The little Georgia peach made her acting debut in a Georgia State Lottery commercial featuring musical genius Ray Charles. For Dakota, luck became a lady following the lottery gig. Dakota was featured in a Tide commercial, before her big break came a year later with a role on the long running NBC hit drama ER. Her role as a girl with leukemia injured in a car accident remains one of her favorite roles to date: "I got to wear a neck brace and nose tubes for the two days I worked," she gleefully recalls of the role.

It was her role as the bright young daughter of a mentally ill man (portrayed by Penn) in the 2002 film I Am Sam that took Dakota from a young Southern blonde to a modern day Shirley Temple. She became the youngest person ever nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for her supporting role in the film. Catherine Zeta Jones took the award for her role in Chicago, but Dakota did win a Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for her work in I Am Sam later in the year. The eight-year-old was too short to reach the podium so she delivered her acceptance speech from the strong arms of comedian Orlando Bloom.

More success followed in 2003. That year Dakota helped bring to life Dr. Seuss' timeless tale The Cat In The Hat, where she was able to work with funny man Mike Myers. Dakota teamed up with twenty-something starlet Brittany Murphy for Uptown Girls, the story of a stone faced little girl and her carefree but immature nanny. The film garnered a lukewarm reception. Dakota was also a part of bringing classic literature to life once again with the premiere of Charlotte's Web in winter of 2006.

Dakota has spent the last two years working with Hollywood legends and directors. In 2004 she was matched with Oscar winning actors and directors, Denzel Washington and Robert De Niro in Man on Fire and Hide and Seek consecutively. The latter was ill received by the public, but Dakota turned in a critically acclaimed performance.

With 2005 came a couch jumping hotshot and directorial genius. Dakota starred with Tom Cruise in the Steven Spielberg film, War of the Worlds. Spielberg expressed astonishment at the eleven-year-old's incredible talent. Yet it wouldn't be Hollywood if there were no bitterness to go with the sweetness. During a 2005 E! Network event self-proclaimed D-list comedienne Kathy Griffin made a joke about Dakota entering rehab; a dig at the countless child stars like Todd Bridges, Mary-Kate Olsen, and Jodie Sweetin who have gone astray.

When she's not rubbing elbows with Tinsel Town royalty, Dakota enjoys reading and working with the American Red Cross as a part of their Celebrity Cabinet. Her voiceover work with the Disney Channel as a Young Kim Possible and Lilo of the Lilo and Stitch series also keeps her busy.

YUDDY