Keisha Castle-Hughes Biography

Keisha Castle-Hughes is the youngest person ever nominated for a best actress Oscar. She earned the honor in 2004, when she was nominated for her performance in the 2003 film Whale Rider. (The Oscar went to Charlize Theron instead, for the movie Monster.) Castle-Hughes was eleven years old when Whale Rider was filmed, and was cast for the lead role despite having no acting experience. After Whale Rider, she had a small role in George Lucas's Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005, starring Natalie Portman). At the age of 16 she starred as Mary, the mother of Jesus of Nazareth, in the feature film The Nativity Story (2006). Just prior to the film's release, Castle-Hughes announced she was pregnant by her boyfriend of three years, Bradley Hull; their child, named Felicity-Amore, was born on 25 April 2007.