Anna Paquin

Published: September 15, 2008 - By: admin

Anna Paquin

Anna Paquin in 2006

Born

Anna Helene Paquin
July 24, 1982 (age 26)
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Occupation

Actress, producer

Years active

1993 – present

Awards won
Academy Awards
Best Supporting Actress 1993 The Piano
Other awards
Gotham Award for Best Cast 2005 The Squid and the Whale LAFCA Award for Best Supporting Actress 1993 The Piano OFCS Award for Best Ensemble 2000 Almost Famous

Anna Helene Paquin (born July 24, 1982) is an Academy Award-winning, 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.

1 Biography
- 1.1 Early life
- 1.2 Acclaim as a child actress
- 1.3 New fame in X-Men
- 1.4 Theater career
2 Personal life
3 Filmography and awards
4 Theater credits
5 Awards
- 5.1 Nominations
6 References
7 External links

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 also did 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. She graduated from Windward School 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.

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 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 intended to be widely known, and Paquin and her family didn’t plan to continue in the acting circles. 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 (now Verizon). She also appeared as a voice in an audio book entitled The Magnificent Nose in 1994.

In 1996, she appeared in two movies. The first role was 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 A Walk on the Moon, The Member of the Wedding, Amistad, Hurlyburly and She’s All That.

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.

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. This film is now scheduled for release in 2009, according to imdb.com.

In 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. She also received Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations in similar categories.

In 2008, Paquin is appearing as Sookie Stackhouse in the HBO series True Blood, her first role in a TV series. The show is based on The Southern Vampire Mysteries series of novels by Charlaine Harris.

Theater career

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.

Personal life

In 2001, Paquin became a citizen of New Zealand, meaning she has dual Canada/New Zealand citizenship.

Paquin lives in California, in the Venice area of Los Angeles. Her family are spread as far afield as San Francisco, Cannes, her birthplace Canada and New Zealand.

Paquin’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. She is believed to be currently dating actor Kieran Culkin, who she has been close friends with for many years, having worked with him on a few previous occasions in both film and theater. Neither Paquin nor Culkin have publicly acknowledged their relationship, but they have shown public displays of affection whilst out and about in New York in recent years, which has brought their relationship to public attention.

Paquin’s hobbies include dancing, boxing, skateboarding and surfing. She is also now into cycling, having just learned how to ride a bicycle recently. She says her parents never taught her how to when she was young, they just assumed she knew.

Filmography and awards

Year	Film	Role	Other notes
1993	The Piano	Flora McGrath	Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated – Golden Globe
1996	Jane Eyre	Young Jane Eyre
1996	Fly Away Home	Amy Alden
1997	The Member of the Wedding	Frankie Addams	TV movie
1997	Amistad	Queen Isabella II of Spain
1998	Hurlyburly	Donna
1998	Laputa: Castle in the Sky (Disney English dub)	Sheeta	Voice, originally released in 1986
1999	It’s the Rage	Annabel Lee	TV movie
	She’s All That	Mackenzie Siler
	A Walk on the Moon	Alison Kantrowitz
2000	X-Men	Rogue/Marie D’Ancanto
	Almost Famous	Polexia Aphrodisia
	Finding Forrester	Claire Spence
2001	Buffalo Soldiers	Robyn Lee	Theatrical release delayed until 2003
2002	Darkness	Regina
2002	25th Hour	Mary D’Annunzio
2003	X2	Rogue/Marie D’Ancanto
2004	Steamboy (English dub)	James Ray Steam	Voice
2005	The Squid and the Whale	Lili Thorn
2005	Joan of Arc	Joan of Arc	Voice, TV movie
2006	X-Men: The Last Stand	Rogue/Marie D’Ancanto
2007	Blue State	Chloe Hamon	Executive Producer
	Mosaic	Maggie Nelson	Voice
	Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee	Elaine Goodale Eastman	TV movie; Nominated – Emmy Award Nominated – Golden Globe Nominated-SAG Award
2008	True Blood	Sookie Stackhouse	TV series
2009	Margaret	Lisa Cohen	Awaiting release
	Trick ‘r Treat	Laurie	Awaiting release
	Metamorphosis	Unknown	Rumoured

Theater credits

The Glory of Living; MCC Theater, New York, 2001 – Lisa (Won Theatre World Award (Outstanding Actress) in 2002 for the role)

This is Our Youth; Garrick Theatre, London, 2002 – Jessica Goldman (Nominated for Drama Desk Award (Outstanding Actress) for the role)

Manuscript (Reading); Falmouth Academy, New York, 2003 – Elizabeth Hawkins

Drug Buddy (Reading); Manhattan Theater Club, 2003 – Wendy

Roulette; Ensemble Studio Theatre, New York, 2004 – Jenny

The Distance From Here; MCC Theater, New York, 2004 – Shari (Won Drama Desk Award (Outstanding Cast Ensemble) in 2004)

The 24 Hour Plays, South Of The Border; MCC Theater, 2004 – Maylene

After Ashley; Vineyard Theatre, New York, 2005 – Julie Bell

Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead; (Reading); Westside Theatre, New York, 2005 – Marcy

The 24 Hour Plays, The Blizzard; MCC Theater, 2006 – Jenny

Awards

1993 – LAFCA Award – Best Supporting Actress for The Piano
1994 – Academy Awards – Best Supporting Actress for The Piano
2001 – Online Film Critics Society Awards – Best Ensemble Cast Performance for Almost Famous
2005 – Gotham Awards – Best Ensemble Cast for The Squid and the Whale

Nominations

1994 – Golden Globe Award – Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture for The Piano
1997 – YoungStar Awards – Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Drama Film for Fly Away Home
1997 – Young Artist Awards – Best Performance in a Feature Film – Leading Young Actress for Fly Away Home
1998 – Young Artist Awards – Best Performance in a TV Movie/Pilot/Mini-Series – Leading Young Actress for The Member of the Wedding
1999 – YoungStar Awards – Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Drama Film for A Walk On The Moon
2000 – Young Artist Awards – Best Performance in a Feature Film – Supporting Young Actress for A Walk On The Moon
2001 – Screen Actors Guild Awards – Outstanding Performance by the Cast of a Theatrical Motion Picture for Almost Famous
2001 – Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films – Best Performance by a Younger Actor for X-Men
2001 – Saturn Award – Best Performance by a Younger Actor for X-Men
2001 – Blockbuster Entertainment Award – Favorite Actress – Science Fiction for X-Men
2003 – Teen Choice Awards – Choice Movie Chemistry for X2: X-Men United
2004 – MTV Movie Awards 2 nominations:

2007 – Emmy Award – Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Miniseries Or A Movie for Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee
2008 – Golden Globe Award – Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television for Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee
2008 – Screen Actors Guild Award – Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries for Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee

Awards and achievements
Academy Award
Preceded by Marisa Tomeí for My Cousin Vinny	Best Supporting Actress for The Piano 1993	Succeeded by Dianne Wiest for Bullets over Broadway
Los Angeles Film Critics Association
Preceded by Judy Davis for Husbands and Wives	Best Supporting Actress for The Piano 1993	Succeeded by Dianne Wiest for Bullets over Broadway

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Crisell, Luke (2007-05-21). “Rogue Star”, New York Magazine. Retrieved on 2007-05-21.
^ “X Appeal”, Guardian Unlimited (2000-08-06). Retrieved on 2007-05-21.
^ “Anna Paquin Biography (1982-)”. filmreference.com. Retrieved on 2007-12-31.
^ “X Patriate Anna Paquin”, NZHerald.co.nz (May 2003). Retrieved on 2007-12-31.
^ ^a ^b Verhaeghe, Melanie (Summer 1994), “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”, Homemakers magazine .
^ ^a ^b ^c Dutka, Elaine (1994-01-11). “A Young Star is Born in the Piano”, Los Angeles Times.
^ Hobson, Louis B. (1996-09-02). “Real-Life Acting Difficult for Paquin”, Calgary Sun.
^ “Verizon and MCI Close Merger, Creating a Stronger Competitor for Advanced Communications Services” (2006-01-06).
^ Lambert, Pam (1996-04-16). “Paquicking it in”.
^ ifilmalliance.com
^ “Paquin Bites Into True Blood“, scifi.com (26 February 2007).