41.2889° S, 174.7773° E

WELLINGTON

Most Famous People Born in Wellington, New Zealand

Notable people
814
Peak decade
1980s
Median birth year
1956
Most distinctive
Cricket 10.8×

Wellington's profile splits clean between cricket and cinema. The Basin Reserve and generations of Black Caps drive an outsized Cricket bench, and a harbor-club Rower scene has produced Olympic medalists out of all proportion to the city's size. The quieter story is the Miramar film industry — Weta Workshop turned Wellington into the southern hemisphere's effects capital, which is why the roster also leans heavily on screenwriters and directors.

Through the Decades

One face per decade — the most globally famous figure born in Wellington during each.

Notable Births by Decade

Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1980s with 126 notable births.

What Wellington Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Player is Wellington's biggest profession — 21% of all notables (167).

Wellington over-indexes on cricket — 10.8× the global rate.

Wellington under-produces football — only 0.5× the global rate.

  1. Player167
  2. Cricket112
  3. Actor50
  4. Politician47
  5. Football42
  6. Sport17
  7. Writer16
  8. Rower12
  1. Cricket11210.8×
  2. Player16710.5×
  3. Rower124.0×
  4. Swimmer92.3×
  5. Diplomat81.7×
  1. Football420.5×
  2. Painter100.5×
  3. Politician470.5×
  4. Writer160.6×

Profession Mix Over Time

Each band shows a profession family's share of Wellington's notable births by decade. Hover the chart for the breakdown at any decade.

1550160016501700175018001850190019502000
  • Sports
  • Politics & Law
  • Film & TV
  • Science
  • Writing
  • Music
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Showing 30 of 814 notable people

0009 SECRET AGENT

Nancy Wake

1897 - 2011

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0171 AVIACIÓN

Lowell Yerex

1895 - 1968

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0206 MILITAR

Keith Caldwell

1895 - 1980

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0230 HURDLER

Harry Wilson (hurdler)

Born 1896

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0240 WRITER

Dorothy Wall

1894 - 1942

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0342 MILITAR

Graham Beresford Parkinson

1896 - 1979

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0356 GALLANTRY

Samuel Forsyth

1891 - 1918

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0435 PAINTER

Godfrey Clive Miller

1893 - 1964

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0438 PLAYER

Umberto Calcinai

1892 - 1963

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0474 CRICKET

James Lloyd Findlay

1895 - 1983

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0477 SURFER

Jack Chalmers

1894 - 1982

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0509 JOURNALIST

Noel Pharazyn

1894 - 1980

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0522 ACADEMIC

Helen Simpson (lecturer)

1890 - 1960

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0552 POLITICIAN

John Tate (Australian politician)

1895 - 1977

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0586 CRICKET

Herb McGirr

1891 - 1964

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0635 ARTIST

Marjory Mills

1896 - 1987

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0638 POLITICIAN

Wilfrid Owen

1898 - 1984

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0671 CRICKET

Charles Robinson (New Zealand cricketer)

1892 - 1947

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0678 ENGINEER

Norman Elder (botanist)

1896 - 1974

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0686 PHYSICIAN

Eily Elaine Gurr

1896 - 1996

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0691 PHYSICIAN

Eric Anson

1892 - 1969

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0697 CRICKET

Edward Roberts (New Zealand cricketer)

1891 - 1972

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0699 ACADEMIC

Norman Richmond

1897 - 1971

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0763 PLAYER

Jack Shearer (rugby player)

1896 - 1963

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0766 CRICKET

Jim McEwin

1898 - 1979

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0768 PLAYER

Beethoven Algar

1894 - 1989

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0770 PLAYER

Sydney Shearer

1890 - 1973

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0783 SOLDIER

George Yerex

1893 - 1967

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0788 SPORT

Alexander Pringle (rugby union)

1899 - 1973

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0789 PLAYER

Harold Nicholls

1897 - 1977

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