By Actress Elle Fanning, star of Maleficent and Trumbo, and the highly anticipated 20th Century Women (out Feb 10) is on the cover of our February issue which addresses how to be happy in 2017.
[youtube ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2viUbETtQ4U&feature=youtu.be[/youtube]For this special issue we asked readers to submit their life dilemmas for 18-year-old Elle to answer, and it turns out she was born to be an Agony Aunt. 'Friends come to me for advice, and I always say it how it is. They know I'll be super honest with them, and they like that. There's none of that Post-Truth stuff with me.'
When asked for advice on how to avoid obsessing over exes on social media:
'It's so hard in this era when an ex is only a text away. Back in the day they had to work up the courage to call on the phone, talk to your parents, and when you broke up you didn't see them again. But now, between Snapchat and Instagram, you can see everything – especially them with a new partner. But it's damaging so you have to stop... I have high anxiety and I'm on my phone constantly, so I find myself comparing myself to others.'
On making new friends:
'I'm not someone that has a lot of friends. I see people who have many friends and get really jealous. I have a good core of three or four friends who are really close to me.'
On Sofia Coppola proving that you don't have to be an extrovert in order to succeed:
'I've just finished shooting with Sofia Coppola and she's one of the quietest people ever, but there's a real power to her silence. When she just stares at you from across a take, you know you need to get the shot.'
On why Elle chooses to limit her presence on social media:
'I recently turned my Instagram public on my 18th birthday, but I still don't post everything I do, and I'm not on Twitter or Facebook. You have to leave a little mystery. With old movie stars, all you saw were rare interviews where they only shared what they wanted to – that's what made them so interesting. You could separate the characters from the women, so if you watch them on screen you're not thinking about what they had for breakfast.'
On the best advice she's been given:
'Nicole Kidman told me, "Find your tribe and they'll always be behind you." I like that.'
Read the full interview in the February issue of Elle UK, on sale tomorrow
