Keisha Castle-Hughes Biography

Keisha Castle-Hughes (born 24 March 1990) is an Australian-born New Zealand actress who rose to prominence for playing Paikea "Pai" Apirana in the film Whale Rider. The film was nominated for many awards, including an Academy Award for Best Actress for which she was at the time the youngest person nominated in the Best Actress category and an award at the Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards for Best Young Actor/Actress, which she won in 2004.

Since she made her film debut, Castle-Hughes has appeared in various films including Hey, Hey, It's Esther Blueburger, Piece of My Heart and Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith. She also played the main role of the Virgin Mary in the 2006 film The Nativity Story. In 2015 she joined the cast of the HBO TV series Game of Thrones in Season 5 as Obara Sand.

Early life

Castle-Hughes was born in 1990 in Donnybrook, Western Australia, to a M?ori mother, Desrae Hughes, and Tim Castle, an Anglo-Australian father. Her parents, who were never married, later separated. She was 18 months old when her family moved to New Zealand in 1991. She attained citizenship in 2001. Castle-Hughes has four younger siblings, brothers Rhys (born 21 February 1992), Liam (born 1996) and Quade (born July 2006), and sister Maddisyn (born 2001). Castle-Hughes attended Waiuku Primary School, Bailey Road School, Penrose High School, and Rosehill College, all in Auckland.

Career

In 2003, Castle-Hughes made her debut in the film Whale Rider, in which she played the main role of Paikea Apirana (Pai). Due to not having any previous acting experience, she 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 Polynesian actress, after 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: Episode III - 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,. Overall, it made approximately US$44.3 million. One critic later speculated: "It may have been harmed by the fact that its leading lady, Keisha Castle-Hughes, was found to be unwed and pregnant just as the movie's publicity campaign began."

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

She reunited with New Zealand director Niki Caro for the film adaption of The Vintner's Luck, which had its international premiere in September 2009. She will also have a starring role in Mona's Dream, the story of Mona Mahmudnizhad.

In March 2010, Castle-Hughes guest-starred as the Creator in the American weekly series, Legend of the Seeker. She 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 Keisha 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.

She has begun writing a screenplay for a feature film.

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, it was announced that Castle-Hughes and boyfriend Bradley Hull were expecting a child together. Their daughter, Felicity-Amore Hull, was born on 25 April 2007, one month after Castle-Hughes's 17th birthday. Castle-Hughes and Hull broke up in 2010 after seven years together.

In February 2012, Castle-Hughes's then-boyfriend Michael Graves was arrested and charged with assaulting her as they were driving home from an Oscars party at the Pullman Hotel in Auckland. The charge against Graves was dropped in April due to inconsistent witness accounts. Later in 2012, Castle-Hughes began dating DJ Jonathan Morrison. After six weeks together, the couple became engaged in August 2012. Their wedding took place on Valentine's Day 2013.

In early 2014, Castle-Hughes revealed that she has bipolar disorder, in the wake of fellow Kiwi television personality Charlotte Dawson's suicide.

Filmography

Film and television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2002	Whale Rider	Paikea
2005	Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith	Queen Apailana of Naboo
2006	'	Mary
2008	Hey Hey It's Esther Blueburger	Sunni
2009	'	Celeste
2009	Piece of My Heart	Young Kat	TV movie
2010	Legend of the Seeker	Maia / The Creator	Episode: "Creator"
2011	Vampire	Jellyfish
2011	Red Dog	Rose
2011-2013	'	Gaia	Series Regular - seasons 1-2, Recurring - season 3
2012	Rewind	Priya	TV movie, post-production
2013	'	Aroha	Pre-production
2014	'	Joan	Episode: "Slabtown"
2015-present	'	Obara Sand	7 episodes
2015	Queen of Carthage	Simi	Film
2016	Roadies	Donna Mancini	Series regular
2016	Thank You for Your Service	Alea	Filming

Awards

Year	Organisation	Award	Film	Result
2003	New Zealand Film and TV Awards	Best Actress	Whale Rider
	Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Awards	Best Actress
2004	Academy Awards	Best Actress
	Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards	Best Young Actor/Actress
	Chicago Film Critics Association Awards	Best Actress
		Promising Performer
	Image Awards	Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture
	Online Film Critics Society Awards	Best Breakthrough Performance
	Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards	Best Performance by a Youth in a Lead or Supporting Role - Female
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Breakout Movie Star - Female
	Young Artist Awards	Best Young Actress in an International Film
2007	Young Artist Awards	Best Performance in a Feature Film - Leading Young Actress	The Nativity Story
2009	Qantas TV and Film Awards	Best Supporting Actress	Piece of My Heart