True Blood Actress Anna Paquin
A Biography of One of Hollywood's Most Respected Actresses
Nov 2, 2009
Anna Paquin sprang to international fame at 11 when she became the second youngest academy award winner in history for her supporting actress role in The Piano. (Tatum O'Neal was 10 when she won the same award for Paper Moon.)
The young Anna's breathless acceptance speech when she hyperventilated for several seconds before managing to recite her speech and then left the stage the wrong way has became an Oscars' highlight.
She has since gone on to make over 20 films including the blockbuster X-Men series, starred in stage productions in New York and London, and is currently starring in the popular TV series True Blood.
Anna Paquin's Early Life
Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, Anna is the child of two teachers who moved to Lower Hutt, New Zealand, when she was four. At the age of eleven she received critical acclaim and an Oscar for her performance as Holly Hunter's daughter in The Piano (1993). Her next films were not until 1996 when she starred in Fly Away Home, and Franco Zeffirelli's Jane Eyre, in which she portrayed the young Jane.
Her parents separated while she was filming Fly Away Home, and Anna, her mother, and her sister shifted to Los Angeles so Anna could better pursue her acting career. She successfully made the transition from child-actress to teenager in films such as Hurlyburly (1998) and A Walk on the Moon (1999).
Anna also studied for a year at Columbia University, but has taken leave of absence to continue acting. In 2000 she had roles in Almost Famous and Finding Forrester, and also that year featured as Rogue in the popular science fiction film X-Men.
Since then Anna's career has continued to flourish, and she has completed several other films including the two X-Men sequels. A move to New York City has also seen her begin a new career as a stage actress, making appearances in both New York and London. In 2006 she appeared in and was executive producer of Blue State.
Anna Paquin Fact Sheet
- Full Name: Anna Helene Paquin
- Birth Date: July 24, 1982
- Birth Place: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada (Moved to Lower Hutt, New Zealand with her family when 4 years old)
- Height 5'5"
Awards:
- 1994 -- Oscar: Best Actress in a Supporting Role for The Piano
- 1993 -- LAFCA Award: Best Supporting Actress for The Piano
Quotes and Comments
"I was the right height". (On why she was selected to play Flora in The Piano.)
"I don't know what it is that I'm doing, but I'm really enjoying myself. And I'm free to do it as much as I want."
"The most rebellious thing I've ever done is not going to be written about in an article that my mother's going to read, so we can forget about that. I'm going to leave that up your imagination."
"The only thing I can definitely say is that you cease to be self-conscious after you've had to kiss somebody on-camera with 30 people watching."
"None of the characters I've played are really like me. That would be boring. It wouldn't be acting."
Solid Body of Work
Along with her popular success in such films as the X-Men series, Paquin has quietly built a solid body of respected work and has been likened to a young Jodie Foster.She is one of only a few child actors who have gone on to success as an adult.
