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.
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.
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.
- Sports
- Politics & Law
- Film & TV
- Science
- Writing
- Music
- Other
- Filtered to 1910s Clear ×
Bill Pickering (rocket scientist)
1910 - 2004
Derek Freeman
1916 - 2001
Jack Marshall
1912 - 1988
Nicky Barr
1915 - 2006
John Karlsen
1919 - 2017
Ralph Grey, Baron Grey of Naunton
1910 - 1999
Ronald L. Meek
1917 - 1978
Selwyn Toogood
1916 - 2001
Richard Barrer
1910 - 1996
Sydney Goodsir Smith
1915 - 1975
John Edwin Ashley Williams
1919 - 1944
Alan Brash
1913 - 2002
Avis Higgs
1918 - 2016
Ian Bruce Ferguson
1917 - 1988
Harry Hawthorn
1910 - 2006
Jack Griffiths (rugby union)
1912 - 2001
Roy Cowan
1918 - 2006
Michael Miles
1919 - 1971
Patrick Jameson
1912 - 1996
Avis Acres
1910 - 1994
Woolf Fisher
1912 - 1975
Hepi Te Heuheu
1919 - 1997
Brian Carbury
1918 - 1961
Philip Adams
1915 - 2001
Doug Zohrab
1917 - 2008
Frank Gill (politician)
1917 - 1982
Alexander Charles Begg
1912 - 1991
Hilda Thompson
1919 - 2004
Lance Adams-Schneider
1919 - 1995
Thomas Pitt Cholmondeley-Tapper
1910 - 2001
Dot Bailey
1916 - 2009
Mick Connelly
1916 - 2003
Bernard Griffiths
1910 - 1982
Agnes Ell
1917 - 2003
Douglas Dumbleton
1918 - 2005
Bill Tricklebank
1915 - 1986
Jack Ashenden
1911 - 1992
Ernest Bezzant
1917 - 2002
Joey Sadler
1914 - 2007
Bill Rainbird
1916 - 1997
Frederick Byerley
1910 - 1994
Denis McGrath (lawyer)
1910 - 1986
Jack Parker (boxer)
1915 - 1993
Nancy Fleming
Born 1918