Actress. Born Anna Helene Paquin on July 24, 1982, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, the youngest of three children. The daughter of educators, Paquin was studious and academically minded, showing an early interest in sports and music (she played cello and piano). In 1986, Paquin relocated to her parents' native country of New Zealand with her family, and led a typical middle-class childhood. But life changed for Anna at the age of 11, when she attended a movie audition with her older sister, Kate. Anna, whose only acting experience came from a performance as a skunk in a school play, went with her sister to the audition on a whim. The director was immediately taken with Anna, and selected her for a co-starring role in the art house film The Piano, also starring Holly Hunter and Harvey Keitel.
In 1993, she made her film debut in The Piano, which told the story of a mute mail-order bride (played by Holly Hunter) and her young daughter (played by Paquin). Rated R for certain mature sexual scenes, the 11-year-old Paquin was unable to see the film in its entirety at the time of its release. But critics raved about the art-film-turned-box-office-hit. They were especially awed by Paquin's subtle and moving performance as her mother's interpreter in the film, and her portrayal earned her an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. With the win, Paquin became the second youngest winner of an Oscar; Tatum O'Neal remains the youngest with her win for 1973's Paper Moon.
After her Hollywood success, however, Paquin had little to no interest in pursuing a film career. She returned to her studies and refused offers for more film opportunities. Following her parents' divorce in 1995, Paquin and her mother relocated to Los Angeles, where she attended Windward School. The next year, she accepted roles in two new films: as a young girl who rescued homeless goslings in the true story, Fly Away Home (1996), and as the younger version of Jane in the Franco Zeffirelli-directed Jane Eyre (1996). While still in high school, she also made an impressive appearance in Stephen Spielberg's slave drama, Amistad (1997), playing the role of Isabella II, the Queen of Spain. Versitile Paquin next played the role of Rogue in the blockbuster X-Men trilogy (2000, 2003, 2006). In 2005, she appeared in the drama The Squid and the Whale as Jeff Daniels' precocious teenage love interest.
Since 2008, Paquin has starred as the vampire-loving, telepathic Sookie Stackhouse in the popular HBO series True Blood, for which she earned a Golden Globe award for best actress.
In her personal life, Paquin is engaged to True Blood co-star Stephen Moyer. In 2010, she announced in a PSA she was bi-sexual in 2010.
In 1993, she made her film debut in The Piano, which told the story of a mute mail-order bride (played by Holly Hunter) and her young daughter (played by Paquin). Rated R for certain mature sexual scenes, the 11-year-old Paquin was unable to see the film in its entirety at the time of its release. But critics raved about the art-film-turned-box-office-hit. They were especially awed by Paquin's subtle and moving performance as her mother's interpreter in the film, and her portrayal earned her an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. With the win, Paquin became the second youngest winner of an Oscar; Tatum O'Neal remains the youngest with her win for 1973's Paper Moon.
After her Hollywood success, however, Paquin had little to no interest in pursuing a film career. She returned to her studies and refused offers for more film opportunities. Following her parents' divorce in 1995, Paquin and her mother relocated to Los Angeles, where she attended Windward School. The next year, she accepted roles in two new films: as a young girl who rescued homeless goslings in the true story, Fly Away Home (1996), and as the younger version of Jane in the Franco Zeffirelli-directed Jane Eyre (1996). While still in high school, she also made an impressive appearance in Stephen Spielberg's slave drama, Amistad (1997), playing the role of Isabella II, the Queen of Spain. Versitile Paquin next played the role of Rogue in the blockbuster X-Men trilogy (2000, 2003, 2006). In 2005, she appeared in the drama The Squid and the Whale as Jeff Daniels' precocious teenage love interest.
Since 2008, Paquin has starred as the vampire-loving, telepathic Sookie Stackhouse in the popular HBO series True Blood, for which she earned a Golden Globe award for best actress.
In her personal life, Paquin is engaged to True Blood co-star Stephen Moyer. In 2010, she announced in a PSA she was bi-sexual in 2010.
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