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Keisha Castle-Hughes
Keisha Castle-Hughes at TIFF 2009 (headshot).jpg
Castle-Hughes in 2009
Born (1990-03-24) 24 March 1990 (age 34)
Nationality New Zealand (from 2001)
Occupation Actress
Years active 2001–present
Spouse(s)
Jonathan Morrison
(m. 2013; div. 2016)
Donny Grahamer
(m. 2021)
Partner(s) Bradley Hull (2003–2010)
Children 2

Keisha Castle-Hughes (born 24 March 1990) is a New Zealand actress. She made her acting debut in the drama film Whale Rider (2002), for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress, making her the second-youngest nominee in such category. Her subsequent films include the biblical drama film The Nativity Story (2006) and the teen film Hey, Hey, It's Esther Blueburger (2008).

Early life

Castle-Hughes was born in 1990 in Donnybrook, Western Australia, to a Māori mother, Desrae Hughes, and Tim Castle, an Anglo-Australian father. Her family moved to Auckland, New Zealand when she was four years old. She attained citizenship in 2001. Castle-Hughes attended Penrose High School and graduated from Senior College of New Zealand in Auckland.

Career

In 2002, Castle-Hughes made her debut in the film Whale Rider, in which she played the main role of Paikea Apirana (Pai). She had no previous acting experience and went directly from her Auckland school classroom to the film set when the shoot began in New Zealand in late 2001. Castle-Hughes received widespread critical acclaim for her performance, and in 2004 she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress at the 76th Academy Awards. Although she did not win the Best Actress award (it went to Charlize Theron for Monster), at age 13 she became the youngest person nominated in this category at the time and the second Indigenous actress, after Merle Oberon and Jocelyne LaGarde, to be nominated for an Oscar.

She soon followed the role by appearing in Prince's controversial "Cinnamon Girl" music video and with a shoot in Vanity Fair magazine. In 2004, Castle-Hughes was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

In 2005, Castle-Hughes had a small part as Queen Apailana in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. In 2006, she portrayed the starring role of the Virgin Mary in The Nativity Story. New York Times critic, A. O. Scott, said that she "seemed entirely unfazed by the demands of playing Mary. She had the poise and intelligence to play the character not as an icon of maternity, but rather as a headstrong, thoughtful adolescent transformed by an unimaginable responsibility." The Christian-themed film earned only $8 million during its opening week, but its box office surged during the week of Christmas.

In 2008, Castle-Hughes appeared in the Australian comedy-drama film Hey, Hey, It's Esther Blueburger, which was filmed in late 2006.

Castle-Hughes reunited with New Zealand director Niki Caro for the film adaption of The Vintner's Luck, which had its international premiere in September 2009.

Castle-Hughes starred in the Japanese horror film Vampire, and she also played a recurring role as Axl's flatmate in The Almighty Johnsons which premiered in 2011. In 2011 Castle-Hughes also played a minor part in the film Red Dog as Rosa the veterinary assistant and wife of Vanno.

In 2014, Castle-Hughes had a guest role in the American television series The Walking Dead in which she played Joan.

In 2015, she joined the cast of the HBO TV series Game of Thrones in Season 5 as Obara Sand. She pursued a role on the show in part because she is a fan of the books. Castle-Hughes found out that she had won the role the night the Season 4 episode "The Mountain and the Viper" aired, in which her on-screen father's death was shown. She described having a very intense emotional reaction to the scene, because of the connection between the characters on the show.

Beginning in 2020, Castle-Hughes has played Hana Gibson, an FBI analyst, on CBS's FBI: Most Wanted.

In a return to the Star Wars franchise, Castle-Hughes voiced Dr. Emerie Karr, an Imperial scientist at the Mount Tantiss facility and female clone of Jango Fett, in Seasons 2 and 3 of Star Wars: The Bad Batch.

Activism

Castle-Hughes campaigned for Greenpeace as part of the SignOn.org.nz climate campaign in 2009. New Zealand Prime Minister John Key initially admonished her to "stick to acting", but offered a week later to discuss the issues with her over tea after she maintained she knew more about them than he gave her credit for.

Personal life

In October 2006, when she was 16, it was announced that Castle-Hughes and boyfriend Bradley Hull were expecting a child together. Their daughter was born in 2007. Castle-Hughes and Hull broke up in 2010 after seven years together.

In 2012, Castle-Hughes began dating Jonathan Morrison. After six weeks together, the couple became engaged in August 2012. Their wedding took place on Valentine's Day 2013. They were divorced in December 2016.

.....

In early 2021, she married Donny Grahamer in New York City. A month later she announced that she was pregnant with her second child, a daughter born in June.

Filmography

Film and television
Year Title Role Notes
2002 Whale Rider Paikea Nominated for Academy Award for Best Actress.
2004–2009 bro'Town Herself 3 episodes
2005 Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith Queen Apailana of Naboo
2006 Nativity Story, TheThe Nativity Story Mary
2008 Hey Hey It's Esther Blueburger Sunni
2009 Vintner's Luck, TheThe Vintner's Luck Celeste
2009 Piece of My Heart Young Kat TV movie
2010 Legend of the Seeker Maia / The Creator Episode: "Creator"
2011 Mika's Aroha Mardi Gras Self TV special
2011 Vampire Jellyfish
2011 Red Dog Rose
2011–2013 Almighty Johnsons, TheThe Almighty Johnsons Gaia Series Regular - seasons 1-2, Recurring - season 3
2012 Rewind Priya TV movie, post-production
2013 Stolen, TheThe Stolen Aroha
2014 Walking Dead, TheThe Walking Dead Joan Episode: "Slabtown"
2014 Queen of Carthage Simi Film
2015–2017 of Thrones, GameGame of Thrones Obara Sand 8 episodes
2016 Roadies Donna Mancini Series regular
2017 Thank You for Your Service Alea
2017 Find Your Voice Princess
2017 Manhunt: Unabomber Tabby Milgrim
2018 On the Ropes Jessica Connor TV miniseries
2019 Tone-Deaf Wyatt
2019–2020, 2023 FBI Special Agent Hana Gibson 3 episodes
2020–present FBI: Most Wanted Main role
2023 Star Wars: The Bad Batch Emerie Karr (voice) 10 episodes

Accolades

Year Award Category Work Result
2003
New Zealand Film Awards Best Actress Whale Rider Won
Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Best Actress Nominated
2004
Academy Awards Best Actress in a Leading Role Nominated
Chicago Film Critics Association Best Actress Nominated
Most Promising Performer Won
Chlotrudis Awards Best Actress Nominated
Critics Choice Movie Awards Best Young Actor/Actress Won
Gold Derby Film Awards Best Lead Actress Nominated
Breakthrough Performance Won
NAACP Image Awards Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture Nominated
Online Film Critics Society Breakthrough Performer Won
Phoenix Film Critics Society Best Performance by a Youth - Female Nominated
Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role Nominated
2007
Young Artist Awards Best Leading Young Actress - Feature Film The Nativity Story Nominated
2009
Qantas TV and Film Awards Best Supporting Actress Piece of My Heart Won

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Keisha Castle-Hughes para niños

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Keisha Castle-Hughes para niños

  • List of oldest and youngest Academy Award winners and nominees
  • List of actors with Academy Award nominations
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