Emmanuelle Riva

Credit: Stephen Lovekin/Getty; Krista Kennell/AFP/Getty

Oscars 2013

Emmanuelle Riva, Quvenzhané Wallis: Differences Between the Actresses

Originally posted 01/17/2013 06:20PM

Amid the excitement over last Thursday's announcement of the Oscar nods, it was widely noted that this year brings the eldest Best Actress nominee in the 85-year history of the Academy Awards – as well as the youngest.

They are French actress Emmanuelle Riva, star of the French-language German-Austrian production Amour, who will turn 86 on Oscar day, Feb. 24, and a 9-year-old newcomer from Houma, Louisiana, Quvenzhané Wallis, star of the $1.8 million independent film Beasts of the Southern Wild.

Wallis is so young, in fact, that she had to wait until school was over on Thursday before she was able release a comment about how it felt to be nominated.

Like their ages, the performances of these two remarkable actresses are a study in stark contrasts.