Dakota Fanning speech at Michelle Pfeiffer's handprint and footprint ceremony at the 2025 TCM Classic Film Festival

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Actress Dakota Fanning gave a speech at Michelle Pfeiffer's handprint and footprint ceremony at the 2025 TCM Classic Film Festival on Friday, April 25, 2025, at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles, California, USA.

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Transcript

00:00I am so incredibly honored to be here today to commemorate the first actress I ever worked with

00:09and a North Star for me, the one and only Michelle Pfeiffer. At six years old, I worked with Michelle

00:17on my first film, I am Sam. What a stroke of luck for me. The obvious things about Michelle are her

00:24undeniable talent and her otherworldly beauty, but the most obvious qualities, once you get to know

00:30her and work with her, are kindness and grace. She leads with a quiet strength, often soft-spoken,

00:38but never without meticulous thought. I saw her as this magical woman when I was six years old,

00:44and I am looking at her the same standing here today. I have told this story publicly before,

00:51but it is worth saying again in this forum. I turned seven on I am Sam, and I didn't have many

00:57scenes with Michelle, just a few, but she was there on my seventh birthday. I walked in that morning to

01:04a fully decorated trailer and was invited into hers to be showered in birthday Barbies.

01:12I could not believe what was happening. I was so excited, and as I have grown up, I have never,

01:18ever forgotten it. Not only because it was special and singular, not many can say Michelle Pfeiffer

01:25decorated their trailer and gave them Barbie presents on a movie set on their seventh birthday,

01:29but it set an example of the kind of person to be with a young actor on set, to go out of your way

01:37to make them feel seen and special. She created a memory that I will never forget, and a memory that

01:44became indelible to the foundation of my understanding of what it means to be a pillar in

01:49our industry. I had the privilege of working with Michelle again almost exactly 20 years later on

01:56The First Lady. Her transformation into Betty Ford was awe-inspiring, but the thing I am most grateful

02:03for from that experience was getting to know Michelle in a new way as a 27-year-old woman.

02:08She has given me precious advice, and we have laughed many times until we have cried.

02:15I cherish every moment I spend with you. The overt gestures are the fun stories to tell,

02:21but the way you conduct yourself in the quiet moments in between are the true landmarks of your

02:26character. I remember being a little girl and visiting this magical place of hand and footprints,

02:32placing my tiny hand into the hands of all the movie stars. This would have been very shortly

02:37before I met Michelle for the first time, and to think that I am here to be a part of this moment

02:42is surreal, to say the least. There is no one more deserving of being commemorated in this way

02:47than Michelle. Your brilliance on screen is only eclipsed by who you are as a human being.

02:55You have set an example of what is possible professionally, but the key to that success

02:59is inextricably tied to the caliber of your heart.

03:02I hope you feel seen today in the way you have always seen me and countless others. You are

03:08exceptional in all the ways to count. It is a joy to celebrate you, and I love you very much.

03:14Thank you very much.

Dakota Fanning speech at Michelle Pfeiffer's handprint and footprint ceremony at the 2025 TCM Classic Film Festival

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