Dakota Fanning to Bring Preternatural Poise to Real-Life Role as High School Cheerleader

The steady rollout of Dakota Fanning 2.0 continues apace as the young actress hit up Oprah today to promote her new drama, The Secret Life of Bees. As a pre-teen, Fanning sometimes came off as robotically overprepared on the talk show circuit, but she felt much more relatable on Oprah — perhaps a pleasant side effect from the fact that she’s now eschewed home schooling to attend an actual high school. Typically, the studious Fanning isn’t about to half-arse that, either; she’s joined the cheerleading team, and Oprah’s got the picture to prove it. Abigail Breslin, eat your heart out!

Also, after the jump, Fanning discusses shooting the film’s kissing scene — with Dixon from 90210, of all people. Silver’s gonna be pissed!