The 85th annual Academy Awards had some big surprises and some major disappointments, but it also served to give movie fans two new records. In the race for Best Actress, Quvenzhane Wallis and Emmanuelle Riva picked up nominations and are now the youngest and oldest actresses to ever receive an Oscar nomination. Wallis is nine and Riva turns 86 on Oscar night.
While there are many grand dames who have earned Oscar nomination, the list of children is much smaller. Here is a look at the youngest actresses to ever pick up Oscar nominations for either Best Actress or Best Supporting Actress.
Quvenzhane Wallis, 9 – Wallis is the latest, and youngest, female to ever pick up an Oscar nomination. She earned her nod for portraying a young girl in the post apocalyptic swamps of Louisiana after the levies broke. “Beasts of the Southern Wild” also picked up a nomination for Best Picture.
Mary Badham, 10 – Badham was 10 when she earned an Oscar nomination for her memorable role as Scout in “To Kill a Mockingbird.” At the time, she was the youngest actress ever nominated, a title she held for many years. Gregory Peck played her father in a role that many consider the most heroic in cinema history.
Quinn Cummings, 10 – Cummings picked up her nomination for Best Supporting Actress in 1977 for her performance in “The Goodbye Girl.” Cummings went on to work on television before finally retiring from acting in 1991.
Abigail Breslin, 10 – In 2006, Breslin picked up an Oscar nomination for playing a young beauty pageant contestant in “Little Miss Sunshine.” Interestingly, the movie, an independent dark comedy, won Alan Arkin his first Oscar at the age of 72.
Tatum O’Neal, 11 – O’Neal remains the youngest actress to ever win an Academy Award, male or female, for her performance in “Paper Moon.” She starred in the movie with her real-life father Ryan O’Neal and also picked up a Golden Globes Award for the role as well.
Anna Paquin, 11 – Paquin is the second youngest person to ever win an Oscar, four months younger than O’Neal. Her award came in 1994 for the movie “The Piano,” a movie that also won Holly Hunter an Academy Award for playing Paquin’s mother.
Patty McCormack, 11 – McCormack earned her Oscar nomination in 1956 for the movie “The Bad Seed” for her performance as an 11-year old sociopathic serial killer. McCormack continued to have a successful career since then, most recently appearing in “The Master” in 2012.
Keisha Castle-Hughes, 13 – Before Wallis, Castle-Hughes was the youngest female ever nominated for the Best Actress award at the Oscars, the other women all nominated for supporting roles. She picked her nomination up for “Whale Rider,” her debut movie role.
Saoirse Ronan, 13 – Ronan, who had acted in a child, broke out strong with her Oscar nominated role in “Atonement” in 2008. Ronan has capitalized on her early success and has starred in a number of big budget and critically acclaimed awards over the past four years.
Jodi Foster, 14 – Arguably, one of the most infamous Oscar nominees is Jodi Foster, who picked up her first Oscar nomination in 1976 at the age of 14. The movie was “Taxi Driver” and Foster won the award for playing a teenage prostitute. Foster has gone on to earn four Oscar nominations, winning two of them.
See Also:
Arnold Schwarzenegger Reinvents Himself for a New Generation
Josh Brolin Reinvents Dwight in ‘Sin City: A Dame to Kill For’
‘Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2’ Picks Up 11 Razzie Nominations
Frank Darabont Joins New ‘Godzilla’ Movie as a Writer
85th Annual Academy Awards Nominations: Best Director Snubs
