At age 11 she became one of the youngest Oscar nominees in the history of the Academy Awards for her memorable role in 2002’s Whale Rider.
And Keisha Castle-Hughes has managed to carve out a niche career in Hollywood in the 22 years since the classic family film first hit screens.
While the mother-of-two has never quite made the A-list of in-demand performers since her debut, the 34-year-old New Zealander has appeared in a string of TV cop procedurals like Manhunt and FBI: Most Wanted.
Still, Keisha’s career has had its ups and downs, amidst personal battles including a struggle with bipolar disorder.
While Keisha is enjoying a relatively stable career now, she was once considered a troubled teen in the mid-to-late 2000s.
At age 11, Kiesha Castle-Hughes made history when she became of the youngest performers to ever be nominated for Best Actress for her role in Whale Rider. Pictured: Keisha in a scene from iconic family film which was released in 2002
She was even nicknamed ‘New Zealand’s Lindsay Lohan’ by the tabloid press after being nominated for Best Actress for Whale Rider.
At the age of 14, following her nomination and the film’s global success, Keisha became the breadwinner of her family.
Under significant pressure, she admitted to taking up smoking and drinking alcohol, as well as developing an eating disorder.
Since her head line making debut over twenty years ago Keisha has managed to carve out a substantial career in Hollywood
Three years after being nominated for an Oscar, Keisha became pregnant with her first child, Felicity, aged just 16.
In 2010, Keisha told the New Zealand Woman’s Weekly that she had quit drinking, after previously being pictured leaving a support meeting for alcoholics.
Keisha hit another low in 2011 when she admitted to being in the vicinity of a ‘physical fight’ at an Auckland nightclub that started after a patron recognised her and made a ‘derogatory’ remark, according to the NZ Herald.
She said comments were made that were ‘quite crude in regards to Whale Rider and they were definitely sexually slanted’.
After being arrested along with boyfriend Michael Graves, Castle-Hughes was eventually released without charges being filed.
While the mother-of-two has never quite made the A-list of in-demand performers, the 34-year-old New Zealander has appeared in prominent roles in hit shows like Game of Thrones and FBI : Most Wanted. (Pictured: Keisha in a scene from Whale Rider)
She later claimed she was not drinking on the night.
In 2014 she went public with her bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder is a brain disorder which causes unusual and often sudden changes in mood and energy levels.
After parts in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith and The Nativity Story, she took a break from acting to concentrate on raising her daughter.
Keisha (L) hit a career peak as an adult when she was cast in Game of Thrones
Four years later, Keisha’s career was back on track after she was cast as Obara Sand, the eldest daughter of the ill-fated Prince Oberyn in HBO’s Game of Thrones.
Following her five episodes on the megahit she won plaudits for her role in the Discovery Channel’s acclaimed 2017 series Manhunt: Unabomber.
In 2018 she returned Down Under to star in another hard hitting series for SBS, On the Ropes, in which the one-time ‘sweetheart’ played a tough boxer.
For over a decade Keisha has been based in Los Angeles and currently features in a prominent role in the CBS network drama FBI: Most Wanted (Pictured)
Shortly after Keisha returned to Hollywood to join the cast of the CBS network’s hit series FBI.
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'It's just feast or famine': Keisha Castle-Hughes says despite her success in television she always has a fear she will never land another role
She now stars in FBI spin off FBI: Most Wanted.
Reflecting on her career low points in 2012, Keisha said, ‘By the time I was 14, I’d become the breadwinner for my whole family. Everything was about Keisha – it took me a long time to realise I was having my own problems.
‘That was really hard for [my parents] to understand. Why I was having this seemingly charmed life while they were all at home not knowing if there was enough money for dinner? It tore my family completely apart.’
Keisha welcomed her second child Matilda with husband of three years Donny Grahamer in 2021.
She was previously married to Jonathan Morrison, from 2013 – 2016.
The father of her first child was Bradley Hull. Castle-Hughes and Hull broke up in 2010 after seven years together.