16 Actors Who Were Oscar Nominated As Children

There is probably no actor or actress who doesn’t dream of winning an Oscar — or at least being nominated for the most significant award in the world of cinema. When the talented British actress Kate Winslet received her statuette, aged 33, she confessed that she rehearsed a thank you speech in the bathroom several times, using a shampoo bottle as if it were the Oscars, and that since she was 8 years old.

However, some movie stars didn’t have to dream about this moment for long: the chance to win an Oscar came when they were still children.

O awesome.club listed 16 very young winners and nominees for the top American and world film awards, something that many artists are jealous of.

Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for “The Piano” at age 11

Long before she became the star of the films “X-Men” and the vampire series “True Blood”, actress Anna Paquin acted in the film “The Piano”. The film received eight Oscar nominations for the 1994 ceremony, including Best Supporting Actress. The young woman won the prize. Thus, she became one of eight actresses in film history who received an Oscar for her breakout role. She was also the second youngest actress to be awarded the statuette.

Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for the film “To Kill a Mockinbird, 1962), at age 10.

The American actress gained fame after debuting in the film based on the book “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee. In 1962, she played the role of Scout and, at the time, became the youngest actress to be nominated for an Oscar. Mary Badham lost the Best Supporting Actress award to Patty Duke, who won for her performance in “The Miracle Worker” at the 1963 ceremony.

Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for the film “Taxi Driver”, at age 14.

Jodie Foster received her first Oscar nomination for playing a 12-year-old call girl in the 1976 film Taxi Driver. Robert De Niro played the lead role. The actress failed to win the award on the first attempt. Years later, she got the chance to give a thank you speech on stage when she won two awards. In 1977, when she ran for “Taxi Driver”, the best supporting actress was Beatrice Straight, who starred in “Network”.

Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for “Indomitable” (True Gift, 2010), at age 14.

Actress, model and singer Hailee Steinfeld is very well known today, but in 2010 she was not yet famous. Everything changed after acting in the film “Indomitable” (also known as “Indomitable Bravura” in Brazil – in the original, True Grit), by the Coen brothers. Her debut in a film of this importance immediately earned her an Oscar nomination. In total, the work received ten nominations and, amazingly, it did not receive any statuette. Hailee lost the best supporting actress award at the 2011 ceremony to Melissa Leo, who starred in “The Fighter”.

Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for “Infamy” (These Three, 1936), at age 14.

Bonita Granville was born into a family of actors, which gave her an early career advantage. As might be expected, she started early, at the age of 9. After her role as Mary Tilford in the 1936 film “Infamy” (These Three), Granville received her first and, sadly, last Oscar nomination. At the 1937 ceremony, she was surpassed by Gale Sondegaard, who appeared in the film “Anthony Adverse”.

Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for the film “Cursed Tara” (Bad Seed, 1956), at age 11.

To be nominated for an Oscar at the age of 11 is an achievement. But unfortunately, in Patty McCormack’s career, it was the only opportunity. At the 1957 ceremony, the young actress did not take the statuette, and throughout her career, she could not achieve the same success again. The best supporting actress that year was Dorothy Malone for the film “Written on the Wind”.

Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for the film “The Sixth Sense” (1999), at age 11.

Despite his spectacular performance as Cole, a boy who can see the dead in The Sixth Sense, Haley Joel Osment was left without an Oscar. However, this did not prevent the actor from entering the history of world cinema: it is unlikely that there is a person in the world who does not know his famous phrase: “I see dead people”. The winner for Best Supporting Actor at the 2000 ceremony was veteran English actor Michael Caine, who starred in “The Cider House Rules”.

Oscar nomination for Best Actress for the film “Whale Rider (2003)”, at age 13.

At the 2004 ceremony, the film “Whale Rider” received only one Oscar nomination, and it was in the Best Actress category. It was the screen debut of Castle-Hughes, who had never acted before. The Oscar nomination was a great achievement for the budding actress, but she had little chance of winning: that year, the statuette went to South African Charlize Theron, who was much more experienced, for her spectacular performance in “Monster.” Killer” (Monster).

Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for “Kramer vs. Kramer” at age 8.

His film debut as Billy Kramer, who witnessed his parents fight over his guardianship, made Justin Henry the youngest Oscar-nominated actor among all existing categories to date, at age 8. Unlike Meryl Streep and Dustin Hoffman, with whom the actor worked on the set of “Kramer vs. Kramer”, Henry did not receive the award. The statuette for Best Supporting Actor went to Melvyn Douglas for the film “Being There”.

Oscar nomination for Best Actress for the film “Indomitable Dreamer” (Beasts of the Southern Wild, 2012)at age 9.

In 2012, the film “Beasts of the Southern Wild” brought Quvenzhané Wallis his first film role and also 29 nominations for various awards, including an Oscar. The young woman failed to win the statuette, but she still holds the record for the youngest actress to receive a Best Supporting Actress nomination. However, she lost, at the 2013 ceremony, to Jennifer Lawrence, who starred in “Silver Linings Playbook”.

Oscar for Best Actress for the film “Paper Moon” (Paper Moon, 1972), at the age of 10.

American actress Tatum O’Neal won the Oscar in her first contest. In 1973, O’Neal, aged 10, was nominated for the Best Actress award for her performance in the film “Paper Moon”. To her surprise, and everyone else’s, she managed to win in that category. She is the youngest person to win an Oscar, a record that has stood for nearly 50 years.

Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for the film “The Goodbye Girl (1973), at age 10.

Quinn Cummings began her career as a child acting in television commercials. In 1977, she made her film debut in the role of Lucy McFadden in the romantic comedy “The Goodbye Girl” by director Herbert Ross. The performance gave her the first and last Oscar nomination of her career, at the 1978 ceremony, when the winner for Best Supporting Actress was English Vanessa Redgrave, who starred in “Julia”.

Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for the film “The Brutes Love Too” (Shine, 1953), at age 11.

Brandon deWilde’s career was meteoric at first: at age 11, he received his first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Joey in director George Stevens’ classic Western “Shine” (1953). At the 1954 ceremony, young Brandon saw the award go to Frank Sinatra, who starred in “From Here to Eternity”. After his successful debut, Wilde continued to work in film and TV until his death in a car accident in 1972 at the age of 30.

Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for the film “Little Miss Sunshine” (Little Miss Sunshine, 2006), at age 10.

In 2006, the charm of a little “Miss Sunshine”, played by Abigail Breslin, won the hearts of audiences and members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The film received four Oscar nominations, one of which was for the young woman, who was nominated for Best Supporting Actress. The statuette, however, went to Jennifer Hudson for her performance in “Dreamgirls”, but that didn’t stop the young actress from continuing a successful career.

Oscar nomination for Best Actor for the film “Skippy”, at age 9.

Jackie Cooper was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor in 1932, when he was just 9 years old. He starred in “Skippy,” released the previous year, and became the first child actor in world cinema history to receive an Oscar nomination, a record he held for nearly half a century. Cooper is also one of the few famous child actors who, through success, have kept their feet on the ground and “matured” alongside their characters.

Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for the film “Desire e Aparação” (Atonement, 2007), at age 13.

Her talent is indisputable, but American Saoirse Ronan has another important skill: the ability to choose the right films. After all, at 25 years old, he has three Oscar nominations for his roles in the films “Atonement” (2007), “Brooklyn” (2015) and “Lady Bird” (2017). For those who follow his career, it is certain that many other indications will come. Ronan was nominated for the first time in 2008, at the age of 13, when she lost the statuette for Best Supporting Actress to English veteran Tilda Swinton, who starred in “Michael Clayton”.

Is that you? Have you ever dreamed of being an actor/actress as a child? In which movie would you like to act?