Tatum O'Neal is the youngest person to win a competitive Oscar, earning the award when she was only 10 years old.

Tatum O'Neal received her Oscar on April 2, 1974. She was 10 years and 148 days old at the time. She played a character named Addie Loggins who traveled with a con artist during the Great Depression.In the movie, she acted alongside her real father, Ryan O'Neal. She beat four adult actresses to win the prize. This was different from how the Academy Awards handled child actors in the past.Before this, the Academy gave children Honorary Juvenile Awards. Shirley Temple received one of these miniature trophies in 1935 when she was 6 years old. These were special gifts rather than prizes won through a vote against adults.Since O'Neal's win, very few children have reached the same level. Anna Paquin won an Oscar at age 11 in 1994. Quvenzhané Wallis was nominated for Best Actress at age 9 in 2013 but did not win the award.