this year.
"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," Dakota admitted.
"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."
Dakota's family life
The star, who rose to fame as a child in movies like The Cat in the Hat and Charlotte's Web, did however emphasise that she hasn't got a set timeline in mind when it comes to pursuing motherhood.
"I don't know how I'll feel when that time in my life comes – and how much I’ll want to work. But, because I don’t have that at the moment, I'm trying to take advantage of the adventures now," she explained.
For now, Dakota is focusing on new "adventures" in her career and ploughs her maternal energy into being a doting big sister to fellow actress Elle Fanning.
It seems the Coraline voice actress is constantly looking to the future. "Anyone who knows Dakota knows she has dreamt of turning 30 since she was a teenager," her sister and Maleficent star Elle penned on Dakota's birthday earlier this year.
"February 23, 1994 the world got brighter and more beautiful. I could sit and listen to you talk for hours, in fact that is my favourite place to be… absorbing your advice, your fascinating view of the world (things you ARE and AREN'T 'iinterested' in) I have always felt safest with you by my side."
Dakota also has a positive role model in the form of her own mother. In 2022, the star took to Instagram to mark Mother's Day with an adorable childhood photo where she is sat cuddled up with a young Heather Fanning on the couch at home in Georgia.
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"When my grandfather, my mom's dad, passed away, his best friend said of him, 'If he had something and you needed it, it was yours'. He passed that trait on to my mom in spades," she wrote. "She is the most generous person I know, and I am so lucky that she is my mom. I love you Mama!".