Keisha Castle-Hughes is a New Zealander actress and producer who is known for having been cast as Paikea “Pai” Apirana in Whale Rider, a role for which she was nominated for several awards such as an Academy Award for “Best Actress”. Moreover, she has also garnered a decent fan base on social media with more than 20k followers on Instagram and more than 10k followers on Twitter.

Born Name

Keisha Castle-Hughes

Nick Name

Keisha

Sun Sign

Aries

Born Place

Donnybrook, Western Australia, Australia

Nationality

Education

Keisha Castle-Hughes studied at Penrose High School (later known as One Tree Hill College) located in Penrose, Auckland and later graduated from Senior College of New Zealand.

Occupation

Actress, Producer

Family

• Father – Tim Castle
• Mother – Desrae Hughes
• Others – Ahuriri Hughes (Maternal Great Grandfather), Etera Ahuriri (Maternal Great Great Grandfather), Ti Mohea White (Maternal Great Great Grandmother), Prince (Periniha) White (Maternal Great Great Great Grandfather), Kay Mary Neil (Maternal Great Grandmother)

Manager

Keisha Castle-Hughes is represented by –

• Industry Entertainment Productions, LLC, Talent Management Company, Los Angeles, California, United States
• Innovative Artists, Talent Agency, Santa Monica, Los Angeles County, California, United States

Build

Slim

Height

5 ft 2 in or 157.5 cm

Weight

55 kg or 121 lbs

Boyfriend / Spouse

Keisha Castle-Hughes has dated –

1. Bradley Hull (2003-2010) – The couple was blessed with their daughter named Felicity-Amore Hull on April 25, 2007.
2. Michael Graves (2010-2012)
3. Jonathan Morrison (2012-2016)

Race / Ethnicity

White

Keisha Castle-Hughes is of English descent on her father’s side and has Māori (the indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand) roots on her mother’s side.

Hair Color

Dark Brown

Eye Color

Dark Brown

Sexual Orientation

Straight

Distinctive Features

• New Zealand accent
• Usually sports short hair

Keisha Castle-Hughes Facts

1. She was just 4 years old when her family shifted to Auckland, New Zealand.
2. At the age of 6, she started learning Maori dances.
3. She made her first theatrical film appearance by playing the role of Paikea “Pai” Apirana in the New Zealand-German family drama film, Whale Rider in 2002. Starring alongside the likes of Rawiri Paratene, Vicky Haughton, and Cliff Curtis, Keisha Castle-Hughes won several awards and nominations which include Academy Award in the “Best Actress” category, NAACP Image Award in the “Best Actress” category, and Screen Actors Guild Award in the “Best Supporting Actress” category.
4. Keisha Castle-Hughes was just 13 years old when she was nominated for an Academy Award for “Best Actress” for her role in Whale Rider and, thus, became the youngest actress ever nominated for the award as well as the 2nd Polynesian actress to be nominated for an Oscar.
5. She also appeared as Obara Sand in Game of Thrones from 2015 to 2017.
6. She is a huge fan of American actor, producer, and musician, Johnny Depp.
7. As a producer, Keisha Castle-Hughes has worked on a couple of projects like Wellwood, Prius, B*tch, and Toxic.
8. In the wake of television personality Charlotte Dawson’s suicide, Keisha Castle-Hughes made it a public knowledge that she has bipolar disorder in 2014.

Featured Image by Mani / Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0