ACADEMY AWARDS 'Whale Rider' actress joins history of youths at Oscars

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- At 13, Keisha Castle-Hughes is the youngest best-actress nominee in Academy Award history, for playing a New Zealand girl who bucks Maori tradition to lead her tribe in "Whale Rider."
If she wins, she'll be the youngest person to receive a best-actress Oscar, beating Marlee Matlin, who was 21 in 1986 when she won for "Children of a Lesser God."
In the best actor category, the youngest winner was not so young: 29-year-old Adrien Brody for "The Pianist" in 2002.
Other young stars who have been recognized by Oscar over the years:
UJustin Henry: The youngest nominee ever, Justin was 8 when nominated as best supporting actor for 1979's "Kramer vs. Kramer." It proved to be a battle for the ages: He lost to 79-year-old Melvyn Douglas in "Being There."
UTatum O'Neal and Linda Blair: At 10, supporting-actress winner Tatum remains the youngest Oscar recipient for 1973's "Paper Moon." She beat out Linda, who was 15 when nominated for her role in "The Exorcist."
UMary Badham and Patty Duke: In 1962, there was another child-actor showdown when 10-year-old Mary, nominated for supporting actress in "To Kill a Mockingbird," lost to 16-year-old Patty for her role in "The Miracle Worker."
UJackie Cooper: One of the first youngsters to be recognized by the Academy. He was 9 when nominated for best actor in "Skippy" (1930-31) but lost to Lionel Barrymore in "A Free Soul."
UAnna Paquin: She was 11 when she won the supporting-actress Oscar in 1993 for "The Piano."
UHaley Joel Osment: another 11-year-old. In 1999 Haley was nominated as best supporting actor for "The Sixth Sense," but lost to Michael Caine in "The Cider House Rules."