Happy birthday! Dakota Fanning is 18

Dakota Fanning, who has been charming movie-goers since her first appearance on screen in 2001, turns 18 on Thursday, Feb. 23.

The actress, who has virtually grown up on film, will likely celebrate in New York where's she's been spotted in attendance at New York Fashion Week.

In addition to her acting credits and multiple awards, Fanning also managed to live as normal a childhood as possible. In high school, she was voted homecoming queen and even joined her school's cheerleading squad. In fall 2011, Fanning enrolled at New York University.

We'll see her next in "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2," among several other projects now in production.