Beasts of the Southern Wild’s Quvenzhané Wallis is Youngest Ever Best Actress Nominee

Oscar nominations were announced this morning, and one film that might emerge as the dark horse of the evening is Beasts of the Southern Wild.

A beautifully-shot, fever dream of a film, Beasts of the Southern Wild tells the story of a young girl struggling to survive in the Delta as a massive storm approaches.

The film’s star, 9 year-old Quvenzhané Wallis, received a nomination for Best Lead Actress.

She is the youngest performer ever nominated in the lead actress category.

From the Grio:

Auditioning for the lead role when she was only 5 years old, Quvenzhané was 6 when filming began in 2010 in Pointe-aux-Chenes and Isle de Jean Charles, not too far from her hometown of Houma, Louisiana.

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Wallis will be competing for the best actress trophy alongside heavy hitters like Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook) and Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty).

Read more at TheGrio.com

Wallis’ next film is Steve McQueen’s Twelve Years a Slave, which will be released later this year. Best of luck, Quvenzhané, and congratulations for making history!

Meanwhile, Quentin Tarantino’s controversial Django Unchained received best screenplay, best supporting actor (for Christophe Waltz) and best picture nods, but none of its major African American stars received nominations.

Tarantino himself was shut out of the best director category.

Have you seen Beasts of the Southern Wild? Are you rooting for Quvenzhané?

Are you surprised Jaime Foxx, Kerry Washington, and Samuel L Jackson did not recieve nominations?

Sound off below!