In 1961, twelve year old Hayley Mills became the last recipient to be awarded the child size statuette (the Academy Juvenile Award, also known as the Juvenile Oscar) for her role in Pollyanna (1960). Mills obtained the Juvenile Oscar at the 33rd Annual Academy Awards honoring achievements in motion pictures.

At the age of 16 in 1962, Patty Duke starred in The Miracle Worker. In 1963, she was nominated for and won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her 1962 film performance. She became one of the youngest actress at the time to ever win an Academy Award of merit. For the first time, she proved that a juvenile could win in a competitive Oscar category. Duke was able to compete openly and fairly with the adults nominated for an Oscar Award.

Subsequently, child actors were recognized in all same categories as their adult counterparts, or not at all.

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