Keisha Castle-Hughes was born in Donnybrook, Western Australia. Her mother, Desrae Hughes, is New Zealand Maori and her father, Tim Castle, Australian. At age of four, Keisha's family moved from Australia to New Zealand. Keisha has two younger brothers, Rhys (age 11 as of Feb 1, 2004) and Liam (age 7 as of Feb 1, 2004). She was discovered for the movie Whale Rider (2002) by the casting director and the casting assistant who visited her primary school in Mt. Wellington, New Zealand. Keisha was chosen - keishacastlehughes.com

She was a fortunate discovery for Whale Rider (2002). The casting director and casting assistant went to her primary school in Mt Wellington, New Zealand and went through a few hundred children to choose their Paikea. They found her, only because she was playing up and being smart to them: she stood out.Discovered by the same agent who discovered Anna Paquin.During an interview with Jay Leno, she confessed she didn't know how to swim when she was cast in Whale Rider (2002).In 2004, at 13 she became the youn - www.imdb.com

At 13 years old, in 2004, Keisha Castle-Hughes became the Oscar Academy's youngest-ever nominee in the Best Actress category for her role as "Paikea" in the film Whale Rider.Castle-Hughes was born in 1990 in Australia to a Maori mother and an Australian father and moved to New Zealand as a child. She was discovered for Whale Rider by the casting director and the casting assistant who visited her primary school in Mt. Wellington, New Zealand; she had never acted professionally before. She was later cast in t - www.answers.com