Claim: Anna Paquin beat thousands of candidates for a role.

Anna Helene Paquin -LRB- -LSB- ˈpækwɪn -RSB- born 24 July 1982 -RRB- is a Canadian-born New Zealand actress . Born in Manitoba and brought up in Wellington , New Zealand , Paquin studied at Hutt Intermediate School and the Wellington Girls ' College in New Zealand before moving to Los Angeles during her youth where she studied at Windward School and went on to complete a year at Columbia University before leaving post-secondary to focus on her acting career . As a child , she beat 5000 candidates for the role of Flora McGrath in Jane Campion 's romantic drama film The Piano -LRB- 1993 -RRB- , despite having had little to no acting experience prior to getting the role . For her performance , she received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress at the age of 11 , making her the second-youngest Academy Award winner in Oscar history .   Paquin went on to become a successful child actress , receiving multiple Young Artist Award nominations for her roles in Fly Away Home -LRB- 1996 -RRB- , The Member of the Wedding -LRB- 1997 -RRB- , and A Walk on the Moon -LRB- 1999 -RRB- , and was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture for appearing in Cameron Crowe 's comedy-drama film Almost Famous -LRB- 2000 -RRB- . She played mutant superheroine Rogue in multiple films of the X-Men franchise and was nominated for a Saturn Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award for her performance in the first instalment .   Paquin is also known for playing the lead role of Sookie Stackhouse in the HBO vampire drama television series True Blood -LRB- 2008 -- 2014 -RRB- . For her performance in the series , Paquin won the Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series -- Drama in 2009 and was nominated for an additional Golden Globe Award in 2010 , as well as three Saturn Awards and a Screen Actors Guild Award in 2010 . Among other accolades , Paquin has been nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award , a Golden Globe Award , and a Screen Actors Guild Award for her work on the 2007 television film Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee and a Golden Globe Award for her work on the 2009 television film The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler . Paquin has been married since 2010 to actor Stephen Moyer , with whom she has two children .