Little Quvenzhané Wallis makes Oscars history as youngest Best Actress nominee ever Quvenzhané Wallis, 9, is the youngest to hit the Oscars red carpet. Here's her adorable interview. Watch Oscars live on Nine at 12.30pm AEST. Oscars Special 9.30pm AEST. Nine-year-old Quvenzhane Wallis, the youngest ever best actress nominee, for Beasts of the Southern Wild, wore a bejewelled navy blue Armani dress - accessorised with an age-appropriate fluffy puppy purse. Picture: Getty Source: AFP Quvenzhane Wallis in Beasts of the Southern Wild. AT just nine years old, Quvenzhané Wallis is in the company of Naomi Watts, Jessica Chastain and Jennifer Lawrence as an Academy Award nominee. The nod has made her the youngest Best Actress nominee in Oscars history, an incredible feat for an actress who is yet to even hit double digits. The pint-sized star appears as six-year-old Hushpuppy in Beasts of the Southern Wild. But she almost didn't audition. Wallis was forced to lie about her age to be in the running for the starring role because the minimum age was six. Best Actress nominee Quvenzhan Wallis arrives on the red carpet for the 85th Annual Academy Awards on February 24, 2013 in Hollywood, California. She eventually beat over 4,000 contenders to the part, with director Benh Zeitlin telling The Daily Beast that when he auditioned Wallis, he immediately realised he'd discovered what he was looking for and changed the Beasts script to accommodate her strong-willed personality Wallis' unuaual first name is pronounced "Kwuh-vin-juh-nay," a combination of her parents" first names (Qulyndreia and Venjie) and the Swahili word "zhané," which means "fairy." The cute-as-a-button star hit the red carpet this morning dressed in Armani complete with an adorable puppy purse accessory.