My dad has blond hair, my grandmother has blue eyes. My daughter has blue eyes and blond hair. So it is pretty funny to me that I’m so heavily identified as an Asian person.
I didn’t grow up wealthy. We couldn’t even afford spaghetti sauce when I was first born, but my mom and dad worked really hard and came from the bottom up.
My dad talks about the times when we’d play backyard cricket: If I got bowled out, I’d just refuse to let go of the bat and swing it at anyone who tried to take it away from me. I like to think that’s been tempered a bit over the years.
My dad never missed a day of work, and he was always smiling when he came home.
To be honest, I can’t wait to be a dad. I really hope that that’s how the cookie crumbles for me.
My dad always told me, ‘I don’t care what you do. Just aim to be the best at it. Even if it’s the world’s best window cleaner.’
My dad just left high school in ‘69, went to Woodstock, and after half a year of college for architecture, just took off for Alaska. He bought a van and went straight into the mountains and built a cabin.
Who’s my hero? That’s a great question… Well, I think my dad is my hero, because he’s someone I look up to every day.
My dad named me Dakota and my mom came up with my first name Hannah. So it’s Hannah Dakota Fanning.
A mustache really defines your face. My dad had a mustache when I was growing up, and I can still remember when he shaved it, he looked like a completely different person.
My dad always used to tell me that if they challenge you to an after-school fight, tell them you won’t wait-you can kick their ass right now.
I showed my dad the first episode of ‘Toast of London’ the other night. He laughed a bit, but when it finished, he just turned to me and said, ‘You’re an idiot.’ I loved that.
From my dad I learned to be good to people, to always be honest and straightforward. I learned hard work and perseverance.
I lived in a town of 400 until I was like nine or ten. My dad coached all the sports – he was a gym teacher and health teacher for grades K-12.
I didn’t come from a trailer park. I grew up middle class and my dad had money and my mom made my lunch. I got a car when I was sixteen. I’m proud of that.
I came from a middle-class family. My dad was a professor; my mom was a nurse. I didn’t come from money, and I didn’t come from circles of power. I didn’t come from the country club; I came from the town park.
My dad worked with Mary Jackson very closely at one point. I knew Katherine Johnson as well. They were all part of this group of black engineers and scientists within this larger NASA community.
My dad is Polish. My mom is Moroccan, and I grew up around all kinds of different languages, and I love playing with it, and I love picking up new melodies.
My dad, he was a construction worker. He was a butcher. He was a deep sea fisherman.
My parents are both into music. My mom sings and my dad plays piano, so there was always music everywhere. I was singing at a very young age, but I actually got my buzz through rapping.
What I respect about my dad is he comes forth, and he tells the truth, and he’s a very honorable person. I respect him a lot. He, I know deep down, has a good heart.
My dad’s a businessman, and I grew up looking up to him, how he dressed to go to work and, whenever I went to his office, how he spoke to people.
The most valuable thing my dad taught me was to never care about what other people thought. When he came to my shows, and I’d announce his presence, he’d stand up with his hands clasped in victory and cheer my name.
My dad wouldn’t buy me tight pants. I had to get my own money to buy them.
Now I meditate twice a day for half an hour. In meditation, I can let go of everything. I’m not Hugh Jackman. I’m not a dad. I’m not a husband. I’m just dipping into that powerful source that creates everything. I take a little bath in it.
