List of people from Wellington
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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.
(Alphabetically by surname)
The arts
Comedy
- Raybon Kan - comedian
Drag
- Pollyfilla (Colin McLean) - drag queen
Drama
- Russell Crowe - Oscar-winning actor
- Anna Paquin - Oscar-winning actress
- Antonia Prebble - actress
- Emmett Skilton - actor
- Karl Urban - actor
Film
- Costa Botes - film-maker
- 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
Music
- Jemaine Clement - musician, member of Flight of the Conchords
- Brooke Fraser - multi-platinum selling singer
- 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
- 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
- Ivan Bootham - novelist, short story writer, poet and composer
- Neil Cross - writer
- Richard Curtis - movie and TV writer and director
- Lauris Edmond (dec.) - poet
- Patricia Grace - writer
- Lloyd Jones - award winning writer
- Elizabeth Knox - celebrated author
- Katherine Mansfield (dec.) - writer
- Christopher Pugsley - writer
Broadcasting
- John Campbell - broadcaster and news journalist
- Selwyn Toogood (dec.) - broadcaster
Business
- Sam Morgan - founder of online auction site TradeMe
- Peter Vincent - entrepreneur, founder/CEO of Vincent Aviation
- 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
- Bill Hastings - lawyer, Chief Censor
- Jack Marshall (dec.) - former Prime Minister
- Nancy Wake (dec.) - World War II British agent
Science and technology
- Rod Drury - technology entrepreneur
- Alan MacDiarmid (dec.) - scientist
- William Hayward Pickering (dec.) - electrical engineer, former head of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California
Sport
- Leo Bertos - footballer
- Russell Coutts - professional sailor
- Simon Elliott - footballer
- Chris Killen - footballer
- Melissa Moon - two-time world mountain running champion
- Wynton Rufer - footballer
- Jonathan Sarfati - chess master and author, raised in Wellington
- Ross Taylor - cricketer
- Tana Umaga - former captain of the All Blacks
Other
- Ben Hana - a well-known homeless man