# Anna Paquin
**Anna Paquin** (born 1982) is a Canadian-born, New Zealand-raised actress and producer who won the [Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress](https://www.edgepedia.org/academy-award-for-best-supporting-actress) at age 11 for her first film, *The Piano* (1993), and later starred as [Sookie Stackhouse](https://www.edgepedia.org/sookie-stackhouse) in HBO's *True Blood* (2008–2014).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001593/) • [2](https://www.nzonscreen.com/profile/anna-paquin/) IMDb describes her as the first millennial to receive an Academy Award nomination for acting, and the first to win.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001593/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1982, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada; raised in Wellington, New Zealand[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001593/) • [6](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/anna-paquin/) |
| Breakthrough | Cast from about 5,000 applicants as Flora McGrath in Jane Campion's *The Piano* (1993), her first acting job at age nine[8](https://dish.co.nz/assets/Digital-Cookbooks/FC-Womens-Day.pdf) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001593/) |
| Academy Award | Best Supporting Actress, 1994, for *The Piano*; second youngest winner of a main acting Oscar, after Tatum O'Neal[5](https://www.tribute.ca/people/biography/anna-paquin/3313/) • [2](https://www.nzonscreen.com/profile/anna-paquin/) |
| Television lead | Sookie Stackhouse in *True Blood* (HBO, 2008–2014), seven seasons; Golden Globe in 2009 for the role[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/anna_paquin) • [2](https://www.nzonscreen.com/profile/anna-paquin/) |
| Franchise work | Rogue in the *X-Men* films, including *X2: X-Men United* (2003), *X-Men: The Last Stand* (2006), and *X-Men: Days of Future Past* (2014)[3](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/170189-Anna-Paquin) • [7](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/what-to-watch-with-anna-paquin/) |
| Producing | Producer credits include *Blue State* (2007), *Free Ride* (2014), *The Parting Glass* (2018), *Bellevue* (2017), and the six-part series *Flack* (2019–2020)[9](https://goldenglobes.com/articles/hfpa-conversation-anna-paquin-team-player/) |
| Emmy recognition | Nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie (2007) as Elaine Goodale in HBO's *Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee*[10](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/anna-paquin) |
## Early life and The Piano
Paquin was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, to Mary Brophy, an English teacher from Wellington, New Zealand, and Brian Paquin, a Canadian physical education teacher; she moved to her mother's native country when she was four years old.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001593/) Her first acting job came at age nine, in *The Piano*, which was shot in New Zealand.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001593/) Director and writer [Jane Campion](https://www.edgepedia.org/jane-campion) selected her from an open audition of about 5,000 candidates to play Flora McGrath, the daughter of [Holly Hunter](https://www.edgepedia.org/holly-hunter)'s character.[8](https://dish.co.nz/assets/Digital-Cookbooks/FC-Womens-Day.pdf) • [5](https://www.tribute.ca/people/biography/anna-paquin/3313/)
At the 1994 Academy Awards she won Best Supporting Actress at age 11, becoming the second youngest person to win a main acting Oscar, after [Tatum O'Neal](https://www.edgepedia.org/tatum-oneal), who was 10 when she won for *Paper Moon* (1974).[5](https://www.tribute.ca/people/biography/anna-paquin/3313/) • [2](https://www.nzonscreen.com/profile/anna-paquin/) A Los Angeles Times profile from 1999 noted that she kept the Oscar hidden in the back of her closet.[11](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-jan-03-ca-59932-story.html)
## Child and teenage roles
After the Oscar, Paquin took starring roles as Young Jane in *Jane Eyre* (1996) and Amy Alden in *Fly Away Home* (1996), followed by Queen Isabella in *Amistad* (1997).[5](https://www.tribute.ca/people/biography/anna-paquin/3313/) • [3](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/170189-Anna-Paquin) At 16 she relocated to Los Angeles, completed her last two years of high school, graduating in 2000, and then spent one year at Columbia University in New York.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001593/) Between 2001 and 2004 she worked almost exclusively on stage in New York and London.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001593/)
Her screen work in this period mixed blockbusters with independent films: she played Polexia Aphrodisia in *Almost Famous* (2000), Claire in *Finding Forrester* (2000), and Mary D'Annunzio in [Spike Lee](https://www.edgepedia.org/spike-lee)'s *[25th Hour](https://www.edgepedia.org/25th-hour)* (2002), and joined the *X-Men* franchise as Rogue.[3](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/170189-Anna-Paquin) • [7](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/what-to-watch-with-anna-paquin/) Rotten Tomatoes' profile describes her adult career as ranging from big-budget blockbusters like the *X-Men* franchise to independent fare such as [Noah Baumbach](https://www.edgepedia.org/noah-baumbach)'s *The Squid and the Whale* (2005).[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/anna_paquin)
## True Blood and television work
In 2007 Paquin was cast in HBO's *True Blood*, which concluded shooting its seventh and final season in 2014.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001593/) She played Sookie Stackhouse, a telepathic Southern waitress, in the vampire series, and won a Golden Globe in 2009 for the first season.[2](https://www.nzonscreen.com/profile/anna-paquin/) Rotten Tomatoes calls it her first regular series television role.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/anna_paquin)
Her television work around that period included the Emmy-winning HBO miniseries *Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee* (2007), in which she played 19th-century schoolteacher Elaine Goodale, a role that brought Emmy and Golden Globe nominations.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/anna_paquin) • [10](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/anna-paquin) Later credits include the CBC/Netflix miniseries *Alias Grace* (2017) as Nancy Montgomery, the British dramedy series *Flack* (2019–2020) as PR executive Robyn, Joanie Lockhart in the fifth season of *The Affair*, Mary Ann Broberg in the Peacock true-crime drama *A Friend of the Family* (2022), and Julie Watson in the 2023 film *True Spirit*.[5](https://www.tribute.ca/people/biography/anna-paquin/3313/) • [2](https://www.nzonscreen.com/profile/anna-paquin/) • [6](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/anna-paquin/)
## Film work and producing
Paquin's film credits include [Kenneth Lonergan](https://www.edgepedia.org/kenneth-lonergan)'s *[Margaret](https://www.edgepedia.org/margaret-2011-film)* (2011), in which she was top-billed as Lisa Cohen; *The Irishman* (2019) as Peggy Sheeran, working with Martin Scorsese; *American Underdog* (2021) as Brenda Warner; and *A Bit of Light* (2022).[6](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/anna-paquin/) • [2](https://www.nzonscreen.com/profile/anna-paquin/) NZ On Screen notes that she has worked with directors including Martin Scorsese, Spike Lee, and [Bryan Singer](https://www.edgepedia.org/bryan-singer).[2](https://www.nzonscreen.com/profile/anna-paquin/)
**Producing.** Paquin has produced several of her own projects. In a 2019 interview with the [Hollywood Foreign Press Association](https://www.edgepedia.org/hollywood-foreign-press-association) she described herself as controlling, a trait she said had been handy when producing movies and television, naming *Blue State*, *Free Ride*, *The Parting Glass*, *Bellevue*, and the six-part limited series *Flack* as producing credits.[9](https://goldenglobes.com/articles/hfpa-conversation-anna-paquin-team-player/) The AFI Catalog lists her as producer of *Free Ride* (2014) in addition to her acting credit.[3](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/170189-Anna-Paquin)
## Personal life
Paquin is married to her *True Blood* co-star [Stephen Moyer](https://www.edgepedia.org/stephen-moyer), and the couple has two children.[12](https://www.kinopoisk.ru/name/7228/) • [6](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/anna-paquin/) Her full birth name is given as Anna Helene Paquin.[12](https://www.kinopoisk.ru/name/7228/)
## References
1. [Anna Paquin, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001593/)
2. [Anna Paquin, NZ On Screen](https://www.nzonscreen.com/profile/anna-paquin/)
3. [Anna Paquin filmography, AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/170189-Anna-Paquin)
4. [Anna Paquin Movies & TV Shows List, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/anna_paquin)
5. [Anna Paquin Biography, Tribute.ca](https://www.tribute.ca/people/biography/anna-paquin/3313/)
6. [Anna Paquin, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/anna-paquin/)
7. [What to Watch with Flack Star Anna Paquin, Rotten Tomatoes Editorial](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/what-to-watch-with-anna-paquin/)
8. [Anna Paquin, Dish Women's Day cookook feature](https://dish.co.nz/assets/Digital-Cookbooks/FC-Womens-Day.pdf)
9. [HFPA in Conversation: Anna Paquin is a Team Player, Golden Globes](https://goldenglobes.com/articles/hfpa-conversation-anna-paquin-team-player/)
10. [Anna Paquin, Emmy Awards and Nominations, Television Academy](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/anna-paquin)
11. [Growing, No Pains, Los Angeles Times, January 3, 1999](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-jan-03-ca-59932-story.html)
12. [Анна Пэкуин (Anna Paquin), Кинопоиск](https://www.kinopoisk.ru/name/7228/)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › New Zealand actors*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license