Keisha Castle-Hughes
02/21/2009 – Keisha Castle Hughes – 2009 Film Independent Spirit Awards – Arrivals – Santa Monica Beach – Santa Monica, CA. USA – Keywords: Keisha Castle Hughes – False – – Photo Credit: Albert L. Ortega / PR Photos – Contact (1-866-551-7827)
Birth Name: Keisha Maree Castle-Hughes
Place of Birth: Donnybrook, Western Australia, Australia
Date of Birth: 24 March, 1990
Ethnicity: English, Māori, distant Scottish
Keisha Castle-Hughes is an Australian-born New Zealand actress. She is known for playing Paikea “Pai” Apirana in the 2002 film Whale Rider, as well as for her roles in Piece of My Heart, The Nativity Story, Game of Thrones, and FBI.
Keisha was born in Donnybrook, Australia, and moved to Auckland, New Zealand in 1991. She has received New Zealand citizenship. She is the daughter of Desrae Hughes and Tim Castle. Her father, an Australian, has English ancestry. Her mother is Māori, and is also of part English descent. Keisha is married to Donny Grahamer. She has a daughter with her former partner Bradley Hull; and a daughter with Danny.
Keisha is the first millennial to have been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress (for Whale Rider, 2002, nominated for 2003’s movie year). She is also the first person of any gender born in the 1990s to have been nominated for an Academy Award for acting.
Keisha’s maternal grandfather is Kevin Thomas Hughes (the son of Thomas “Tom” Taihoa Ahuriri Hughes and Kathleen Mary “Kay” Neil). Thomas was the son of Etera Saddler Ahuriri, who was Māori, and who likely also had a Scottish great-grandfather; and of Irene Hughes, who likely was of English parentage. Etera was a nephew of Heni Materoa Carroll, leader of the Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki.
Keisha’s maternal grandmother is named Grace. Grace’s grandfather was Te Watihana “Wati” Hemi Ngapo James, who was of Ngāpuhi. Grace’s grandmother likely is Te Whanau Pani Grace Brown, who is of mostly Māori descent, of Ngāti Te Ata and Ngāti Raukawa.
Sources: Genealogy of Keisha Castle-Hughes (focusing on her mother’s side) – https://www.geni.com
Obituary of Keisha’s maternal great-grandfather, Thomas “Tom” Taihoa Ahuriri Hughes – https://www.echovita.com
Article about Keisha’s maternal great-great-grandfather, Etera Saddler Ahuriri – https://www.stuff.co.nz
Military record of Keisha’s maternal great-great-grandfather, Etera Saddler Ahuriri- https://www.aucklandmuseum.com
It’s likely Grace’s grandmother was Te Whanau Pani Grace Flavell (nee Brown) https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/187375599/te_whanau_pani-flavell
Here she talks about her family: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZE0iY_DOGNA
Grace’s grandfather was Te Watihana (Wati) Hemi Ngapo James.
Wati was the son of Hemi Ngapo and Meri Te Wetini.
Pani Brown was the daughter of William/Wiremu Koikoi Howe and Ngapera Bella Brown.
William was the son of George Kiwi Terry (Hori) Howe and Maraea Isabella Cassidy.
Hori was the son of Hone Kaora Howe/Kiwi (son of George Terry Howe and Tawariki Kiwi) and Tamar Cowell (daughter of John Vittoria Cowell from Brompton, England and Keke Tumohe)
George Terry Howe was the son of George Howe (an Australian convict who was born on Nevis in the West Indies to Captain Thomas Howe from Nottingham, England and Ann Risdon) and of Elizabeth Easton Hastings (also a convict) from Kent, England.
Maraea Cassidy was the daughter of Mapi (Murphy) Cassidy and Ihapera Moku Mahima.
Murphy was the son of Thomas Edward Cassidy from Meath, Ireland and Maraea Te Kuri o te Wao Paehangi.
Ngapera Brown was the daughter of Robert/Ropata Brown and Te Ra Horiana. Robert was the son of Hauauru Robert Brown and Ngataua Aupai. Hauauru was the son of Robert Brown and Rangiawhina.
Te Whanau Pani was Grace’s grandmother (not Grace herself). Grace was likely named after Te Whanau Pani Brown.
Grace’s father is one of Te Whanau Pani’s sons.
https://www.geni.com/family-tree/canvas/6000000012260025201
They all had children very young. Keisha’s mother Desrae had Keisha at 20, Desrae’s mother Grace also likely had Desrae at 20. Grace’s father also likely had Grace at 20 and Te Whanau Pani had Grace’s father also at 20. Te Whanau Pani is of Ngāti Te Ata and Ngāti Raukawa. In the interview 100 year old Te Whanau Pani explains that she’s also distantly of various sub-tribes of Ngāti Maniapoto, Waikato Tainui and Ngāpuhi. Te Watihana James was of Ngāpuhi.
Her grandfather or great-grandfather may be Thomas “Tom” Taihoa Ahuriri Hugues. Someone with a Pressreader account could check it.
Thomas “Tom” Taihoa Ahuriri Hughes is indeed Keisha’s great-grandfather. Thomas was the son of Etera Saddler Ahuriri and Irene Hughes who married in 1922. Etera then married Ti Mauhea/Mohea (Lena) White in 1926. Irene died in 1923 the year Thomas was born.
Article about Etera: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/last-post-first-light/105372712/digital-memorial-to-reconnect-whnau-to-stories-of-mori-war-vets
This is a picture of Etera and Irene: https://scontent.fbru2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/46074244_10157075399686929_1016587169478737920_o.jpg?_nc_cat=105&_nc_sid=19026a&_nc_ohc=UTJ9oCXF7ScAX-U3Qfb&_nc_ht=scontent.fbru2-1.fna&oh=ec3c1261b0fd6019d7602d068f98b5a6&oe=5F376B8D
War memorial for Etera Hughes: https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/online-cenotaph/record/C35859 it mentions that he’s the nephew of Lady Carroll aka Hēni Materoa Te Huinga. https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/3c5/carroll-heni-materoa
Keisha’s grandmother is Grace James. Keisha’s grandfather is Kevin Thomas Hughes. I think Kinnie is her step-grandmother.
https://www.echovita.com/nz/obituaries/ni/auckland/thomas-taihoa-hughes-8304366
Oops I meant Thomas and Kay not Etera and Irene.
Irene Hughes was likely the daughter of John Henry Hughes and Jane Gammell Cockburn from Invercargill, New Zealand. They were of English descent.
I also wrote Etera Hughes instead of Etera Ahuriri to clarify he’s not a Hughes. Hughes was Irene’s maiden name.
Thomas (Tom) Taihoa Ahuriri Hughes was married to Kathleen (Kay) Mary Neil.
Also Keisha’s birth name is Keisha Maree Castle-Hughes.
Grace is Māori from what I can tell but her name is too common to research.
I think Etera’s parents were Henare Te Kawakawa Mai Tawhiti Ahuriri Potae and Hiria Tirahika Hori Te Mataku. Henare’s father was a whaler and his mother was Hoana Whakama Te Horua. Potae is his step-father’s name. Hiria was the daughter of Hori (George) Te Mataku and Ani Patene Ngareta Durie. Her father was Robert Adamson Durie from Scotland.
Henare and Hiria had a lot of children born between 1890 and 1917. Etera was born in 1894. Ahuriri is an uncommon name and the children are all born in Gisborne.
The person that created the profile also carries the name Sadlier/Saddler.
https://www.geni.com/people/Henare-Ahuriri/6000000047719732863
@comrade
Excuse me if I ask you something about Dan Carter for the 7272 time, but do you think his father is a man of only British Isles descent? Look at him by the side: https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/neville-carter-shakes-hands-with-son-dan-carter-of-new-zealand-after-picture-id450034177
Odd.
@andrew I wouldn’t say he looks Māori. He has a wide face/jaw which is common in Māori but doesn’t make him Māori. I think the confusion comes from the fact that Dan’s great grandfather was Huia Gilbert Dalley. Huia is a Māori name but his parents are listed as Charlotte Maria and Charles Thomas Dalley.
1897/17415 Dalley Huia Gilbert Charlotte Maria Charles Thomas
I think he has an extremely odd skull structure for an European person. But it happens (unless we miss something): https://ethnicelebs.com/chris-coleman
It’s curious how Huia is the only child out of seven with a non European name
It is curious but it’s not uncommon for non-Māori to have Māori names. Mako Vunipola is Tongan and his middle name is Wānanga-rua-i-Whanga-nui-a-tara which is Māori but he’s Tongan.
Sure. Pacific Islander rugby players names are curious indeed: from Napolioni Nalaga to Campese Ma’afu and more recently DuPlessis Kirifi is a good one too.
I did not remember that trivia about Mako Vunipola. I even added him here.
Joe Moody has a cool full name if you know it.
Dan Carter’s great-great-grandfather John Carter might have been part Indigenous Australian?
https://www.geni.com/people/John-Carter/6000000020431545633
I have considered it. In fact no fully European person has his dad’s skull structure.
If so, Dan’s father would be 1/8 part Indigenous Australian. But besides John Carter’s birthplace, we know nothing about him.
There’s a familysearch.org tree that lists John Carter’s parents as Francis Carter and Mary Ann Grimes from Northern Ireland.
https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/L17M-X68
She’s cute. She was in Star Wars.
The Castle surname originated from Kassel, Germany. So she is also of some amount German descent.
beutiful