Oscars 2013: Records Broken for Oldest, Youngest Nominees

The excitement of Oscar nominations morning brought with it a little something for the record books: The 85th Academy Awards features both the youngest and oldest actresses ever to vie for best actress honors.

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Quvenzhane Wallis, a complete unknown who dazzled audiences in Beasts of the Southern Wild, is just nine years old, making her the youngest best actress Oscar nominee in history. The record was previously held by Keisha Castle-Hughes, who was 13 when she was nominated for Whale Rider (2003).

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The only two people younger than Wallis to ever receive an acting Oscar nomination were Jackie Cooper, who was also nine  -- but a few days younger than Wallis is -- when he became a best actor nominee for Skippy (1931), and Justin Henry, who was eight when he became a best supporting actor nominee for Kramer vs. Kramer (1979). Tatum O'Neal (1973's Paper Moon), Mary Badham (1962's To Kill a Mockingbird), Quinn Cummings (1977's The Goodbye Girl) and Abigail Breslin (2006's Little Miss Sunshine) were all ten when they were nominated for best supporting actress.

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At the other end of the spectrum, Amour's 85-year-old Emmanuelle Riva is the oldest best actress Oscar nominee in history, breaking Jessica Tandy's record for Driving Miss Daisy (1989), who was 80 at the time. Only Gloria Stuart bests her: She was 87 when she was nominated in 1997 for Titanic, making her the oldest acting nominee ever.