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Winnipeg cheers Anna Paquin's unexpected Oscar win

Urologist Wayne Paquin is getting his 15 minutes of fame thanks to his talented niece. In a surprise move, the Academy awards Anna Paquin the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance in the film, The Piano. The 11-year-old becomes the second-youngest actor to successfully compete for an Oscar. Back in Canada all of Winnipeg is celebrating her Oscar win. "She's very bright and precocious... kinda of a natural," the proud uncle tells CBC's Peter Gzowski. 
. Anna Helene Paquin was born on July 24, 1982, in Winnipeg but moved to Lower Hutt, New Zealand, when she was four years old. Her father, Brian, is a physical education teacher, and her mother, Mary, is an English teacher.
. Paquin beat out over 1,000 girls - including her sister - to land the part of Flora McGrath in The Piano, starring Holly Hunter and Harvey Keitel.

. In the radio clip, Gzowski refers to Anna Paquin's acceptance speech when she stood breathless and shocked at the microphone for some 20 seconds before speaking.
. Since her Oscar winning performance in The Piano, Paquin has starred in several films including Fly Away Home (1996), the X-Men series (2000-2006) and The Squid and the Whale (2005).

. In 1973, 10-year-old Tatum O'Neal became the youngest-ever Oscar winner. She received the Best Supporting Actress award for Paper Moon.
. The youngest Oscar recipient was Shirley Temple, who was just six, when the Academy honoured her with a special award in 1934.
. The oldest Oscar winner was Jessica Tandy, who was 80 when she took the Best Actress award for Driving Miss Daisy in 1989.
Medium: Radio
Program: Morningside
Broadcast Date: March 22, 1994
Guest(s): Wayne Paquin
Host: Peter Gzowski
Duration: 6:44

Last updated: April 2, 2012

Page consulted on March 28, 2013

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