It was unclear which fact was more extraordinary about Anna Paquin – that she won an Academy Award at age 11 for her performance in “The Piano” (1993), or after her win, that she had no plans to continue acting. Moviegoers were thankful for her change of heart, as the Canadian actress continued to give thoughtful, complex, and occasionally seductive turns as an adult in a wide variety of projects ranging from big-budget blockbusters like the “X-Men” franchise to independent fare like Noah Bambauch’s “The Squid and the Whale” (2005) But it was her foray onto the small screen that allowed for
First acting experience as a skunk in a school ballet
1992
Beat out 5,000 girls for the part of Holly Hunter's daughter in Jane Campion's period love story "The Piano"
1993
Became the second youngest Oscar winner of all time (to date) when she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her big-screen debut in "The Piano"
1994
Starred in a series of commercials for MCI
1996
Played foster mother to a flock of geese in the family film "Fly Away Home"
