Paquin marries true love

Anna Paquin has tied the knot with on-screen and real-life love Stephen Moyer, in a closely guarded ceremony in Malibu yesterday.

The 28-year-old, who was born in Canada but grew up in Lower Hutt, married her True Blood co-star in an intimate ceremony at a private residence near a beach.

Among the guests - many of them bearing gifts in purple boxes and with purple bows - were actors Elijah Wood and True Blood co-star Carrie Preston, with her husband, Michael Emerson, of Lost fame, UsMagazine.com reported.

Paquin's sister Katya was there with her partner, Green Party co-leader Russel Norman. Speaking from the United States yesterday, he said "there were constant helicopters" during the service.

"It was really, really beautiful, actually. It was great," the MP said. "Somehow they've managed to stay real in the middle of this unreal world. It was quite sweet."

Paquin and Moyer, 40, announced their engagement in August last year, after falling for each other during filming of the hit television vampire series True Blood in 2008.

Paquin, who went to Hutt Intermediate School, became a household name when, as an 11-year-old, she won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in 1994 for her role in the movie The Piano.

Moyer and Paquin shared their first kiss on-screen as psychic Sookie Stackhouse and vampire Bill Compton.

They delayed appearing in public together until February last year, a few months after they started dating, before announcing their engagement six months later. Moyer had proposed to Paquin at a beach in Hawaii.

Talking about her relationship, Paquin recently told Rolling Stone magazine how she felt. "I feel so lucky right now. Life is pretty great," she said.

The pair - with co-star Alexander Skarsgard - posed nude but splattered with blood for the latest Rolling Stone issue.

ANNA PAQUIN
* 1982: Born in Winnipeg, Canada (moved to New Zealand aged 4).
* 1993: Appeared as Flora McGrath in Jane Campion film The Piano.
* 1994: Won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for the role of Flora.
* 2000: Appeared in the original X-Men movie, and has appeared in two sequels.
* 2007: Received Golden Globe, Screen Actors' Guild and Emmy nominations for her role in the film Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.
* 2009: Announces her engagement to True Blood co-star Stephen Moyer.
* Yesterday: The couple marry in Malibu, California.