List of Famous people born in Auckland Region, New Zealand
Dan Hooker
Daniel Preston Hooker is a New Zealand mixed martial artist. He was the King in the Ring Middleweight Kickboxing Champion and WKBF X-Rules Welterweight Champion, and currently competes in the lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As of January 25, 2021, he is #8 in the UFC lightweight rankings.
Lorde
Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor, known professionally as Lorde, is a New Zealand singer and songwriter. Taking inspiration from aristocracy for her stage name, she is known for employing unconventional musical styles and introspective songwriting. Lorde's music is primarily electropop and contains elements of subgenres such as dream pop and indie-electro.
Jonah Lomu
Jonah Tali Lomu was a New Zealand rugby union player. He became the youngest ever All Black when he played his first international in 1994 at the age of 19 years and 45 days. Playing on the wing Lomu finished his international career with 63 caps and 37 tries. He is regarded as the first true global superstar of rugby and consequently had a huge impact on the game. Lomu was inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame on 9 October 2007, and the IRB Hall of Fame on 24 October 2011.
Joseph Parker
Joseph Dennis Parker, OM, is a New Zealand professional boxer of Samoan heritage. He held the WBO heavyweight title from 2016 to 2018, and previously multiple regional heavyweight championships including the WBO Oriental, Africa, and Oceania titles; as well as the PABA, OPBF, and New Zealand titles. As an amateur he represented New Zealand at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in the super-heavyweight division, and narrowly missed qualification for the 2012 Summer Olympics.
KJ Apa
Keneti James Fitzgerald Apa is a New Zealand actor, singer, and musician. He began acting playing Kane Jenkins in the New Zealand primetime soap opera Shortland Street from 2013 to 2015. In 2016, Apa was cast in the lead role of Archie Andrews in the CW drama series Riverdale. In film, Apa has starred in A Dog's Purpose (2017), The Hate U Give (2018), and I Still Believe (2020).
Martin Henderson
Martin Henderson is a New Zealand actor known for his roles on the ABC medical drama Off the Map as Dr. Ben Keeton, the ABC medical drama Grey's Anatomy as Dr. Nathan Riggs, the Netflix romantic drama Virgin River as Jack Sheridan and for his performance as Noah Clay in the 2002 horror film The Ring, while remaining known in his home country for his teenage role as Stuart Neilson in the soap opera Shortland Street.
Anne Wyllie
Anne Louise Wyllie is a New Zealand microbiologist who has worked on community studies to better understand pneumococcal disease. She is part of the Public Health Modeling Unit at Yale University. She is best known for developing the SalivaDirect PCR method of testing saliva for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
Antony Starr
Antony Starr is a New Zealand actor best known for his starring role in Amazon Prime Video's original series The Boys, which is based on the comic book series of the same name, playing the superhero Homelander. In his own country, he is best known for his dual role as twins Jethro and Van West in New Zealand's comedy/drama Outrageous Fortune and Billy Newwood in Without a Paddle. He was the series lead, Lucas Hood, in the four season run of Banshee.
Rosé
Roseanne Park, better known by the mononym Rosé (Korean: 로제), is a New Zealand singer based in South Korea. Born in New Zealand and raised in Australia, Rosé signed with South Korean label YG Entertainment following an audition in 2012, training there for four years. She eventually made her debut as a vocalist in the girl group Blackpink in August 2016. As a solo artist, she has featured in labelmate G-Dragon's 2012 track "Without You", which peaked at number ten on the Gaon Digital Chart.
Bundee Aki
Bundee Aki is a professional rugby union player who plays for Connacht in the Pro14 and the Ireland national team. Aki was born and grew up in New Zealand, of Samoan descent, and qualified for Ireland through residency. A centre, he has also played for New Zealand provincial team Counties Manukau and for the Chiefs in Super Rugby.