Plenty of kids have been nominated for Academy Awards. In fact, a couple of them -- including Justin Henry and Haley Joel Osment -- have been covered right here in Rich or Rehab. With this year's Oscars just a few days away, it seemed natural to track down yet another young former Oscar nominee for your reading pleasure.
Which brings us to today's R or R subject: Keisha Castle-Hughes, who, at age 13, became the youngest Best Actress nominee in Oscar history when she earned a nod in 2004 for her role in "Whale Rider." In this weeks running up to the Academy Awards, she became something of a media darling, praised for her moving performance as a Maori girl attempting to buck tradition and become the leader of her tribe. She even got to meet one of her idols, Johnny Depp, in a live, televised moment that -- through no fault of Keisha's -- was totally awkward. (Let me put it this way: Billy Bush insisted on introducing her to Depp during the pre-Oscar show. I'll leave the rest to your imagination.)
So what happened to this Australian talent in the years after she basked in Oscar's glow? After losing the statuette to Charlize Theron, Castle-Hughes rebounded just fine, taking a small part in "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith" and a starring role in "The Nativity Story." Ironically, shortly before the release of that biblical drama -- in which Castle-Hughes played Mary in the days leading to Jesus's birth -- the actress announced that she was pregnant.
Her daughter, Felicity-Amore, was born in April of 2007. After an understandable break from the business, Castle-Hughes has gotten back into the movie-making game. She co-starred last year alongside Toni Collette in an Australian indie called "Hey, Hey, It's Esther Blueberger."She also reunited with her "Whale Rider" director, Niki Caro, for a movie called "The Vintner's Luck," which is slated for release in the UK, Germany and France later this year.
So kudos to Keisha Castle-Hughes for taking on the challenges of motherhood and still finding the time to work. The good news for her? Since she earned her first Oscar nomination at such a young age, she has plenty of time to find a role that could earn her a second.
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Images: people.com
