List of Famous people born in New Zealand

Samuel Lawrence Whitelock is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays as a lock for the Crusaders in Super Rugby in New Zealand. Whitelock has captained the Crusaders and All Blacks in five international games, having earned selection for New Zealand through playing in the Mitre 10 Cup for Canterbury.

Dame Valerie Kasanita Adams is a New Zealand shot putter. She is a four-time World champion, four-time World Indoor champion, two-time Olympic, three-time Commonwealth Games champion and twice IAAF Continental Cup winner. She has a personal best throw of 21.24 metres outdoors and 20.54 m indoors. These marks are Oceanian, Commonwealth and New Zealand national records. She also holds the Oceanian junior record (18.93 m) and the Oceanian youth record (17.54 m), as well as the World Championships record, World Indoor Championships record and Commonwealth Games record.

Sir John Phillip Key is a New Zealand retired politician who served as the 38th Prime Minister of New Zealand from 2008 to 2016 and as Leader of the New Zealand National Party from 2006 to 2016. After resigning from both posts in December 2016 and leaving politics, Key was appointed to board of director and chairmanship roles in New Zealand corporations.

Martin James Guptill is a New Zealand international cricketer who plays as an opening batsman in limited overs formats of the game. Guptill is the first cricketer from New Zealand and the fifth overall to have scored a double century in a One Day International match and holds the current record for the highest individual score in Cricket World Cup matches and the second highest score in One Day Internationals of 237 not out. He is known for his aggressive batting style.

Nikola Jean Caro is a New Zealand film director and screenwriter. Her 2002 film Whale Rider was critically praised and won a number of awards at international film festivals. She directed the 2020 live action version of Disney's Mulan, making her the second female and the second New Zealand director hired by Disney to direct a film budgeted at over $100 million.

Laura Dekker is a New Zealand-born Dutch sailor. In 2009, she announced her plan to become the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe single-handed. A Dutch court stepped in, owing to the objections of the local authorities, and prevented Laura from departing while under shared custody of both her parents. In July 2010, a Dutch family court ended this custody arrangement, and the record-breaking attempt finally began on 21 August 2010. Dekker successfully completed the solo circumnavigation in a 12.4-metre (40 ft) two-masted ketch named Guppy, arriving in Simpson Bay, Sint Maarten, 518 days later at the age of 16.

Jonathan Manu Bennett is a New Zealand actor. He is primarily known for portraying characters in epic fantasy works, such as Crixus in the TV series Spartacus, Allanon in The Shannara Chronicles, Slade Wilson / Deathstroke in Arrow, and Azog the Defiler in the Hobbit film trilogy.

Ma'a Allan Nonu is a professional rugby union player from New Zealand who currently plays for San Diego Legion in Major League Rugby (MLR). He plays in the inside centre, but can also cover outside centre and wing.

Dylan Hartley is a New Zealand-born English former rugby union player who played as hooker for Northampton Saints. Hartley was the captain of England from January 2016 until the end of his international career in 2018. He is England's most capped hooker of all time, earning his first cap in 2008. Hartley captained England to the Grand Slam in 2016, the first time that England had done this since 2003, and to a 3–0 series win in the 2016 Cook Cup against Australia. He announced his retirement on 7 November 2019.

Mako Vunipola is a professional rugby union player who plays at loosehead prop for Saracens in the Gallagher Premiership and the England national team. Born in New Zealand to Tongan parents, he qualified for England through residency.