The 22nd Young Artist Awards ceremony, presented by the Young Artist Association, honored excellence of young performers under the age of 21 in the fields of film and television for the year 2000, and took place on April 1, 2001 at the Sportsmen's Lodge in Studio City, California. The announcer for the evening was William H. Bassett. The hosts for the evening were Josh Keaton, Ryan Merriman, Kimberly Cullum, Cody McMains, Kaitlin Cullum and Adam Nicholson. Established in 1978 by long-standing Hollywood Foreign Press Association member, Maureen Dragone, the Young Artist Association was the first organization to establish an awards ceremony specifically set to recognize and award the contributions of performers under the age of 21 in the fields of film, television, theater and music. Categories ★ Bold indicates the winner in each category. Best Performance in a Feature Film Best Performance in a Feature Film: Leading Young Actor ★ Rob Brown – Finding Forrester – Columbia Pictures Kevin Zegers – MVP: Most Valuable Primate – Keystone Family Pictures Haley Joel Osment – Pay It Forward – Warner Bros Ryan Merriman – Just Looking – Sony Pictures Classics Patrick Fugit – Almost Famous – DreamWorks SKG Best Performance in a Feature Film: Leading Young Actress ★ Elizabeth Huett – Social Misfits – Our Way Productions Mara Wilson – Thomas and the Magic Railroad – Destination Films Jamie Renee Smith – MVP: Most Valuable Primate – Keystone Family Pictures Natalie Portman – Where the Heart Is – 20th Century Fox Kirsten Dunst – Bring It On – Universal Best Performance in a Feature Film: Supporting Young Actor ★ Rory Culkin – You Can Count on Me – Paramount Classics Rollo Weeks – The Little Vampire – New Line J. Michael Moncrief – The Legend of Bagger Vance – DreamWorks SKG Spencer Treat Clark – Gladiator – Universal Lucas Black – All the Pretty Horses – Miramax Best Performance in a Feature Film: Supporting Young Actress ★ Hayden Panettiere – Remember the Titans – Disney Caitlin Wachs – My Dog Skip – Warner Bros Ashley Johnson – What Women Want – Paramount Clara Bryant – The Lost Lover – Studio Canal Plus Thora Birch – Dungeons & Dragons – New Line Cinema Best Performance in a Feature Film: Young Actor Age Ten or Under ★ Spencer Breslin – Disney's The Kid – Walt Disney Jake Thomas – The Cell – New Line