List of people from Wellington

This is a list of notable people who were born in Wellington, New Zealand, or who spent a significant part of their lives living in the region.

Katherine Mansfield Birthplace in Thorndon

(Alphabetically by surname)

The arts

Comedy

• Raybon Kan – comedian

Drag

• Pollyfilla (Colin McLean) – drag queen

Drama

• Russell Crowe – Oscar-winning actor
• Kerry Fox – actress
• Anna Paquin – Oscar-winning actress
• Antonia Prebble – actress
• Emmett Skilton – actor
• Antony Starr – actor
• Karl Urban – actor

Film

• Jane Campion – Oscar winning film-maker
• Peter Jackson – Oscar-winning film-maker
• Clive Revill – film and theatre actor
• Richard Taylor – head of film prop and special effects company Weta Workshop; multiple Oscar winner
• Fran Walsh – Oscar-winning screenwriter
• Taika Waititi – film director, screenwriter, actor, and comedian

Music

• Jemaine Clement – musician, member of Flight of the Conchords
• Brooke Fraser – multi-platinum selling singer
• Anthony Jennings — harpsichordist, organist, choral and orchestral director, and academic^[1]
• Andy Kent – bass player for You Am I
• Ben Lummis – singer, 2004 New Zealand Idol winner
• Tina Matthews – musician (The Crocodiles), puppeteer, writer
• Bret McKenzie – musician, member of Flight of the Conchords
• John Psathas – composer
• John Charles – composer
• Eddie Rayner – musician – Crowded House, Split Enz
• Frankie Stevens – entertainer, singer and judge of New Zealand Idol
• Jon Toogood – singer and guitarist for the rock band Shihad
• Rosita Vai – singer, 2005 New Zealand Idol winner

Visual arts

• Tom Scott – cartoonist, political commentator

Writing

• Ann Shulgin – author
• Ivan Bootham – novelist, short story writer, poet and composer
• Neil Cross – writer
• Richard Curtis – movie and TV writer and director
• Lauris Edmond – poet
• Robin Hyde – poet
• John Gallas – poet and educator
• Patricia Grace – writer
• Lloyd Jones – writer
• Elizabeth Knox – author
• Katherine Mansfield – writer
• Bruce Mason – playwright
• Christopher Pugsley – writer
• Sydney Goodsir Smith – Scots language poet

Broadcasting

• John Campbell – broadcaster and news journalist
• Selwyn Toogood (dec.) – broadcaster
• Dan Wootton – broadcaster and news journalist

Business

• Mark Dunajtschik – Property developer and philanthropist
• Sam Morgan – founder of online auction site TradeMe
• Peter Vincent – entrepreneur, founder/CEO of Vincent Aviation
• Dame Therese Walsh – chief operating officer for the 2011 Rugby World Cup and head of the organising body for the 2015 Cricket World Cup
• Jack Yan – publisher and graphic designer

Politics and public service

• Lettie Annie Allen – public servant and political activist
• Robin Cooke, Baron Cooke of Thorndon (dec.) – barrister and jurist
• Francis Fisher – politician, tennis player
• Jessica Hammond – The Opportunities Party politician
• Bill Hastings – lawyer, Chief Censor
• Joe Mack – trade union leader
• Jack Marshall (dec.) – former Prime Minister
• Gerald O'Brien – public servant and politician
• Nancy Wake (dec.) – World War II British agent
• Fran Wilde – Mayor, Member of Parliament
• Michael Wilford – diplomat

Religion

• Francis Douglas – Catholic missionary priest killed in World War II
• Thomas Stafford Cardinal Williams (1930–2023) – Cardinal-Priest of Gesù Divin Maestro alla Pineta Sacchetti (1983–2023); Fifth Catholic Archbishop of Wellington and Metropolitan of New Zealand (1979–2005)

Science and technology

• Rod Drury – technology entrepreneur
• Alan MacDiarmid (dec.) – scientist
• Richard Cockburn Maclaurin (dec.) – physicist, foundation professor of Victoria University and president of MIT
• William Hayward Pickering (dec.) – electrical engineer, former head of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California
• Matt Visser – physicist and mathematician

Sport

• Leo Bertos – footballer
• Jim Cassidy – jockey
• Murray Chandler – chess grandmaster
• Russell Coutts – professional sailor
• Anton Down-Jenkins (born 1999) – diver
• Phillip Drew (born 1986) – international croquet player
• Simon Elliott – footballer
• Chris Killen – footballer
• Alexandra Kiroi-Bogatyreva (born 2002) – Olympic rhythmic gymnast
• Ezi Magbegor – WNBA center for the Seattle Storm
• Melissa Moon – two-time world mountain running champion
• Jeetan Patel – cricketer
• Wynton Rufer – footballer
• Jesse Ryder – cricketer
• Jonathan Sarfati – chess master and author, raised in Wellington
• Ross Taylor (born 1984) – cricketer
• Ruby Tui (born 1991) – rugby sevens player.
• Tana Umaga – former captain of the All Blacks
• Rob Szabo – darts player

Other

• Ben Hana – a well-known homeless man
• Harold Jack Underwood (1908–1979) – clerk, farmer, toy-maker, and manufacturer^[2]
• Heinrich Franz Vosseler – engineer and oil refinery owner^[3]

References

1. J.M. Thomson (20 January 2001). "Jennings, Anthony". Grove Music Online (8th ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.42592. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0.
2. Young, Barry G. B. "Harold Jack Underwood". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
3. Lambert, Florinda. "Heinrich Franz Vosseler". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 23 April 2017.