'WHALE' OF A RIDE 13-YEAR-OLD KEISHA CASTLE-HUGHES KEEPS OSCAR HOOPLA IN ENJOYABLE PERSPECTIVE.

Byline: Evan Henerson Staff Writer

On a run-of-the-mill Monday afternoon in New Zealand, Keisha Castle- Hughes figures, she'd be on a school bus headed to a friend's house.

``We'd just listen to music or watch TV, and then my mum would pick me up after work and we'd go home. I'd probably get frustrated by my brothers,'' says the 13-year-old star of ``Whale Rider.'' ``Then I'd go my bedroom, stay there all night, maybe talk on the phone. That's a normal Monday afternoon.''

She recounts the daily rundown while her hands are dipped in goo, and a technician at Fred Segal Spa in Santa Monica prepares her for a manicure. An ``Access Hollywood'' film crew is recording the proceedings for an upcoming segment. Her mother, Desrae at her side, Keisha will also get a pedicure but not the full spa treatment, since her impacted schedule has her hopping from appearance to appearance.

``It's pretty crazy. Here I am getting my nails pampered and stuff,'' she says. ``It feels pretty weird. When I'm back in New Zealand, I don't get pampered.''

Ah, the awards-season life of a young female Oscar nominee. A new face, no less, from a land far, far away.

``There is no template for this,'' says Liz Brambilla, publicity coordinator with Newmarket Films, who has been accompanying Keisha and her mother around the city. ``Can you imagine coming from New Zealand and having this incredible experience? She keeps saying, 'It's so surreal.' ''

Her turn in ``Whale Rider,'' which has her playing a girl trying to prove she can lead her Maori tribe, has earned Keisha a ton of critical praise as well as awards from the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Broadcast Film Critics Association. At 13, Keisha Castle-Hughes is the youngest person ever to be nominated for a best actress Oscar.

And with the nomination has come duties, publicity and, yes, pampering.

There are dress fittings and spa treatments, parties to attend - Keisha is booked for three later that afternoon and evening - and gift-laden goody bags to collect. She was a presenter at the Writers Guild of America and Directors Guild of America awards. The previous Sunday night, Keisha and her mother attended the Screen Actors Guild awards (Keisha, a supporting actress nominee, lost to ``Cold Mountain's'' Renee Zellweger). Midweek, she boarded a plane to Chicago for a sit-down with Oprah Winfrey.

The gift bags and baskets have usually contained items geared toward adults that Keisha doles out to her mother and aunt. For the DGA awards, she received a basket teeming with cookies and candy. And everybody seems to know of Keisha's fondness for the color pink - meaning she'll get plenty of items with pink wrapping or bows.

Outside of the United States., Brambilla says, Keisha is not big on wearing dresses. Other than bristling a bit over not being allowed to take her phone into award shows so she can text-message her friends back in New Zealand, Keisha has handled all the hoopla with flair.

``It's a little bit like Cinderella,'' says Brambilla. ``You run back, get all dressed up, head out again, come home and talk about everything that happened.''

``Even making the film was a big enough trophy for me,'' Keisha says. ``Now I'm fulfilling my dream in every possible way, and it's just absolutely amazing.'' She has completed one film since ``Whale Rider'' - George Lucas' ``Star Wars: Episode III,'' which comes out next year. Keisha plays the Queen of Naboo.

As with the Oscars luncheon a couple of weeks ago, at the SAG awards Keisha found herself in a roomful of people considerably more famous than she is. And the sometimes starry-eyed teen became a fan as well as an honoree.

``Matthew Perry walked by, and I'm like, 'Mum, I think I'm going to die.' And she said, 'Why?' And I'm like, 'Because Matthew Perry just walked by!' '' says Keisha.

``She's a perfect combination of this preternatural maturity combined with complete star-struck teenage-girl joy every time we do stuff,'' says Brambilla. ``We did the 'A Diamond Is Forever' party the other night, and Keisha did all this press, then we went inside and there was Carmen Electra. It was all she could do to contain herself at being able to take a picture of Carmen Electra. She's just amazing.''

Including this awards season, Keisha estimates she's visited L.A. some half-dozen times, but never purely as a tourist.

``I haven't really been able to see the city,'' she says. ``It'd be nice if I could come back and just go for a holiday one day without having to ... you know.''

``I went home for a week, and that was nice,'' she adds. ``I went back, and I went back to school for a week. Everything was normal for me. It wasn't hectic. Even though the awards are big in New Zealand, they're big on that night, but there's not a big workup to them.''

Besides, says Keisha, she's following the oft-repeated advice of friends and family to just to ``keep things real'' and ``not let everything go to my head.''

``I always know where my home is. That's the most important thing.''

Evan Henerson, [phone]

evan.henerson(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

4 photos

Photo:

(1 -- 3 -- cover -- color) Toe to toe with Oscar

Best actress nominee Keisha Castle-Hughes, above, gets glamorous

(4) no caption (Keisha Castle-Hughes)

Charlotte Schmid-Maybach/Staff Photographer