Anna Paquin

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Anna Paquin

Paquin at the True Blood 25th Annual Paley Television Festival, ArcLight Cinemas, Los Angeles, April 13, 2009
Born Anna Helene Paquin
July 24, 1982 (1982-07-24) (age 26)
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Occupation Actress
Years active 1993–present

Anna Helene Paquin (born July 24, 1982) is a Canadian-born New Zealand actress. Her breakthrough performance was in the New Zealand film The Piano, which earned her an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1994, making her the second youngest winner in history at the age of 11.[1] She is also the first Canadian-born actress to win Best Supporting Actress.[citation needed] Paquin is best known for her role as Rogue in the X-Men movies. Her other notable role is as Sookie Stackhouse in the HBO series True Blood.

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[edit] Early life

Paquin was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, the daughter of Mary Paquin (née Brophy), an English teacher and native of Wellington, New Zealand, and Brian Paquin, a high school physical education teacher. Paquin has two older siblings: brother Andrew, born in 1977, and sister Katya, born in 1980.[2][3] Paquin moved to New Zealand when she was four. She attended the Raphael House Rudolf Steiner School until she was eight or nine.[4] Her musical childhood hobbies in New Zealand included playing the viola, cello and piano. She also did gymnastics, ballet, swimming and downhill skiing, though she did not have any hobbies related to acting.[5][6]

While in New Zealand, Paquin attended Hutt Intermediate School in 1994 and 1995, where she completed Form 1 and 2. Having begun her secondary education in Wellington, she completed her high school diploma at Windward School in Los Angeles, where she moved with her mother following her parents' divorce in 1995.[7] 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.

[edit] Career

[edit] Acclaim as a child actress

It was in New Zealand in 1991 that Paquin became an actress by chance. Director Jane Campion was looking for a little girl to play a key role in The Piano, set to film in New Zealand, and a newspaper advertisement was run announcing an open audition. Paquin's sister read the ad and went to try out with a friend; Paquin herself tagged along because she had nothing better to do. When Campion met Paquin—whose only acting experience had been as a skunk in a school play—she was very impressed with the nine-year-old's performance of the monologue about Flora's father, and she was chosen from among the 5000 candidates.[6]

Paquin as Flora, telling the story about her father in The Piano

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.[6] 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.[5] However, she was invited to the 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).[8] 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.[9]

As a teenager, she had roles in films including A Walk on the Moon, The Member of the Wedding, Amistad, Hurlyburly and She's All That.

[edit] X-Men and beyond

Paquin in 2006

Paquin returned to worldwide prominence with her role as Rogue in the blockbuster X-Men movie in 2000,[1] its sequel X2 in 2003, and its third installment X-Men: The Last Stand in 2006.

In the summer of 2006, she completed filming Blue State. She was the executive-producer of the film, the film having been made by Paquin Films, a production company formed by both her and her brother, Andrew Paquin.[10] 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 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 appeared 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.[11] Paquin won a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Television Drama Series for her role in the show, and also won a Satellite Award in a similar category. The second season of the show began airing on June 14, 2009.

In 2009, Paquin played Irena Sendler, a Polish woman hailed as a heroine of the Holocaust, in The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler, a CBS TV film biopic based on the book Mother of the Children of the Holocaust: The Irena Sendler Story, by Anna Mieszkowska. The film was made in Latvia, and was a Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation for the network.[12]

[edit] Theatrical career

Paquin is also an award-winning stage actress, having made her stage debut in 2001 in a production of The Glory of Living at the MCC Theater. She won a 2001-2002 Theater World Award for her performance.[13] She has since appeared in a number of other plays, but has only once appeared in a play outside of the USA, when she appeared on the West End stage in London in a production of This is Our Youth in 2002.

[edit] Personal life

She has been dating her True Blood co-star Stephen Moyer since filming the series' pilot.[14]

Paquin lives in Venice, Los Angeles, California. Her hobbies include surfing and cycling.[15]

[edit] Filmography and awards

Year Film Role Notes
1993 The Piano Flora McGrath Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress
1996 Jane Eyre Young Jane Eyre
Fly Away Home Amy Alden
1997 The Member of the Wedding Frankie Addams TV movie
Amistad Queen Isabella II of Spain
1998 Hurlyburly Donna
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
Almost Famous Polexia Aphrodisia
Finding Forrester Claire Spence
2001 Buffalo Soldiers Robyn Lee Theatrical release delayed until 2003
2002 Darkness Regina
25th Hour Mary D'Annunzio
2003 X2 Rogue/Marie
2004 Steamboy (English dub) James Ray Steam Voice
2005 The Squid and the Whale Lili Thorn
Joan of Arc Joan of Arc Voice, TV movie
2006 X-Men: The Last Stand Rogue/Marie
2007 Blue State Chloe Hamon Executive Producer
Mosaic Maggie Nelson Voice
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee Elaine Goodale TV movie
Nominated — Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress - Miniseries or a Movie
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Series, Miniseries or Television Film
Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Female Actor - Miniseries or Television Film
2008- True Blood Sookie Stackhouse TV series
Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Television Series Drama
Satellite Award for Best Actress - Television Series Drama
2009 Margaret Lisa Cohen Awaiting release
Trick 'r Treat Laurie Awaiting release
The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler Irena Sendler TV movie

[edit] Theatre credits

[edit] Awards

[edit] Nominations

  • Best Kiss for X2: X-Men United
  • Best On-Screen Team for X2: X-Men United
  • 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
  • 2009 - Saturn Award - Best Actress in Television for True Blood
  • 2009 - Teen Choice Award - Choice TV Actress for True Blood

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Crisell, Luke (2007-05-21). "Rogue Star". New York Magazine. http://nymag.com/movies/features/32118/. Retrieved on 2007-05-21. 
  2. ^ "X Appeal". Guardian Unlimited. 2000-08-06. http://film.guardian.co.uk/interview/interviewpages/0,6737,351581,00.html. Retrieved on 2007-05-21. 
  3. ^ "Anna Paquin Biography (1982-)". filmreference.com. http://www.filmreference.com/film/12/Anna-Paquin.html. Retrieved on 2007-12-31. 
  4. ^ "X Patriate Anna Paquin". NZHerald.co.nz. May 2003. http://anna-paquin.net/press/2003/nzherald-0503/. Retrieved on 2007-12-31. 
  5. ^ a b Verhaeghe, Melanie (Summer 1994), "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star", Homemakers magazine .
  6. ^ a b c Dutka, Elaine (1994-01-11). "A Young Star is Born in the Piano". Los Angeles Times. http://djuna.cine21.com/anna/02.html. 
  7. ^ Hobson, Louis B. (1996-09-02). "Real-Life Acting Difficult for Paquin". Calgary Sun. 
  8. ^ "Verizon and MCI Close Merger, Creating a Stronger Competitor for Advanced Communications Services". New York. 2006-01-06. http://newscenter.verizon.com/press-releases/verizon/2006/page.jsp?itemID=29672197. 
  9. ^ Lambert, Pam (1996-04-16). "Paquicking it in". People. http://djuna.cine21.com/anna/07.html. 
  10. ^ ifilmalliance.com
  11. ^ "Paquin Bites Into True Blood". scifi.com. 26 February 2007. http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?category=0&id=40314. 
  12. ^ http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=20090211cbs02
  13. ^ Winners list at theatreworldawards.org
  14. ^ True Blood's True Romance TV Guide, February 24, 2009
  15. ^ Spin magazine article, September 2008

[edit] External links

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Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress

Maureen Stapleton (1981) · Jessica Lange (1982) · Linda Hunt (1983) · Peggy Ashcroft (1984) · Anjelica Huston (1985) · Dianne Wiest (1986) · Olympia Dukakis (1987) · Geena Davis (1988) · Brenda Fricker (1989) · Whoopi Goldberg (1990) · Mercedes Ruehl (1991) · Marisa Tomei (1992) · Anna Paquin (1993) · Dianne Wiest (1994) · Mira Sorvino (1995) · Juliette Binoche (1996) · Kim Basinger (1997) · Judi Dench (1998) · Angelina Jolie (1999) · Marcia Gay Harden (2000)

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