Keisha very young to be pregnant, says grandmother

Keisha Castle-Hughes met Bradley Hull when the pair were students at Auckland's Penrose High School. Picture / Olivia Hemus

Keisha Castle-Hughes' grandmother says news that the 16-year-old Whale Rider star is pregnant is a shock and she's worried Keisha is too young.

When the Herald asked if all the family were happy at the pregnancy, Kinnie Hughes had reservations.

"No, I'm not. She's very young and it's a bit of a shock to the family."

She would not comment further, other than to confirm that Keisha was overseas filming and her mother, Desrae Hughes, was with her.

Castle-Hughes' agent, Gail Cowan, told the Herald on Sunday the actress and her boyfriend of three years, Bradley Hull, were "totally" happy about the baby, due next autumn.

It also reported other family members as shrugging off concerns about her age. She turns 17 in March.

Ms Cowan did not return Herald phone calls yesterday and other family members said they had been instructed not to say anything.

Castle-Hughes is due to start filming Hey, Hey It's Esther Blueburger in Australia this month.

Whether her pregnancy will affect her role in the film is not known.

Keisha is cast as Sunni, the best friend of the 13-year-old Jewish Esther in a coming-of-age film in which Esther secretly switches from a private school into a public school.

It also stars Toni Collette, as Esther's mother.

Castle-Hughes was the youngest person to be nominated in the Best Actress category for the Academy Awards for her role as Paikea in Whale Rider.

She met Hull, 19, when the two were at Penrose High School. Neither could be contacted yesterday.

Whale Rider producer John Barnett told Newstalk ZB he was surprised, but did not think the pregnancy would put the actor out of work.

He joked it could have been an immaculate conception, in reference to Castle-Hughes' role as the Virgin Mary in her latest film, The Nativity Story. The film opens in December.

According to People magazine, Castle-Hughes' pregnancy is just one in what it is dubbing a Hollywood baby boom.

Last week Tori Spelling of former Beverley Hills 90210 fame announced she was expecting a baby with husband Dean McDermott. Her Beverley Hills co-star Jennie Garth had their third baby, a daughter, last Saturday.

Desperate Housewives actress Marcia Cross, 44, said she was expecting twins and actress Maggie Gyllenhaal had a daughter last Tuesday.

Actresses who have continued filming while pregnant included Catherine Zeta-Jones in Traffic in 2000 and Jodie Foster in Panic Room in 2002.