Keisha Castle-Hughes

Biography

Date of Birth 24 March 1990, Donnybrook, Western Australia, Australia Height 5' 6" (1.68 m) Keisha Castle-Hughes (born 24 March 1990) is a New Zealand film actress who rose to prominence playing Paikea "Pai" Apirana, in the 2002 film Whale Rider. She was cast in the film as "Pai Apirana" at age eleven. Whale Rider was nominated for many awards, including an Academy Award for Best Actress of which she was the youngest female nominated in the Best Actress category and an award at the Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards for Best Actress, which she won in 2004. Since she made her film debut, Castle-Hughes has appeared in various films including Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005) and Hey, Hey, It's Esther Blueburger (2008). She also appeared as the main character, playing the role of the Virgin Mary, in the film The Nativity Story in (2006).