Fox Searchlight Pictures
While most fourth graders are preparing for a long day of school and maybe some kickball during recess, Quvenzhané Wallis is gearing up for the 85th Annual Academy Awards. That’s right. At the tender age of 9, she is the youngest ever Oscar nominee in her category: Best Actress in a Leading Role for her portrayal of Hushpuppy in Beasts of the Southern Wild. Quvenzhané was only 6 years old during the filming of the movie, and if she takes home the coveted Oscar next month, she’ll be the youngest winner ever. If she doesn’t win? She can look forward to filming a new flick, Twelve Years a Slave, alongside Brad Pitt.
1. Quvenzhané Wallis hails from Houma, Louisiana. In November 2012, she was honored with a key to her hometown for a job well done in Beasts of the Southern Wild.
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2. Her name is pronounced “Kwah-ven-zsa-nay” Wallis, but she also goes by her nickname, Naysie. Listen to the pronunciation below:
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4. Even though the minimum age requirement for the role of Hushpuppy in BotSW was 6 years old, that didn’t stop Naysie from auditioning at age 5. She beat out over 4,000 kids.
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5. The Hollywood Film Festival New Hollywood Award is her very first acting award. Her speech is too much:
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7. She has two dogs, a German Sheppard and a little Yorkiepoo.
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8. Naysie’s favorite subject in school is math. Her least favorite: social studies.
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9. The young actress got to pick her on-screen dad for Beasts of the Southern Wild. She went with Dwight Henry because he brought her boxes and boxes of pastries. That’s one way to narrow down the choices!
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10. Quvenzhané Wallis’ favorite part of filming was when they brought out tons of seafood for a scene. Naysie loves seafood.
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i hope she visits the jessie set soon! that was so nice of debby ryan. love her