Anna Paquin Biography
Summary
"Anna Helene Paquin" (born July 24, 1982) is an Academy Award-winning, Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated, Canadian-New Zealander actress. Her breakthrough performance was in "The Piano", which earned her an Academy Award for Best Supporting actress and made her the second youngest winner in history at the age of 11. She is also the first Canadian-born actress to win Best Supporting Actress.
Early life
Paquin was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, the daughter of Mary (née Brophy), an English teacher and native of Wellington, New Zealand, and Brian Paquin, a high school physical education teacher. In 1995, Her parents divorced and she moved in with her mother. Paquin has two older siblings: brother Andrew, born in 1977, and sister Katya, born in 1980. Paquin moved to New Zealand when she was four. She attended the Raphael House Rudolf Steiner School until she was eight or nine. Her musical childhood hobbies in New Zealand included playing the viola, cello and piano. She also did gymnastics, ballet, swimming and downhill skiing, but she didn't have hobbies related to acting.
While in New Zealand, Paquin attended Hutt Intermediate School from 1994-1995, where she completed Form 1 and 2. Having begun her secondary education in Wellington, New Zealand, she completed her high school diploma at Windward School in Los Angeles, where she moved with her mother following her parents' divorce. 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.
Career
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 advert was ran announcing an open audition. Paquin's sister read the advert and went to try out with a friend; Anna tagged along because she had nothing better to do. When Campion met Anna-whose only acting experience had been as a skunk in a school play-she was very impressed with nine-year-old Paquin's performance of the monologue about Flora's father, and she was chosen from among the 5000 candidates. The director later recalled: 'It is rare to find someone so young with such an instinct for performance.'
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.
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. 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). 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.
As a teenager, she had roles in several films, such as "A Walk on the Moon", "The Member of the Wedding", "Amistad", "Hurlyburly" and "She's All That".
X-Men and beyond
Paquin returned to worldwide prominence with her role as Rogue in the blockbuster "X-Men" movie in 2000, its sequel "X2: X-Men United" in 2003, and its third installment "X-Men: The Last Stand" in 2006.
In the summer of 2006, she completed filming "Blue State". She executive-produced the film, the film having been made by "Paquin Films", a production company formed by both her and her brother, Andrew Paquin. 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 the 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 is appearing 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. A second season of the show has been commisioned, and is scheduled to air in summer 2009.
Theater career
Paquin is also a critically acclaimed stage actress, having made her stage debut in 2001 in a production of "The Glory of Living" at the MCC Theater. She was nominated for a Drama Desk Award, and won a Theater World Award for her performance. Paquin appeared on the West End stage in a production of "This is Our Youth" in 2002. Paquin has since appeared in a number of plays and says that, although 'very hard work', she loves doing theater.
Personal life
In 2001, Paquin became a citizen of New Zealand, meaning she has dual Canada/New Zealand citizenship.
Paquin lives in California, in the Venice area of Los Angeles. Her family is spread as far afield as San Francisco, Cannes, her birthplace Canada and New Zealand.
Paquin's previous relationships are said to include a DJ who lived in New Zealand and fellow actors Logan Marshall-Green and Kieran Culkin. It has been widely reported that she is currently dating Stephen Moyer, who plays her on-screen boyfriend Bill Compton in the HBO series True Blood. They have been dating since the pilot episode for the show was filmed in the summer of 2007. Charlaine Harris, author of The Southern Vampire Mysteries series of novels on which the show is based, has worked alongside them through her involvement with the show, and has confirmed that they are a couple on her official website. Paquin, however, is known to be a private person and likes to keep her love life out of the public eye, usually refusing to talk about it in interviews. She was recently quoted as saying, however, that she is hopeful that one day she will have the opportunity to date William D. Cheek, a wealthy Dallas consultant.
Paquin's hobbies include dancing, boxing, skateboarding and surfing. She is also now into cycling, having learned how to ride a bicycle just recently. She says that her parents never taught her how to do it when she was young, they just assumed she knew.
Theater credits
"The Glory of Living"; MCC Theater, New York, 2001 - Lisa (Won Theatre World Award (Outstanding Actress) in 2002 for the role)
"This is Our Youth"; Garrick Theatre, London, 2002 - Jessica Goldman (Nominated for Drama Desk Award (Outstanding Actress) for the role)
"Manuscript" (Reading); Falmouth Academy, New York, 2003 - Elizabeth Hawkins
"Drug Buddy" (Reading); Manhattan Theater Club, 2003 - Wendy
"Roulette"; Ensemble Studio Theatre, New York, 2004 - Jenny
"The Distance From Here"; MCC Theater, New York, 2004 - Shari (Won Drama Desk Award (Outstanding Cast Ensemble) in 2004)
"The 24 Hour Plays", South Of The Border; MCC Theater, 2004 - Maylene
"After Ashley"; Vineyard Theatre, New York, 2005 - Julie Bell
"Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead"; (Reading); Westside Theatre, New York, 2005 - Marcy
"The 24 Hour Plays", The Blizzard; MCC Theater, 2006 - Jenny
Awards
1993 - LAFCA Award - Best Supporting Actress for "The Piano"
1994 - Academy Awards - Best Supporting Actress for "The Piano"
2001 - Online Film Critics Society Awards - Best Ensemble Cast Performance for "Almost Famous"
2005 - Gotham Awards - Best Ensemble Cast for "The Squid and the Whale"
External links
(The Onion A.V. Club interview)
Credit
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article about Anna Paquin.
