Anna Paquin – Journey Of A Prodigy From Child Actor To A Superstar

Anna Helene Paquin is a New Zealand-Canadian actress who became prominent at a young age due to her acting skills. Despite having very low experience in acting, Anna debuted with an amazing performance in her first movie, The Piano. She furthur won various Young artist awards, and accomplished several great things.

Early Life Of Anna Paquin

Anna was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The daughter of an English teacher, Mary Paquin, Anna is of Dutch, French, and Irish descent. Her family moved to New Zealand when she was 4-years-old. During her childhood, Anna loved playing the viola, cello, and piano. Her hobbies also included gymnastics, ballet, swimming, and downhill skiing, but she did not have any hobbies related to acting in childhood.

Anna completed her graduation from Windward School in June 2000 and worked in a soup kitchen and at a Special Education Centre to complete the school’s Community Service requirement. After that, she took admission at Columbia University for one year but discontinued after that to proceed with her acting career.

Acting Career As A Child

A director, Jane Campion, was in search of a little girl to play a main role in The Piano, and she ran a newspaper advertisement announcing an open audition. Anna’s sister read the ad and went to try it out with a friend. This inspired 9-year-old Anna Paquin to audition. When Campion met her, this little girl’s performance impressed her a lot. Anna was chosen for the role from among the 5000 candidates.

When the movie, The Piano, was released in 1993 it was lauded by critics, won prizes at various film festivals, and became a very popular film among a wide audience. Anna’s debut performance in the film was incredible and it won her the 1993 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress at the age of 11. She became the second-youngest Oscar winner in history.

Works

After working in the film, The Piano, Anna had no plans to continue her acting career. But, she later changed her heart and decided to continue acting. She gave wonderful performances in wide variety of projects like the “X-Men” to Noah Bambauch’s “The Squid and the Whale” (2005). But her small screen performances were probably most compelling, particularly in the Emmy-winning miniseries, “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee” (HBO, 2007). She even received Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for this. Anna also came into spotlight for her first regular series television role in “True Blood” (HBO, 2008-14).

Anna Paquin has now become a superstar and has a golden heart too. She supports various charities and foundations. Some of them are: Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Elton John AIDS Foundation, Make-A-Wish Foundation, and The Art of Elysium.

Also Read: Robert Peace – Tragic life of a former prodigy