List of Famous people born in Waikato Region, New Zealand

Jacinda Kate Laurell Ardern is a New Zealand politician who has been serving as the 40th prime minister of New Zealand and leader of the Labour Party since 2017. First elected to the House of Representatives as a list MP in 2008, she has been the member of Parliament (MP) for Mount Albert since March 2017.

Daryl Joseph Mitchell is a New Zealand cricketer who represents Canterbury in domestic cricket, and plays for the national team. He is the son of New Zealand rugby union coach and former player John Mitchell.

Shane Raymond Reti is a New Zealand politician who was elected to the New Zealand parliament at the 2014 general election as a representative of the New Zealand National Party. He has been the deputy leader of the National Party since 10 November 2020. On 25 November 2021, Reti assumed the role of acting leader of the New Zealand National Party.

Quade Santini Cooper is a professional rugby union player and occasional boxer. Although a New Zealand citizen, he has represented Australia in rugby at international level. He is a former player for the Queensland Reds and the Melbourne Rebels in the Super Rugby competition in Australia. His preferred position is fly-half.

Warren David Gatland is a New Zealand rugby union coach, formerly the head coach of Wales. While he was coach between 2007 and 2019, Wales won four Six Nations titles, including three Grand Slams, and reached the semi-finals of the 2011 and 2019 Rugby World Cups. Gatland was also head coach of the British and Irish Lions on their 2013 tour of Australia, where they won the Test series 2–1, and 2017 tour of New Zealand, when the series was drawn.

Bill Henry "Willie" Apiata, VC is a former corporal in the New Zealand Special Air Service, who became the first recipient of the Victoria Cross for New Zealand. He received the award on 2 July 2007 for bravery under fire during the War in Afghanistan in 2004, in which he carried a gravely wounded comrade across a battlefield, under fire, to safety.

Judith Anne Collins is a New Zealand politician serving as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the New Zealand National Party since 2020. She is the second female Leader of the National Party, after Jenny Shipley. Collins has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Papakura since 2008 and was MP for Clevedon from 2002 to 2008. She was a government minister in the cabinets of John Key and of Bill English.

Todd Michael Muller is a New Zealand politician who served as the Leader of the New Zealand National Party and the Leader of the Opposition from 22 May to 14 July 2020. He entered Parliament at the 2014 general election as the MP for Bay of Plenty.

Neil Mullane Finn is a New Zealand singer-songwriter and musician who is currently a member of Fleetwood Mac. With his brother Tim Finn, he was the co-frontman for Split Enz, a project that he joined after it was initially founded by Tim and others, and then became the frontman for Crowded House. He has also recorded several successful solo albums and assembled diverse musicians for the 7 Worlds Collide project; contributor Ed O'Brien, also guitarist for Radiohead, has hailed Finn as popular music's "most prolific writer of great songs".

Scott Kuggeleijn is a New Zealand international cricketer. He plays first-class cricket for Northern Districts.