Isabelle Fuhrman
> Role: Esther
> Movie: “Orphan” (2009)
> Director: Jaume Collet-Serra
Isabelle Fuhrman was so convincing as the sociopathic girl in “Orphan” that at least one critic feared she might not find work in the motion-picture industry again. Some critics compared the 9-year-old’s performance to that of Linda Blair in “The Exorcist.” Fuhrman went on to roles in the box-office smash “The Hunger Games,” “Tape,” and “The Novice.” She also started a production company WHAT IF ? Productions in 2019.
Hailee Steinfeld
> Role: Mattie Ross
> Movie: “True Grit” (2010)
> Director: Ethan Coen and Joel Coen
Hailee Steinfeld played Mattie Ross, the young girl who hires an aging lawman in the American West to find her father’s murderer. The 14-year-old Steinfeld received a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her role. Following that effort, she was Juliet in “Romeo and Juliet,” and appeared in “Ender’s Game,” “3 Days to Kill,” “Pitch Perfect 2,” and “Barely Lethal.”
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Chloë Grace Moretz
> Role: Mindy Macready
> Movie: “Kick-Аss” (2010)
> Director: Matthew Vaughn
Chloë Grace Moretz gained plaudits for role as a young girl in the remake of “The Amityville Horror” in 2005. But she became a force to be reckoned with five years later as a 13-year-old butt kicker in the action film “Kick-Аss,” based on the comic-book series of the same name. Moretz trained with Jackie Chan‘s stunt crew before filming. Moretz also starred in the reboot of the thriller “Carrie.”
Asa Butterfield
> Role: Hugo Cabret
> Movie: “Hugo” (2011)
> Director: Martin Scorsese
Asa Butterfield got the industry’s attention at age 10 as Bruno in the concentration camp-themed story “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.” He followed that up with his acclaimed performance in the titular role in “Hugo,” which won five Oscars. Butterfield’s also been in “Ender’s Game,” “A Brilliant Young Mind,” and “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children.”
Quvenzhané Wallis
> Role: Hushpuppy
> Movie: “Beasts of the Southern Wild” (2012)
> Director: Benh Zeitlin
At age 9 years and 135 days, Quvenzhané Wallis became the youngest person ever nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for the fantasy “Beasts of the Southern Wild.” She was chosen out of about 4,000 children to play Hushpuppy, who lives with her dying father in a Louisiana bayou that is succumbing to climate change.
Noah Wiseman
> Role: Samuel
> Movie: “The Babadook” (2014)
> Director: Jennifer Kent
In the Australian thriller “The Babadook,” 5-year-old Noah Wiseman played a boy who, along with his widowed mom, becomes disturbed when the pages of an eerie children’s book become reality in their house. Or at least they think so. Wiseman also appeared in the films “Funny or Die Presents…” and “Spaghetti.”
