#pacificwomen

“I keep having to pinch myself to make sure I’m actually awake. The Oscars are so big – they’re huge … I’m totally humbled and ecstatic. No words are enough to explain … it’s like, wow. It’s absolutely incredible.” - after finding out about her Academy Award nomination.

Keisha Castle-Hughes was born on 24 March 1990 in Donnybrook, Western Australia, to a Māori mother, Desrae Hughes, and Tim Castle, an Anglo-Australian father. 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. 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.

#islandgirlsrock #Polynesian #actress #Māori #Hollywood #polymovement #pacificwomen #islandwomen #arts #drama #movies #tv #gameofthrones #whalerider #pacificislander #tuesdayceleb (at Moana Nui Utah)