Anna Hélène Paquin (/ˈpækwɪn/ PAK-win; born 24 July 1982) is a New Zealand actress. Born in Winnipeg and raised in Wellington, Paquin made her acting debut portraying Flora McGrath in the romantic drama film The Piano (1993), for which she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress at age 11, making her the second-youngest winner in Oscar history. As a child actress, she received multiple Young Artist Award nominations for her roles in Fly Away Home (1996), The Member of the Wedding (1997), and A Walk on the Moon (1999), and a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for appearing in Cameron Crowe's comedy-drama film Almost Famous (2000). She also appeared in the films Jane Eyre (1996) and Amistad (1997).
Paquin continued to perform prominent roles into adulthood, portraying mutant superheroine Rogue in the 20th Century Fox X-Men franchise (2000–2014), for which she was nominated for a Saturn Award for her performance in the first installment. Her other film credits include 25th Hour (2002), Trick 'r Treat (2007), Margaret (2011), The Good Dinosaur (2015), and The Irishman (2019). She played the lead role of Sookie Stackhouse in the HBO vampire drama television series True Blood (2008–2014). For her performance in the series, Paquin won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in 2009, and was nominated for an additional Golden Globe Award, as well as three Saturn Awards and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in 2010. Among other accolades, Paquin was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award for her work on the television film Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (2007). She received an additional Golden Globe Award nomination for her work on the television film The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler (2009).
Early life :
Anna Hélène Paquin was born on 24 July 1982 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Her mother, Mary (née Brophy), a New Zealander from Wellington, worked as an English teacher, and her Canadian father, Brian Paquin, worked as a physical education teacher. She is the youngest of three children, with a brother, Andrew, who is a filmmaker, and a sister, Katya, whose partner is the Green Party of New Zealand's former co-leader Russel Norman. All her maternal great-grandparents emigrated from Ireland because of the Great Famine.Her father is of Dutch Mennonite and French descent. The family moved to Wellington when she was four.
While in New Zealand, Paquin attended Raphael House Rudolf Steiner School and Hutt Intermediate School, both in Lower Hutt. Her parents divorced when she was 12. She received her secondary education at Wellington Girls' College. After moving to the U.S. when she was 16, she attended Windward School in Los Angeles, from which she graduated in 2000. She studied at Columbia College for one year, where she lived in Carman Hall, but dropped out to continue her acting career.
