Watch Keisha Castle-Hughes Videos

Keisha Castle-Hughes (born 24 March 1990) is a New Zealand film actress who rose to prominence at the age of eleven when playing Paikea "Pai" Apirana in the 2002 film Whale Rider. The film was nominated for many awards, including an Academy Award for Best Actress of which she was the youngest person 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 Hey, Hey, It's Esther Blueburger (2008), New Zealand tele-movie... MORE

Keisha Castle-Hughes (born 24 March 1990) is a New Zealand film actress who rose to prominence at the age of eleven when playing Paikea "Pai" Apirana in the 2002 film Whale Rider. The film was nominated for many awards, including an Academy Award for Best Actress of which she was the youngest person 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 Hey, Hey, It's Esther Blueburger (2008), New Zealand tele-movie Piece of My Heart (2009) and a small role in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005). She also played the main role of the Virgin Mary, in the film The Nativity Story in (2006). Castle-Hughes was born on 24 March 1990 in Donnybrook, Western Australia, to Desrae Hughes, a Māori mother, and Tim Castle, an English-Australian father. Her parents, who were never married, later separated. She was 18 months old when her family moved to New Zealand; she became a New Zealand citizen in 2001. Castle-Hughes has four younger siblings, brothers Rhys (born 21 February 1992), Liam (born 1996) and Quade LESS