Elle Fanning’s Lack of Instagram Followers Snubbed Her From a Major Movie Role

How could you say no to Elle Fanning? The young actress has become America’s sweetheart, a bona fide fashion It girl, and number one on practically everyone's list. But there was a point in time when Fanning lost a major movie role before — and not for the reasons you’d assume. The star was turned down because of her lack of social media presence at the time.

On Thursday, the actress appeared on the Happy Sad Confused podcast and opened up about what it was like to work with her sister, Dakota, as well as her latest dramedy project The Great. But during her chat with lifelong friend Josh Horowitz, she revealed a shocking tidbit about her career. 

"I didn't get a part once for something big," she shared, without revealing the major movie role. "It might not have just been this reason, but this was all the feedback that I heard — because I didn't have enough Instagram followers at the time."

Her reaction to their feedback was a head-turning “OK,” but she added that she "firmly" doesn't "believe" social media presence will be the reason for "ever not getting a part."

Luckily for her, Fanning won't have to worry about her follower count costing her any future roles as she currently rings in at 6.2M followers on Instagram. But there was a time when Fanning was MIA from all things Internet. 

"My parents never let me have a Facebook account. I had a private Instagram, but I was always a little intimidated by it," she told CMagazine in 2016. "I have never had a Twitter account. People just argue on Twitter and I want to stay away. I guess I like Instagram because I am a visual person."

It wasn't until her 18th birthday in April 2016 that Fanning made her Instagram account public. And ever since, she's been fueling her fans with plenty of snapshots of her life. Most recently, she shared behind-the-scenes content of her and her cast mates goofing around from the newly released season.

"Season 3 and we haven’t matured one bit !" she captioned the post. "TONIGHT @ midnight PREPARE TO JOIN THE DEBAUCHERY and be let in on all the juicy secrets! It is my favorite season so far!!!!!!"

At the premiere event on Thursday night, Fanning wore plunging gold slinky chainmail dress from Celine by Hedi Slimane. Her blonde hair was styled in a low bun that was parted on the side and slicked across her forehead, and she opted for a very natural makeup look. She also kept her accessories to a minimum with a singular bracelet and ring, ditching earrings entirely. The Great season 3 is available now for streaming on Hulu.