Marie Claire UK
  • Fashion Fashion
      • Fashion
        • View all Fashion
        • Fashion Trends
        • Shopping
        • Watches and Jewellery
        • Fashion News
  • Beauty Beauty
      • Beauty
        • View all Beauty
        • Fragrance
        • Hair
        • Make Up
        • Skincare
        • Nails
        • Marie Claire Beauty Awards
  • Health Health
      • Health
        • View all Health
        • Fitness
        • Nutrition
        • Female Health
        • Wellbeing
  • Life Life
      • Life
        • View all Life
        • Opinions
        • Travel
        • Sustainability
        • Weddings
        • Money & Work
        • Competitions
  • Culture Culture
      • Culture
        • View all Culture
        • TV and Film
        • Celebrity News
        • Books
        • Royal News
  • Vouchers Vouchers
      • Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Mint Velvet
        • Karen Millen
        • H&M
        • nobody's child
        • ASOS
        • ARKET
        • MANGO
      • Designer Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Reiss
        • THE OUTNET
        • SSENSE
        • Mytheresa
        • Liberty London
        • Selfridges
        • Farfetch
      • Accessories
        • View all Vouchers
        • AllSaints
        • Aspinal of London
        • Charles & Keith
        • River Island
        • FitFlop
        • Kate Spade
        • Vagabond
      • Jewellery
        • View all Vouchers
        • Pandora
        • Abbott Lyon
        • Goldsmiths
        • Beaverbrooks
        • Astrid & Miyu
        • Swarovski
        • Angara Jewellery
      • Beauty
        • View all Vouchers
        • Sephora
        • Cult Beauty
        • Space NK
        • Dyson
        • Clarins
        • Look Fantastic
        • Clinique
      • Activewear
        • View all Vouchers
        • Lululemon
        • Gymshark
        • Sweaty Betty
        • Nike
        • adidas
        • New Balance
        • Helly Hansen
  • NEWSLETTER Signup to our newsletter
  • logoCreated with Sketch.
    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!


    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    You are now subscribed

    Your newsletter sign-up was successful


    An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
    Trending
    • Latest Issue
    • Marie Claire Masters
    • Autumn Winter 2026
    • Nail Trends 2026
    • Best Investment Bags
    • Best Perfumes
    1. Culture

    Elle Fanning has broken her silence on the “disgusting" reason why she didn’t get a Hollywood role

    Jenny Proudfoot's avatar
    By Jenny Proudfoot
    Published 4 September 2023 In News

    When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

    Elle Fanning
    (Image credit: Getty Images)
    • Facebook
    • X
    • Pinterest
    Share this article
    Join the conversation
    Follow us
    Add us as a preferred source on Google
    Subscribe to our newsletter

    Elle Fanning is one of the most talked-about women in the world, with the 25-year-old actress a firm household name since she started her acting career aged two.

    Since her child star days, Fanning has gone on to front films from Maleficent and All the Bright Places to Super 8 and The Neon Demon. But despite her Hollywood evolution, her child star years did play a big role in her growth, with Fanning opening up about the experience during a recent Hollywood Reporter roundtable. 

    The roundtable interview saw actors Sheryl Lee Ralph, Ayo Edebiri, Natasha Lyonne, Jenna Ortega, Devery Jacobs and Elle Fanning discuss their careers, opening up about their reservations when taking certain roles and their experiences fighting stereotypes.

    With several of the women having started their careers as children, they also discussed navigating Hollywood from a very young age, with Fanning sharing one particularly "damaging" experience with the table. 

    YouTube YouTube
    Watch On

    "I was very protected, I have an amazing manager and agent who’ve been with me since I was 8 or 9, same people, which is [rare]," Fanning stated before recalling the anecdote.

    You may like
    • Emilia Clarke Emilia Clarke: “That's my goal for the next decade of my life: to take it lightly. But it requires strength.”
    • Cara My Life in London Cara Delevingne on Designing Her First Collection for Topshop and London's Best-Kept Secrets
    • Kaia Gerber Everything Kaia Gerber Wears Is a Masterclass in Minimalism—These Are the Pieces and Brands She Always Goes Back to

    “I’ve never told this story, but I was trying out for a movie. I didn’t get it. I don’t even think they ever made it, but it was a father-daughter road trip comedy,” she explained.

    “I didn’t hear from my agents because they wouldn’t tell me things like this – that filtration system is really important because there’s probably a lot more damaging comments that they filtered – but this one got to me. I was 16 years old, and a person said, ‘Oh, she didn’t get the father-daughter road trip comedy because she’s unfuckable.’”

    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!

    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    She continued: "It’s disgusting. And I can laugh at it now, like, ‘What a disgusting pig!’”

    Opening up about her reaction at the time, she explained: "I was always immensely confident, but of course you’re growing up in the public eye, and it’s weird. I’ll look at paparazzi photos from when I was 12 and think, 'Is that a good thing to see such a mirror of yourself at that age?' I don’t feel like it damaged me, but it definitely made me very aware of myself."

    We will continue to update this story.

    Jenny Proudfoot
    Jenny Proudfoot
    Social Links Navigation
    Contributing Features Editor

    Jenny Proudfoot is an award-winning journalist, specialising in lifestyle, culture, entertainment, international development and politics. After working at Marie Claire UK for seven years - rising from intern to Features Editor - she is now a freelance contributor to the News and Features section.

    In 2021, Jenny was named as a winner on the PPA's '30 under 30' list, and was also listed as a rising star in journalism.

    Read more
    Emilia Clarke
    Culture Emilia Clarke: “That's my goal for the next decade of my life: to take it lightly. But it requires strength.”
    Cara My Life in London
    Fashion Cara Delevingne on Designing Her First Collection for Topshop and London's Best-Kept Secrets
     
     
    Kaia Gerber
    Shopping Everything Kaia Gerber Wears Is a Masterclass in Minimalism—These Are the Pieces and Brands She Always Goes Back to
    Grace Victory on Letting Go of Ambition
    Money and Work “My Whole Sense of Worth Was Based on What I Could Achieve.” Grace Victory on Her Ambition Epiphany.
     
     
    Latest in Culture
    The best things to do this November
    Culture The Agenda: November Is Looking Good
    Actress Emilia Clarke
    Culture The Anti-Maxxing Issue: Featuring Emilia Clarke, Signature Scents, Practical Styling Tips and So Much More
     
     
    Emilia Clarke
    Culture Emilia Clarke: “That's my goal for the next decade of my life: to take it lightly. But it requires strength.”
    The best things to do this September
    Culture The Agenda: The New-Season Cultural Reset
     
     
    Latest in News
    New Beauty Launches: Burberry Beauty / Mes Beauty / rhute / Jo Loves / Ziip Beauty
    Beauty The Beauty Digest: Jennifer Lawrence’s Unexpected Haircare Launch, Burberry’s Exquisite New Perfumes and Jo Loves Sparks Festive Joy
    New Beauty Launches: Amouage, Haus Labs, XERF
    Beauty The Beauty Digest: Is XERF Worth the Hype? Plus, Amouage’s New Body Collection & The Beauty Beat Returns
     
     
    Jeans And Jackets
    Shopping Celine Dion, Daisy Edgar-Jones and Sarah Pidgeon Swear by This Trophy Jacket-and-Jeans Formula for Instant Fashion Confidence
    Next
    Shopping NEXT’s Autumn/Winter 2026 Collection Has Everything We Love About Getting Dressed in the Colder Months
     
     
    logoCreated with Sketch.
    • Site Archive
    • Contact Future's experts
    • Contact us
    • Terms and conditions
    • Advertise with us
    • Privacy policy
    • Cookies policy
    • About us
    Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google

    Marie Claire UK is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

    © Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.