List of Famous people born in Manawatū-Whanganui Region, New Zealand

Scott Ludlam is a New Zealand born Australian former politician. A member of the Australian Greens, he was a senator in the Australian Senate from July 2008 to July 2017, and served as Deputy Leader of the Australian Greens. Ludlam represented the state of Western Australia and resigned when it was found that he had been ineligible to sit in the Senate due to holding dual citizenship of New Zealand and Australia.

James Allen Ward VC was a New Zealand recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" that could be awarded at the time to personnel of the British and Commonwealth forces.

Carlos James Spencer is a former New Zealand rugby union footballer and most recently the head coach of the Eastern Province Kings.

Julian Arahanga is a New Zealand film and television actor.

Ian Andrew Wright is a former New Zealand rower who won an Olympic bronze medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. Wright has won 31 national titles during his career. After his rowing career ended, he became a coach and his Swiss lightweight men's four team won gold at the 2016 Summer Olympics. He is now Australia's head rowing coach announced in September 2016. He immediately coached the Australian men's four to a gold medal at the 2017 world rowing championships.

Michael Charles Corballis is a New Zealand psychologist and author. He is emeritus professor at the Department of Psychology at the University of Auckland. His fields of research are cognitive neuroscience, including visual perception, visual imagery, attention, memory and the evolution of language.

Grant Major is an Art director from New Zealand who is most famous for his work on The Lord of the Rings films. He won an Oscar for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.

Sir Douglas Lorimer Kidd is a former New Zealand politician. He was an MP from 1978 to 2002, representing the National Party. He served for three years as Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Kerrin Harrison is a New Zealand badminton player. Along with Glenn Stewart he won a bronze medal in the badminton men's doubles at the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Timothy Gudsell is a retired New Zealand track and road racing cyclist who last rode for the PureBlack Racing team. Gudsell turned professional in 2007. Gudsell has plenty of experience in track cycling and has represented New Zealand at this level.