Anna Paquin, the young Canadian who grew up in New Zealand and whose only acting experience was as a skunk at a school play, stunned movie-goers from all over the world with her performance as Holly Hunter's angry young daughter in the acclaimed film The Piano. Anna, who received an Oscar for her performance (the second youngest Oscar winner ever), has proven that The Piano was only the beginning of a fabulous career.

She starred in Carroll Ballard's Fly Away Home and in Franco Zeffirelli's Jane Eyre. After her parents' divorce, she moved to Los Angeles with her mother and sister in order to pursue more actively a career in acting. Soon enough, she made the transition from child-actress to teenage actress with her performance in Hurlyburly alongside Sean Penn, Kevin Spacey and Meg Ryan and in A Walk on the Moon alongside Diane Lane, Viggo Mortensen and Liev Schreiber. Paquin, who has become an expert at portraying troubled teenagers, then starred in the popular science fiction film, the X-Men. The same year, 2000, she also appeared in films such as Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous and Gus Van Sant's Finding Forrester. Anna, who is now a student at Columbia University, has moved to New York City and has begun a new career as a stage actress appearing both in New York and London.



She is a vegetarian. She keeps her Oscar in her bedroom closet so her friends won't see it and feel the need to comment on it. Family moved to New Zealand when Anna was 4. She plays the cello. Her parents are divorced. Enjoys listening to alternative music. Is the first New Zealander to receive an Oscar for best supporting actress, and is the second-youngest Oscar winner ever. She has 2 cats and 1 dog. Graduated from Windward School in West Los Angeles, California in June 2000; she completed the school's community service requirement by working in an LA soup kitchen and at a special education center. college classmate of Julia Stiles. She was the original choice to play the character of Enola in Kevin Costner's Waterworld (1995) but, eventually, the role fell to Tina Majorino. When on a talk show, the host told her he would give her $10,000 if she could shoot a basketball into a hoop. She did, but he refused to pay. After bad press he gave her the money which she donated to charity. Was number 93 on vh1's "100 Greatest Kid Stars" (2005). Though she was born in Canada she considers herself a Kiwi from New Zealand since she grew up there. Dating her "True Blood" (2008) co-star Stephen Moyer [2008]. Dated Kieran Culkin.