List of Famous people born in Wellington Region, New Zealand
Jane Campion
Dame Elizabeth Jane Campion is a New Zealand screenwriter, producer, and director. She is the second of five women ever nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director and the first and only female filmmaker to receive the Palme d'Or, which she received for the acclaimed film The Piano (1993), for which she also won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Among her other directed films An Angel at My Table and Bright Star are the most highly regarded.
Rachin Ravindra
Rachin Ravindra is a New Zealand cricketer. Ravindra was born to Indian parents Ravi Krishnamurthy, a software system architect from Bengaluru, and Deepa Krishnamurthy in Wellington, New Zealand. He made his international debut for the New Zealand cricket team in September 2021.
Thomasin McKenzie
Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie is a New Zealand actress. She rose to prominence and garnered critical acclaim for playing the lead role in Debra Granik's 2018 drama film Leave No Trace. She has also appeared in supporting roles in Jojo Rabbit and True History of the Kelly Gang.
Peter Jackson
Sir Peter Robert Jackson is a New Zealand film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is best known as the director, writer, and producer of the Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001–03) and the Hobbit trilogy (2012–14), both of which are adapted from the novels of the same name by J. R. R. Tolkien. He is the third-highest-grossing film director of all time, his films having made over $6.5 billion worldwide.
Russell Crowe
Russell Ira Crowe is an actor, film producer, director and musician. Although a New Zealand citizen, he has lived most of his life in Australia. He came to international attention for his role as the Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius in the epic historical film Gladiator (2000), directed by Ridley Scott, for which Crowe won an Academy Award, a Broadcast Film Critics Association Award, an Empire Award, and a London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Leading Actor, along with ten other nominations in the same category. Crowe's other award-winning performances include portrayals of tobacco firm whistle-blower Jeffrey Wigand in the drama film The Insider (1999) and John F. Nash in the biopic A Beautiful Mind (2001).
Nicola Willis
Nicola Valentine Willis is a New Zealand politician who is a Member of Parliament for the National Party. Following Steven Joyce's retirement from politics in March 2018, Willis took his seat in Parliament as the next on the party list.
Julian Dennison
Julian Dennison is a New Zealand actor. He debuted in the 2013 film Shopping, for which he won the New Zealand Film Award for Best Supporting Actor. He is best known for his roles as Ricky Baker in Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016), the highest-grossing New Zealand film in history, as Russell "Firefist" Collins in Deadpool 2 (2018), and as Belsnickel in The Christmas Chronicles 2. Dennison has appeared in multiple commercials for companies including Lynx and Air New Zealand. In 2021, Dennison will make his first appearance as Josh Valentine in Godzilla vs. Kong.
Ron Brierley
Sir Ronald Alfred Brierley is a New Zealand born investor and corporate raider, chairman and director of a number of companies in Australia, New Zealand and the UK.
Ross Taylor
Luteru Ross Poutoa Lote Taylor is an international cricketer and former captain of the New Zealand national team. Batting predominantly at number four, he is the leading run-scorer for New Zealand in Test and ODI cricket.
Julian Savea
Sio Julian Savea is a New Zealand rugby union player. He currently plays wing for Hurricanes in Super Rugby Aotearoa. Savea formerly played for Toulon in the Top 14, and is a former captain of the Wellington Lions in the Mitre 10 Cup. Between 2012 and 2017 he won 54 caps for New Zealand.
Niki Caro
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.
Ma'a Nonu
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.
Mako Vunipola
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.
Richard Curtis
Richard Whalley Anthony Curtis,, is a British screenwriter, producer, and film director. One of Britain's most successful comedy screenwriters, he is known primarily for romantic comedy films, among them Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), Notting Hill (1999), Bridget Jones's Diary (2001), Love Actually (2003), Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004), About Time (2013) and Yesterday (2019). He is also known for the drama War Horse (2011), and for having co-written the hit sitcoms Blackadder, Mr. Bean, and The Vicar of Dibley. His early career saw him write material for the BBC's Not the Nine O'Clock News and ITV's Spitting Image.
Jemaine Clement
Jemaine Clement is a New Zealand actor, musician, comedian, singer, director and writer. With Bret McKenzie, as the Grammy Award-winning comedy duo Flight of the Conchords, he has released several albums and created comedy series for both the BBC and HBO. For the comedy series, he received six Primetime Emmy nominations.
Willy Moon
William George Sinclair, better known by his stage name Willy Moon, is a New Zealand-born musician, singer, songwriter and producer. He is known for his 2012 single "Yeah Yeah" which appeared on the 2012 Apple iPod advert and peaked at number 26 on the UK Singles Chart. In March 2015, Moon and his wife, Natalia Kills, were fired as judges from New Zealand X Factor for their comments and behaviour towards one of the contestants.
John Fahey
John Joseph Fahey AC was an Australian politician who served as Premier of New South Wales from 1992 to 1995 and as the federal Minister for Finance from 1996 to 2001. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1984 to 1996 and the federal House of Representatives from 1996 to 2001. Fahey also served as president of the World Anti-Doping Agency and later became chancellor of the Australian Catholic University.
Robbie Magasiva
Robbie Joseph Magasiva is a Samoan-New Zealander actor who has starred in several films and as a member of the Naked Samoans comedy troupe. He has also appeared on television and in theatre, and was the co-presenter of New Zealand's Tagata Pasifika with famed athlete, Beatrice Faumuina. Magasiva is also known for his role on Shortland Street as Dr. Maxwell Avia, which he played from June 2009 to July 2012, and for his current role as Will Jackson on the prison drama series, Wentworth, an adaptation of the iconic women prison drama Prisoner. Magasiva is the only male actor to appear in all 8 seasons.
Dan Wootton
Daniel John William Wootton is a New Zealand-born journalist and broadcaster. He was executive editor of The Sun newspaper. In 2007, he joined the News of the World. In 2013, he joined The Sun on Sunday and became editor of the Bizarre column the following year. In February 2016, he became associate editor of The Sun and in March 2018 was promoted to executive editor. In 2021 Wootton left News UK to join MailOnline as a columnist and present a show on GB News.
Emma Humphries
Emma Louise Humphries is a New Zealand association football player who represented her country at international level.