Anna Paquin was seen using a cane to help her get around at the New York City premiere of her new film A Bit Of Light, following a two-year health battle with an undisclosed illness.

The 41-year-old actress, who was joined by her husband and former True Blood costar Stephen Moyer, made her public return after years out of the spotlight.

It has been nearly a year and a half since her last red carpet appearance in October 2022, and the rarely spotted star was last pictured in public back in 2019.

During the event at the Crosby Street Hotel, Anna admitted the last two years had been ‘difficult’ for her, while alluding to recent health struggles that had impacted her mobility and left her suffering from some speech difficulties, according to People.

‘It hasn’t been easy,’ she said. This appears to be the first time Paquin has publicly revealed that she has been battling health issues.

Anna Paquin, 41, was seen using a cane to help her get around at the New York City premiere of her new film A Bit Of Light on Wednesday, where she was joined by husband Stephen Moyer

‘It hasn’t been easy,’ the actress, who has reportedly also had speech difficulties recently, told the publication. However, a source was optimistic that Anna could recover fully from the undisclosed condition

The actress has not made a red carpet appearance since late 2022 when she promoted her project, A Friend of the Family (seen left in September that year and right in October that year)

Paquin is the second-youngest Academy Award winner in history. She won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Jane Campion’s film The Piano in 1994, when she was just 11

Despite facing an undisclosed health condition, there was optimism from a source regarding Anna’s potential full recovery. Despite this setback, she exuded elegance in an angular black sequined dress, perfectly complementing her 54-year-old husband’s attire, both dressed entirely in black.

At the premiere of their latest film, where Anna stars and Stephen directs, the couple displayed a united front. In the movie, Anna portrays a recovering alcoholic who reconnects with her estranged father, played by Ray Winstone, after losing custody of her daughters to her ex-husband and his current partner.

Expressing her enthusiasm for returning to independent filmmaking, Anna reminisced about her initial foray into the industry, emphasizing storytelling with integrity and truth. She credited her husband, Stephen, for his support on and off the set, highlighting their strong artistic collaboration.

While discussing her character’s struggles with addiction in “A Bit Of Light,” Anna admitted their foreign nature to her but drew from her experiences as a mother to empathize with the emotional turmoil of separation. With twins Charlie and Poppy from her marriage to Moyer, and two stepchildren from his previous relationships, Anna found parallels between her character’s journey and the complexities of motherhood.

Reflecting on the character’s pain, Anna found it relatable, considering the various ways individuals cope with trauma and hinder their own progress. The couple’s bond was forged during their work on the popular supernatural series, “True Blood.”

In A Bit Of Light (seen), Anna plays a recovering alcoholic who reunites with her estranged father (played by Ray Winstone) after she loses custody of her daughters

She said she was excited to work with her husband as director because she started her career on similar independent films. She added that her experience as a mother helped her to sympathize with her character’s loss of custody

She wore a black sequined dress with large shoulder pads while carrying a matching cane. Stephen was also in all black with a tasteful suit and a tie-free black shirt

The HBO horror-romance series, spanning seven seasons from 2008 to 2014, was adapted from Charlaine Harris’ renowned Southern Vampire Mysteries novels. In the show, Paquin portrayed Sookie Stackhouse, a waitress in rural Louisiana, who forms a relationship with a vampire, played by Moyer, in an alternate present where supernatural creatures coexist with humans.

Paquin and Moyer crossed paths while working on the steamy series, infamous for its abundant sex scenes, and their on-screen chemistry soon blossomed into an off-screen romance.

Moyer, an English actor from Brentwood, Essex, shared on Watch What Happens Life that he and his future wife first encountered each other during a screen test before the production of True Blood. ‘We were both single at the time, and there was just this kind of spark,’ he reminisced. Despite not seeing each other for three months afterward, once filming commenced, Moyer noticed a change in their dynamic.

‘I didn’t see her for three months, and she had gone from having dark hair to this beautiful blond, and I had gone from being blond to this dark vampire,’ he recalled. ‘By day three or four — oh, this is going to sound so syrupy — but I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. It was within seconds, really, and it just became a thing.’

Moyer has revealed that he and Anna were romantically involved during the filming of the pilot episodes in 2007, despite still being married to his first wife, Lorien Haynes. However, he maintains that they had already separated when he began his relationship with his co-star, with their divorce finalized in 2008.

The couple got engaged in 2009 and exchanged vows in 2010 at a private residence in Malibu amidst the success of True Blood, though ironically, their characters’ relationship faced challenges in later seasons.

In 2010, Paquin publicly came out as bisexual. The couple welcomed fraternal twins, daughter Poppy and son Charlie, in September 2012.

Prior to True Blood, Paquin successfully transitioned from child stardom to a thriving acting career as an adult. Following her Oscar win, she appeared in notable films such as Fly Away Home (1996) and Almost Famous (2000), earning a SAG nomination. As an adult, she balanced roles in blockbuster hits like multiple X-Men movies with critically acclaimed films such as Spike Lee’s 25th Hour, Kenneth Lonergan’s Margaret, Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman, and Noah Baumbach’s The Squid And The Whale.

At the premiere, Paquin dazzled in a sleek black long-sleeve dress adorned with shimmering sequins.

Anna and Stephen began dating — and got married in 2010 — while playing human and vampire lovers on the hit HBO series True Blood (pictured)

Moyer said on WWHL that they had an instant connection when they met at screen tests, but when they reunited three months later on set to begin filming, he nkew within days that ‘I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her’; still from True Blood

It featured edgy padded shoulders and a skirt that reached halfway down her thighs.

She matched the look with black stockings and black nail polish, along with short leather boots, and even her all-black cane suited the look.

The Margaret star wore her brunette hair swept back with a slight bump and tied tightly, which put the spotlight on her winning smile.

Stephen complemented her monochrome ensemble with one of his own featuring a tasteful black suit with slim peaked lapels and a tie-free black shirt.