Personalities

Dare-devil Kiwis have made their names internationally in many sports and high adrenalin outdoor pursuits.

New Zealander Jane Campion is one of only four female film-makers to have ever been nominated for an Academy Award as best director.

When Kiwi shot-put champion Valerie Adams won the gold medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, she looked skyward in memory of her mother, Lilika, who had died when she was a teenager.

New Zealand is the homeland of star Hollywood actors, including Russell Crowe, Sam Neill, Anna Paquin, Temuera Morrison, Cliff Curtis and Keisha Castle-Hughes.

New Zealander Anna Paquin has been extraordinarily successfully since her Academy Award-winning performance in Jane Campion's 'The Piano' (1993).

Ladyhawke – aka Pip Brown – was New Zealand's hottest musical export in 2009.

A young New Zealand artist who produced her first national masterpiece at the age of eight, is a costume maker behind the hugely successful 3D blockbuster, Avatar - now the world’s #2 movie of all time.

Kiwi teenager Paige Hareb - one of New Zealand’s most promising young athletes - made waves in the international surfing world by claiming a place on the coveted ‘Dream Tour’.

Barrie Osborne is an internationally renowned US film-maker who moved to New Zealand while working on major film projects.

Karen Walker is New Zealand’s best known fashion designer, whose designs are worn all over the world by everyone from everyday Kiwis to Hollywood stars.