Mini-Biography
Keisha Castle-Hughes was born on the 24th March 1990, in Donnybrook, Western Australia she gave a breakout performance in Whale Rider. Keisha is born of one Maori Mother and an Australian father. This youngster in her first ever acting role captivated audiences with her performance.
"I was just speechless, I didn't know what to say," Keisha Castle-Hughes recalls of the moment she discovered she'd got the role of Pai. "About two hours later I was running around the hotel just screaming. I was so overwhelmed!"
Despite no previous acting experience, Keisha was chosen from thousands of girls in an extensive school-wide search. She had always dreamt of becoming an actor. WHALE RIDER is Keisha's first role.
Eleven years old at the time of filming, Keisha had assistance from director Niki Caro and tutor/chaperone Stephanie Wilkin. "Stef and Niki showed me how to find my feelings and how to talk properly. Then after a couple of weeks I just fell into the character. I didn't need to look back on anything because I could feel the character so much."
"I've always wanted to be an actor," Keisha admits. "But I think recently I changed my decision. I thought 'I can't be an actor, I can't'. Then this film came up and it was like someone saying to me, 'You can, don't give up'. "
She becomes the youngest ever best actress Nominee in Oscar history and has been nominated or won several awards for her work in Whale Rider, click the link for a complete list. Awards/Nominations.
Keisha Castle-Hughes also appeared in Star Wars: Episode III in 2005 and for 2006 she played "Mary" in Natvity and for 2008 she appears in Hey, Hey, It's Esther Blueburger. For 2009 she is attached to the film The Vintner's Luck
