Anna Paquin went to preschool.
Anna Paquin . Born in Manitoba and brought up in Wellington , New Zealand , Paquin studied at Hutt Intermediate School and the Wellington Girls ' College in New Zealand before moving to Los Angeles during her youth where she studied at Windward School and went on to complete a year at Columbia University before leaving post-secondary to focus on her acting career . As a child , she beat 5000 candidates for the role of Flora McGrath in Jane Campion 's romantic drama film The Piano ( 1993 ) , despite having had little to no acting experience prior to getting the role .