Twelve years difference may not be all that big of a deal beyond the age of 40, but when you're a 22-year-old starlet dating a 34-year-old on the verge of 35... it kind of is.
Elle Fanning, like her sister Dakota, is easily one of the most established and beloved up-and-coming actors in the business. This is truly amazing given the fact that her parents wanted neither her nor Dakota to become actors. That's just one of the many things we know about Elle's intriguing childhood. The alabaster beauty's epic career has brought her many places, including to her semi-famous boyfriend, Max Minghella.
Fans of cinema probably recognize Max from movies like The Social Network, The Ides of March, and The Darkest Hour. As well as from shows like The Handmaid's Tale and The Mindy Project.
But, in all likelihood, most people didn't know the London-born actor was dating the much younger Elle Fanning. This is because they keep their relationship on the DL... So much so that there is basically no reference to Max on Elle's Instagram.
The truth is, we know very little about their romantic connection... but here's what we do know...
Elle Had Teen Spirit And Max Really Liked It
On top of their age difference, Max Minghella was also Elle's director. The Social Network actor made his directorial debut in the Elle Fanning-led Teen Spirit, which came out in April 2019.
For those who may have missed this smaller film in Elle Fanning's epic filmography, Teen Spirit is about a young Polish singer who does everything she can to get in a televised international singing competition.
For the role, Elle had to train her voice and her body to perform in numerous singing and dancing scenes... So, we can imagine that she was required to spent quite a bit of time doing some one-on-one work with her director before the cameras even started to role. Perhaps this is when their chemistry started to build.
At the very least, fans started to pay attention to the two of them...
Back in April 2019, Elle totally dodged questions from ET asking about the dating rumors that were circulating about her and her Teen Spirit director. Before the world knew that these two were working together, there were photos of them snuggling up together in August of the previous year and in Italy the year before that...
But Elle was supremely coy about the whole thing, saying, "I mean, we just really love working together." Then she added, "That was, like, very special, and he's such a good friend."
Elle also praised Max for his directing ability and her gushing was reciprocated. During a separate interview with ET for Teen Spirit, Max Minghella went on and on about how great Elle is, saying that she was the only person who could've "carried this film":
"It's an incredible list of requirements. You have to be able to sing, you have to be able to dance, you've got to, you know, be able to speak Polish convincingly, do the British accent, play the age range and carry the movie with an incredibly nuanced performance." Max went on to add, "It's a lot for one person, and she just handled everything with such discipline and professionalism and she never complained."
By June 2019, Everything Changed
Although Elle dodged questions about their romance as Teen Spirit was released, she basically confirmed her relationship with Max when the two went to the MET Gala together two months later. Although their PDA wasn't as heavy as it was the year before, bringing Max with her clearly made a statement without coming out and saying that they were 'in love'.
A week or two later, Elle and Max were spotted walking through Silver Lake, California together while holding hands. Although Elle once again never verbally confirmed their romance, this definitely made it seem legitimate.
Later that summer, the two flew to London, England together were they were spotted attending Wyndham Theater where they saw Pheobe Waller-Bridge's one-woman show, Fleabag. According to The Daily Mail, Elle and Max once again kept their PDA on the DL, although they claim that she looked very much in love with Max as they hobnobbed with various other celebrities in attendance.
For a few months, there was virtually no information about Elle's mysterious relationship with her older, director boyfriend. And, on top of things, they were barely seen together.
Then COVID came...
Luckily, Elle and Max appeared to have had each other for the start of the 2020 global pandemic. According to The Daily Mail, Elle and Max were spotted on numerous occasions running errands around Los Angeles together. Not only were they holding hands, but it appeared as though they were grabbing supplies for quarantining/self-isolating together. The Daily Mail even described their looks as though they had literally just "rolled out of bed" before being photographed together.
While Elle Fanning and Max Minghella are extremely private about their relationship and have never actually confirmed it, it's clear that they have been taking things very seriously. On top of this, their age difference doesn't appear to get in the way of their romantic connection.
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