In addition to her awards-caliber performances detailed below, '90s moviegoers might also remember Anna Paquin from Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous. Remember when her character accidentally spilled the beans that the young reporter (Patrick Fugit) was holed up in a hotel room full of women — by shouting out her need for "coffee!"
The Oscar-winning, Canadian-born New Zealand actress can do comedy, horror, drama and more — and we can't wait to see what's next for Paquin. In the meantime, here's a closer look at her best performances to date.
5 Flack (2019-2020)
Ever wonder what the real story is behind those celebrity gossip columns? Flack has all the dirt, centering on four quick-witted and relentless publicists (led by Paquin) who are tasked to make the best of their celebrity clients' terrible decisions. Paquin is dynamite in both seasons as a cocaine-addicted publicist with a poor tendency to cause destruction to her personal life, along with those around her. We hope to see her in a third season, as folks in the entertainment industry can surely relate to the Hollywood-type crises Paquin's Robin deals with every day.
4 Fly Away Home (1996)
This beloved family film follows 13-year-old Amy (Paquin), whose mom's death leads her to Canada to live with her father (Jeff Daniels), an eccentric inventor she barely knows. She is miserable in her new life — that is, until she discovers a nest of goose eggs that were abandoned when developers began tearing up a local forest. Fly Away Home is inspired by real-life experiences of Bill Lishman — who trained Canadian geese in the '80s to follow his ultralight aircraft — as well as Dr. William J.L. Sladen, a British-born zoologist who, per Washington Post, aided Lishman with the migration. Following the success of Jane Campion's The Piano, Paquin continued her '90s hot streak with Fly Away Home.
3 X-Men (2000)
The original X-Men live-action film will always hold a special place in fans' hearts due to its dark, edgy nature that isn't often seen in Marvel movies today. Bryan Singer's hit film follows Wolverine (a dynamite Hugh Jackman) joining the X-Men after Magneto (Ian McKellen) attempts to attack him and a young mutant named Rogue (Paquin). Magneto is assisted by the Brotherhood, which includes Mystique (Rebecca Romijn) and Sabertooth. More than 20 years later, cinephiles still credit the first X-Men movie for opening the superhero floodgates. Paquin's scenes with Jackman are a hoot to watch, as she brings a genuine heart to the film's otherworldly nature.
2 True Blood (2008-2014)
Fun fact: Paquin met her real-life husband Stephen Moyer on True Blood. "We met screen testing for the show. We were both single at the time, and there was just this kind of spark,” co-star Moyer once told People, adding that things really started to sizzle when filming began. "I didn’t see her for three months, and she had gone from having dark hair to this beautiful blond, and I had gone from being blond to this dark vampire. By day three or four – oh, this is going to sound so syrupy – but I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her."
Based on the Sookie Stackhouse novel series by Charlaine Harris, HBO's hit show delighted fans with its tales of vampires, werewolves, and fairies. The popular supernatural series ran for seven seasons, airing from 2008 to 2014. The series is a gory, funny and brilliant take on the vampire story, incorporating themes of civil rights. Although the original series may have overstayed its welcome, we'd surely be excited to see a potential True Blood reboot. Paquin lead a pitch-perfect cast the first time around — there's no denying that.
1 The Piano (1993)
"We can't leave the piano!" Young Paquin's iconic line is just one of the memorable moments in Campion's award-winning period piece. Also starring Holly Hunter, Harvey Keitel and Sam Neill, The Piano focuses on a mute Scottish woman who travels to a remote part of New Zealand with her young daughter after her arranged marriage to a frontiersman. It was a critical and commercial success, grossing $140 million worldwide against just a $7 million budget. In 1993, the film won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, making Campion the first woman director to ever receive the award. Paquin was 11 years old at the time and remains the second-youngest actor to win an Oscar in a competitive category.