Quvenzhane Wallis

Credit: Courtesy Kelly Preston

Kelly Preston Shares Personal Oscar Prep Pics

Originally posted 02/28/2013 07:00PM

Sure there were plenty of professional photographers on hand, but did you know Kelly Preston, Norah Jones and Quvenzhané Wallis snapped personal photos from Oscar night for their favorite charities exclusively for PEOPLE?

Preston, who took pics for the Jett Travolta Foundation and Heroes Health Fund, gives readers an intimate look as she gets ready at home with husband John Travolta and daughter Ella. The three later drove off to the red carpet in their 1962 Rolls Royce.

Read More

Credit: John Shearer/AP, Andrew Toth/Startraksphoto.com

Quvenzhané Wallis to Star in Remake of Annie

Originally posted 02/25/2013 12:00PM

Quvenzhané Wallis had a very busy Sunday.

The 9-year-old attended the Academy Awards as the youngest Best Actress nominee in Oscars history. But in case you missed it, she also landed her next big Hollywood role – as the title character in an upcoming remake of the musical Annie.

Asked on the Oscars red carpet if she can sing, Wallis was charmingly coy. "I guess," she replied from the red carpet.

For its part, Sony's Columbia Pictures, which announced the news on Sunday, believes it has its girl for the 2014 film.

Read More

Credit: Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic

Quvenzhane Wallis, 9, Thanks Her Babysitter at Essence Awards

Originally posted 02/22/2013 06:30PM

We'll have wait and see who Best Actress nominee Quvenzhane Wallis will thank if she wins the Oscar on Sunday, but it's clear that she's grateful for one key person on her team: her babysitter.

"I would like to thank everyone who helped me play this part, and everyone who was there for me, and my babysitter who was on set," Wallis, 9, said as she accepted her Breakthrough Performance award at Thursday's Essence Black Women in Hollywood Awards Luncheon at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

Toting her signature puppy purse, Wallis wasn't sure if the accessory would also make an appearance on the red carpet at the Oscars.

Read More

Credit: Courtesy Nitehawk; Inset: FOX Searchlight

Beasts of the Southern Wild-Inspired Louisiana Grub for the Oscars

Originally posted 02/16/2013 10:45AM

With Feb. 24's 2013 Academy Awards drawing closer, there's no better time to whet your appetite for all things movies – literally.

Embrace your inner film buff one bite at a time starting with one of this year's Best Picture nominees: Beasts of the Southern Wild. You'll take a trip to the bayous of Louisiana courtesy of Brooklyn's Nitehawk Cinema, which is serving up Oscar contender-inspired dishes to moviegoers in celebration of the film industry's biggest night.

Pair your po' boy and hush puppies with an adults-only beverage. (Yup, that means the movie's 9-year-old star (and youngest Best Actress nominee ever), Quvenzhané Wallis, couldn't quite indulge in this gin-based treat.)

Read More

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.

Read More