Keisha Castle-Hughes
Overview
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
film actress who rose to prominence at the age of eleven when playing Paikea "Pai" Apirana
Paikea
According to Māori tradition, Paikea is an ancestor of Ngāti Porou, a Māori tribe of the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. Paikea is the name assumed by Kahutia-te-rangi because he was assisted by humpback whales to survive an attempt on his life by his half-brother Ruatapu.-Ruatapu is...
in the 2002 film Whale Rider. The film was nominated for many awards, including an Academy Award for Best Actress
Academy Award for Best Actress
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
of which she was the youngest female nominated in the Best Actress category
Academy Award for Best Actress
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
and an award at the Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards
Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards
The Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards, commonly called the Critics' Choice Awards, are bestowed annually by the Broadcast Film Critics Association to honor the finest in cinematic achievement. Nominees are selected by written ballots in a week-long voting period, and are announced in...
for Best Actress, which she won in 2004.
Since she made her film debut, Castle-Hughes has appeared in various films including Hey, Hey, It's Esther Blueburger
Hey, Hey, It's Esther Blueburger
Hey Hey It's Esther Blueburger is a 2008 Australian independent teen film written and directed by Cathy Randall. It stars Danielle Catanzariti, Keisha Castle-Hughes and Toni Collette. The film follows Jewish 13-year-old Esther , an outcast at her posh school, where she has no friends...
(2008), New Zealand tele-movie Piece of My Heart
Piece of My Heart (film)
Piece of My Heart is a New Zealand film from 2009 starring Keisha Castle-Hughes, Annie Whittle, Emily Barclay, and Rena Owen. It is about teen mums in 1960s New Zealand and what really happened in their harrowing journeys from pregnancy to birth to adoption....
(2009) and a small role in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith is a 2005 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It is the sixth and final film released in the Star Wars saga and the third in terms of the series' internal chronology....
(2005).