Jackie Cooper, nominated at the age of ten for Skippy, is the only boy to compete for the Best Actor. But Cooper was a known quantity, a nephew of film director Norman Taurog (who helmed Skippy) and a veteran who began performing in Bobby Clark and Lloyd Hamilton comedies, and later in the popular Our […]

In 1999, at age eleven, child actor Haley Joel Osment co-starred with Bruce Willis in blockbuster thriller, The Sixth Sense. More than any other members of the cast, which also included Oscar-nominated Toni Colette as his mom, Osment deserves credit for contributing to what became the most popular horror thriller in the genre’s history. No […]

In comparison to child actresses, fewer child actors have been nominated: Brandon De Wilde (Shane) in 1953; Jack Wilde (Oliver!) in 1968; Justin Henry in 1979. In 1999, at age eleven, child actor Haley Joel Osment co-starred with Bruce Willis in blockbuster thriller, The Sixth Sense. More than any other members of the cast, which also […]

Jodie Foster At fourteen, playing a teen prostitute in Taxi Driver, Jodie Foster became one of the Academy’s youngest nominees. In 1977, Quinn Cummings was nominated for The Goodbey Girl, but the winner was Vanessa Redgrave for Julia. No child actress was nominated between 1977 and 1993, when Paquin received the award for The Piano. […]

In 1962, two young girls competed for the Supporting award: Patty Duke (The Miracle Worker) and Mary Badham (To Kill a Mockingbird); Duke won, thus becoming the youngest Oscar winner to date. Her record was later broken by Tatum O’Neal.