Who Is Taika Waititi? The Hilarious Filmmaker From New Zealand

Taika Watiti could be a name you’ve heard before, but have never been too sure exactly who it is. For the uninitiated, Taika is a comedian, filmmaker and actor from New Zealand. While some of his earlier movies may have gone under the radar of some, he is now perhaps best known as being the man who’s injected some fun into the Thor movies.

So, who is Taika Waititi, where does he live, what’s his net worth, and who is he married to? Allow us to answer all these questions and more.

Taika Waititi Quick Facts

Name: Taika David Cohen – known professionally as Taika Waititi
Age: 46
DoB: 16 August 1975
Nationality: New Zealand
Height: 6ft / 1.84m
Relationship Status: Engaged
Partner: Rita Ora
Net Worth: $14 million (estimated)
Instagram: @taikawaititi – 2.9m followers

Who Is Taika Waititi?

Taika Waititi – real name Taika Cohen – is a comedian, actor and filmmaker from Raukokore, New Zealand. He was born on 16 August 1975 and moved from Raukokore soon after to grow up on New Zealand’s east coast in Wellington.

Taika’s parents separated when he was five years old and he so he was raised primarily by his mother and for a good period of time, he used Cohen – his mother’s surname – for his professional work. He eventually switched to take his father’s surname, Waititi, following the release of his first short film.

Taika Waititi Movies

Image: @taikawaititi

Taika Waititi started his filmmaking career by producing a number of short films, which started with John and Pogo in 2002. His second short film, Two Cars, One Night, which was released in 2004, earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Live Action Short Film.

His first feature film, Eagle vs Shark arrived in 2007 and his second, Boy (released in 2010) received positive reviews, especially in his home country of New Zealand.

2014 proved to be a breakthrough year for Taika Waititi following the release of the vampire comedy What We Do In The Shadows, which received critical acclaim. The majority of people will know Taika Waititi from directing Thor: Ragnarok and the upcoming sequel Thor: Love & Thunder.

Taika’s direction injected a dose of fun into the Thor movies, compared to the more dark nature of the first two movies in the series.

Taika Waititi TV Shows

Taika Waititi isn’t just involved in movies, but he has also lent his hand to writing and directing various TV shows. One of his earliest forays into television was as a writer and director of four episodes of Flight of the Conchords, an American sitcom featuring fellow New Zealand actors Jermaine Clement and Bret McKenzie.

He is a director and executive producer on the TV show version of What We Do In The Shadows. His most recent televisions credits include Our Flag Means Death as well as directing the final episode of the first season of The Mandalorian entitled Chapter 8: Redemption.

Taika Waititi Wife

Image: Cheatsheet

Taika Waititi isn’t currently married, but he has previously been married to Chelsea Winstanley, a film producer from New Zealand from 2011 to 2018. They have two daughters together; Te Hinekāhu (born 2012) and Matewa Kiritapu (born 2015).

Before this, Taika was in a 10-year relationship New Zealand actress and writer Loren Horsely, who co-wore Taika’s first feature film with him.

Since 2021, Taika Waititi has been in a relationship with British singer Rita Ora and as of June 2022, the couple are engaged. They have reportedly been planning a low-key wedding to take place later this year.

Taika Waititi Net Worth

Taika Waititi has an estimated net worth of $14 million as of 2022.

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