Anna Helene Paquin (born July 24, 1982) is an Academy Award-winning, as well as Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated, Canadian-New Zealander actress. Her breakthrough performance was in The Piano, which earned her an Academy Award for Best Supporting actress and made her the second youngest winner in history at the age of 11. She is also the first Canadian-born actress to win Best Supporting Actress.

Biography

Early life

Paquin was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, the daughter of Mary (née Brophy), an English teacher and native of Wellington, New Zealand, and Brian Paquin, a high school physical education teacher. Paquin moved to New Zealand when she was four. She attended the Raphael House Rudolf Steiner School until she was eight or nine. Her musical childhood hobbies in New Zealand included playing the viola, cello and piano. She has also done gymnastics, ballet, swimming and downhill skiing, but she didn’t have hobbies related to acting.

While in New Zealand, Paquin attended Hutt Intermediate School from 1994-1995, where she completed Form 1 and 2. Having begun her secondary education in Wellington, New Zealand, she completed her high school diploma at Windward School in Los Angeles, where she moved with her mother following her parents’ divorce.

Acclaim as a child actress

Paquin’s big-screen debut happened when she attended the open audition for Flora for The Piano along with her sister. The director was impressed by nine-year-old Paquin’s performance of the monologue about Flora’s father, and she was chosen from among the 5000 candidates.

When the The Piano was released in 1993 it was lauded by critics, won prizes at a number of film festivals, and eventually became a popular movie among a wide audience. Paquin’s debut performance in the film earned her an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress at the age of eleven, making her the second-youngest Oscar winner in history after Tatum O’Neal.

Paquin as Flora, telling the story about her father in The Piano

The Piano was made as a small independent movie and wasn’t supposed to be widely known, and Paquin and her family didn’t plan to continue in the acting circles.^[5] However, she was invited to the prestigious William Morris Agency, and she kept receiving offers for new roles. She systematically refused them, but she did appear in three commercials for the phone company MCI (currently WorldCom).

In 1996, she appeared in two movies. The first role was a smallish one as young Jane in Jane Eyre. The other was a lead part in Fly Away Home playing a young girl who, after her mother dies, moves in with her father and finds solace in taking care of orphaned goslings.

As a teenager, she had roles in several small films, such as The Member of the Wedding, Amistad, Hurlyburly and She’s All That. She graduated from Windward School in West Los Angeles, California in June 2000 and completed the school’s community service requirement by working in an LA soup kitchen and at a special education center. She studied at Columbia University for one year, but has since been on a leave of absence to continue her acting career.

In 2001, Paquin acquired New Zealand citizenship.

New fame in X-Men

Paquin returned to worldwide prominence with her role as Rogue in the blockbuster X-Men movie in 2000, its sequel X2: X-Men United in 2003, and its third installment X-Men: The Last Stand in 2006.

Paquin is also a critically acclaimed stage actress, having made her stage debut in 2001 in a production of The Glory of Living at the MCC Theater. She was nominated for a Drama Desk Award, and won a Theater World Award for her performance. Paquin appeared on the West End stage in a production of This is Our Youth in 2002. Paquin has since appeared in a number of plays and says that, although “very hard work”, she loves doing theater.

In the summer of 2006, she completed filming Blue State which she also executive-produced, after she and her older brother, producer Andrew Paquin, formed the production company Paquin Films. In November 2006, she completed Margaret, scheduled for release by Fox Searchlight in 2008, having been delayed.

In July 2007, Paquin received an Emmy Award nomination for Supporting Actress In A Miniseries Or A Movie for her role as Elaine Goodale in the HBO’s Made-for-TV movie Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, based on Dee Brown’s bestseller.

HBO has announced that Paquin will be starring in the lead role of the new series True Blood based on the Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris. According to fansite Anna Paquin Online (see link below), she is currently still working on this in Los Angeles.
According to imdb.com, it is rumoured she is working on a new sci-fi film, Metamorphosis.

Personal Life

Paquin’s family are spread as far afield as San Francisco, Cannes, her birthplace Winnipeg, Canada and her native New Zealand.

Anna’s previous relationships include a DJ (who lived in New Zealand) and fellow actor Logan Marshall-Green, whom she dated for a year before their break-up in 2005. It is believed she is currently dating actor Kieran Culkin, as the pair are close friends and have worked together on a few previous occasions. However, despite hinting at it in interviews, Paquin has stopped short of confirming any romance with Culkin.

Paquin lives in the West Village in New York City. She also now has a place in Los Angeles, which her brother and his fiance helped her finance, due to her increasing workload there.

Filmography and awards

In Theater

The Glory Of Living, 2001, As Lisa (Won Theatre World Award in 2002 for the role)

This Is Our Youth, 2002, As Jessica Goldman (Nominated for Drama Desk Award for the role)

Manuscript (Reading), 2003, As Elizabeth Hawkins

Drug Buddy (Reading), 2003, As Wendy

Roulette, 2004, As Jenny

The Distance From Here, 2004, Shari

The 24 Hour Plays, 2004, as Maylene

After Ashley, 2005, As Julie Bell

Dog Sees God (Reading), 2005, As Marcy

The 24 Hour Plays, 2006, As Jenny

Awards

• 1993 - LAFCA Award - Best Supporting Actress for The Piano.
• 1994 - Academy Awards - Best Supporting Actress for The Piano

Nominations

• 2001 - MTV Movie Award - Best On-Screen Team for X-Men, shared with Halle Berry, Hugh Jackman and James Marsden.
• 2001 - Saturn Award - Best Performance by a Younger Actor for X-Men.
• 2001 - Blockbuster Entertainment Award - Favorite Actress - Science Fiction for X-Men.

Related Celebrity

• Cameron Diaz
• Calista Flockhart
• Anna Friel
• Angelina Jolie
• Amy Adams
• Amy Acker