Keisha Castle-Hughes

Actor

In 2004 Keisha Castle-Hughes became the youngest actor ever nominated for a Best Actress Oscar, pegged for her performance in the 2003 film Whale Rider. Castle-Hughes, who was eleven years old when the movie was filmed, was cast for the lead role in spite of 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.

Extra credit: Castle-Hughes's father told The New Zealand Herald in 2004 that Hughes was born at Donnybrook in Western Australia, then moved to New Zealand as a child.

Other Oscar-nominated youngsters include Patty Duke (The Miracle Worker, 1962), Linda Blair (The Exorcist, 1973) and Judy Garland (given a special Oscar for 1939's The Wizard of Oz).