Keisha Castle-Hughes

Mar 24, 1990.

Donnybrook, Western Australia. Her family moved to New Zealand when Hughes was four.

Oscar-nominated for Best Actress for "Whale Rider." At thirteen, she is the youngest actress ever to be nominated for this award.

During an interview with Jay Leno, she confessed she didn't know how to swim when she was cast in "Whale Rider."

Keisha was discovered by the same agent who discovered Anna Paquin.

Despite no previous acting experience, Keisha was chosen from thousands of girls in an extensive school-wide search. She had always dreamt of becoming an actor. "Whale Rider" is Keisha's first role. She received a suprise Oscar nomination for best actress for her performance.

Eleven years old at the time of filming, Keisha had assistance from director Niki Caro and tutor/chaperone Stephanie Wilkin. "Stef and Niki showed me how to find my feelings and how to talk properly. Then after a couple of weeks I just fell into the character. I didn't need to look back on anything because I could feel the character so much."

"Keisha has an amazing ability to focus," says director Niki Caro. "Her depth was immediately apparent. I rehearse as much as I can with actors and very intensively in pre-production. Keisha did some amazing work in that rehearsal period and has built and built on that. She's amazing."

Keisha Castle-Hughes appeared in "Star Wars: Episode III" with a brief appearance as the Queen of Naboo. Now sixteen, she stars as the Virgin Mary in Catherine Hardwicke's upcoming film.

The actress recently revealed she is pregnant.The New Zealand Herald Sunday reported that the Oscar-nominated actress and her childhood sweetheart, 19-year-old Bradley Hull, are expecting a child together next year and both are excited at the prospect of being parents.