Dakota Fanning feels she was asked “super-inappropriate” questions as a child star.

The ‘I Am Sam’ star, 30, made her TV debut aged six in 2000 and has now told The Cut magazine she went through a disturbing phase when she was grilled about her life and fame as she grew up in the spotlight.

She hit out: “In interviews at a young age, I remember journalists asking me, ‘How are you avoiding becoming a tabloid girl?’

“People would ask super-inappropriate questions. I was in an interview as a child and somebody asked, ‘How could you possibly have any friends?’

“It’s like, ‘Huh?’”

Appearing to reference child stars in the past whose rough upbringings have shed light on how their lives were affected by fame, she added: “I have a lot of compassion for people who have been made into examples. If society and the media hadn’t played their part, who knows?”

But she added about society: “I don’t think that it’s necessarily connected 100 per cent to being in this business; there are other factors, too.

“I just didn’t fall into it, and I don’t know the exact reasons except that my family is comprised of very nice, kind, protective people."

Dakota also credited her mother Hannah Joy Arrington with teaching her how to “treat other people” and how to “treat myself” – adding: “She was there every second.”

She went on: “I was always treated with respect. It was never, ‘Bring the kid in! Get her out!’

“I wasn’t working with people who treated me that way – I was being respected as an actor and as equal as you can be for that age.”

Dakota added about feeling surrounded by negativity as she rose to fame: “I’ve definitely felt this kind of vibe from people almost wanting me to fail or something.

“It makes you feel a little bit guarded. I’m just living my life over here.”