Though child actors are a dime a dozen, a true child star can steal a scene - and even an entire movie. This list is a list of children nominated for Oscars, loosely ranked by fame and popularity. Several great actors and actresses have been nominated for Academy Awards when they were still under the age of 18. A few of these young thespians even took home the golden statue. Some of these children with Oscars were nominated for lead roles, while other stole scenes with supporting parts. Whether these talented kids continued acting for their whole lives or stopped shortly after their Academy Award nominations, their performances are forever remembered as the best of the best.
Who is the most famous child actor who was nominated for an Oscar? Anna Paquin tops our list. At just 11 years old, Paquin won the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her performance in the 1993 film The Piano. She has since gone on to have a successful acting career as an adult, most notably playing the role of Sookie Stackhouse on True Blood.
Six-year-old Shirley Temple took home an Honorary Juvenile Academy Award in 1935. At the time, she already had dozens of films under her belt, including the famous Bright Eyes. She holds the record for the youngest person to ever win an Oscar. 11-year old Haley Joel Osment was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance in the 1999 film The Sixth Sense.
Which Oscar-nominated child actor do you think showed the most talent in their youth? Take a look at this list and get in on the conversation in the comments section.
11-year-old Anna Paquin won the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her performance as Flora, the daughter of a mute, in the 1993 film The Piano.
Age: 40
Birthplace: Winnipeg, Canada
Credits: The Piano, Jane Eyre, True Blood, X-Men: Days of Future Past
14-year-old Jodie Foster was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her performance as Iris, a teenage prostitute, in the 1976 film Taxi Driver.
As an adult, she won the Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role in The Accused (1988) and The Silence of the Lambs (1991). She was also nominated for her starring role in Nell (1994).
Age: 60
Birthplace: Los Angeles, California, United States of America
Credits: The Silence of the Lambs, Elysium, Panic Room, Inside Man
11-year-old Haley Joel Osment was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance as Cole, a boy who can see dead people, in the 1999 film The Sixth Sense.
Age: 34
Birthplace: Los Angeles, California, United States of America
Credits: The Sixth Sense, A.I. Artificial Intelligence, Pay It Forward, Secondhand Lions
14-year-old Hailee Steinfeld was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her performance as Mattie, a girl seeking her father's murderer, in the 2010 film True Grit.
Age: 26
Birthplace: Tarzana, Los Angeles, California, USA
Credits: True Grit, Ender's Game, Pitch Perfect 2, Begin Again
10-year-old Abigail Breslin was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her performance as Olive, a beauty pageant hopeful, in the 2006 film Little Miss Sunshine.
Age: 26
Birthplace: New York City, New York, United States of America
Credits: Little Miss Sunshine, Zombieland, Signs, Rango
