Saoirse Ronan on Jan. 19 (left) and Dakota Fanning on March 26 (right). Saoirse Ronan says she was often pitted against other actresses in Hollywood when she was an up-and-coming star. “And I would love for Dakota and I to work together.

Saoirse Ronan is in a class of her own—few other actors her age have received the level of critical acclaim (let alone four Oscar nominations). But Hollywood is still Hollywood, and working in the business since she was a pre-teen slotted her into a particular type—”precocious blonde child star,