Heather Rima Te Wiata (born 15 March 1963) is a New Zealand singer, comedian and stage, film and television actress.

Early life

Te Wiata was born in London, the only child of opera singer

Inia Te Wiata Inia Morehu Tauhia Watene Iarahi Waihurihia Te Wiata (10 June 191526 June 1971) was a New Zealand Māori bass-baritone opera singer, film actor, whakairo (carver) and artist. Early life Inia Te Wiata was born in Ōtaki, New Zealand, into the Ng ...

and actress

Beryl Te Wiata Beryl Margaret Te Wiata (née McMillan; 15 April 1925 – 4 May 2017) was a New Zealand actor, author, and scriptwriter. Early life and family Born in Christchurch on 15 April 1925, Te Wiata was the daughter of Ethel Laura McMillan (née Hamilt ...

. She is of the

Ngāti Raukawa Ngāti Raukawa is a Māori iwi with traditional bases in the Waikato, Taupo and Manawatu/Horowhenua regions of New Zealand. In 2006, 29,418 Māori registered their affiliation with Ngāti Raukawa. History Early history Ngāti Raukawa rec ...

tribe. Her father died when she was 8 years old, and she and her mother returned to New Zealand two years later. They settled in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

, where Te Wiata attended

Epsom Girls' Grammar School , motto_translation = ''Through difficulties to greatness.'' , coordinates = , type = State Single Sex Girls Secondary (Year 9–13) with Boarding Facilities , established = 12 February 1917 , MOE = 64 , principal = Lorraine Pound , colo ...

Career

Te Wiata first appeared on stage in ''The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie'' at Auckland's

Mercury Theatre The Mercury Theatre was an independent repertory theatre company founded in New York City in 1937 by Orson Welles and producer John Houseman. The company produced theatrical presentations, radio programs and motion pictures. The Mercury also r ...

, and later attended the New Zealand Drama School. After graduating in 1983, she went on a six month national tour, singing in ''Footrot Flats''. She made her screen debut in 1986 on the long-running Australian soap '' Sons and Daughters,'' playing the role of Janice Reid for two years. On her return to New Zealand she appeared in a number of television series including ''

Shortland Street ''Shortland Street'' is a New Zealand prime-time soap opera centring on the fictitious Shortland Street Hospital, first broadcast on TVNZ 2 on 25 May 1992. It is New Zealand's longest-running drama and soap opera, being broadcast continuously ...

'', the police drama ''

Shark in the Park ''Shark in the Park'' is a New Zealand police procedural. It revolved around the professional and private lives of a group of officers at a Wellington police station under the command of Inspector Brian "Sharky" Finn. The title came from the in ...

,'' comedies ''

The Billy T James Show William James Te Wehi Taitoko (17 January 1948 – 7 August 1991) better known by his stage name Billy T. James, was a New Zealand entertainer, comedian, musician and actor. He became a key figure in the development of New Zealand comedy and a ...

'' and ''Porters'', and sketch shows ''Laughinz,'' ''Issues'' and ''More Issues.'' Her roles in these sketch shows were written by

David McPhail David Alexander McPhail (11 April 1945 – 14 May 2021) was a New Zealand comedic actor and writer whose television career spanned four decades. McPhail first won fame on sketch comedy show '' A Week of It'', partly thanks to his impressions o ...

Jon Gadsby Jonathan Ernest Gadsby (1 November 1953 – 12 December 2015) was a New Zealand television comedian and writer, most well known for his role in the comedy series '' McPhail and Gadsby'' co-starring alongside David McPhail. He died of canc ...

and A. K. Grant and included impersonations of politician and future Prime Minister

Helen Clark Helen Elizabeth Clark (born 26 February 1950) is a New Zealand politician who served as the 37th prime minister of New Zealand from 1999 to 2008, and was the administrator of the United Nations Development Programme from 2009 to 2017. She was ...

and newsreader

Judy Bailey Judy Ann Bailey (born ) is a former news presenter for ONE News, the highest rated evening television news programme in New Zealand. Bailey joined the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation (now Television New Zealand) in 1971 and worked as a re ...

. The show won her the Viewers' Choice Most Popular Female on TV Award for two consecutive years, before she left the series in 1992. Te Wiata next spent two years working on the Australian sketch comedy show '' Full Frontal'' and also began appearing in films, including S''end a Gorilla'' (1988), '' Cops and Robbers'' (1993), '' Hinekaro Goes on a Picnic and Blows Up another Obelisk'' (1995) and ''

Via Satellite Via or VIA may refer to the following: Science and technology * MOS Technology 6522, Versatile Interface Adapter * ''Via'' (moth), a genus of moths in the family Noctuidae * Via (electronics), a through-connection * VIA Technologies, a Taiwan ...

'' (1998). Te Wiata's stage appearances have included starring roles as

Sally Bowles Sally Bowles () is a fictional character created by English-American novelist Christopher Isherwood and based upon 19-year-old cabaret singer Jean Ross. The character debuted in Isherwood's 1937 novella ''Sally Bowles'' published by Hogarth Press ...

in ''

Cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dinin ...

'', Lady Macbeth in ''

Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...

'', the voice of the cannibalistic singing plant in ''

Little Shop of Horrors Little Shop of Horrors may refer to: * '' The Little Shop of Horrors'', a 1960 film directed by Roger Corman ** ''Little Shop of Horrors'' (musical), a 1982 musical based on the 1960 film ** ''Little Shop of Horrors'' (film), a 1986 film adaptat ...

'' and directing and acting in ''

The Vagina Monologues ''The Vagina Monologues'' is an episodic play written in 1996 by Eve Ensler which developed and premiered at HERE Arts Center, Off-Off-Broadway in New York and was followed by an Off-Broadway run in at Westside Theatre. The play explores c ...

'' in Dunedin. In 2014 she appeared in horror comedy '' Housebound'' and in 2016 in ''

Hunt for the Wilderpeople ''Hunt for the Wilderpeople'' is a 2016 New Zealand adventure comedy-drama film written and directed by Taika Waititi, whose screenplay was based on the book ''Wild Pork and Watercress'' by Barry Crump. Sam Neill and Julian Dennison play "Uncle" ...

.'' In 2017, Te Wiata starred in season two of the podcast ''

Within the Wires ''Within the Wires'' is a dramatic anthology podcast in the style of epistolary fiction. In the first season, the listener, a medical inmate at a place called the institute, receives guidance from the mysterious narrator of instructional relax ...

'' portraying artist and historian Roimata Mangakāhia. Te Wiata has also released a self-titled

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

album, and toured with the

New Zealand Symphony Orchestra The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (NZSO) is a symphony orchestra based in Wellington, New Zealand. The national orchestra of New Zealand, the NZSO is an autonomous Crown entity owned by the Government of New Zealand, per the New Zealand Sympho ...

Honours and awards

In 2016, Te Wiata won the New Zealand Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in ''Hunt for the Wilderpeople''. In the

2017 New Year Honours The 2017 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours were awarded as part of the New Year celebrat ...

, she was appointed a

Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rend ...

, for services to film and television. In October 2019 she was presented with a Scroll of Honour from the

Variety Artists Club of New Zealand The Variety Artists Club of New Zealand Inc (VAC) is a non-for-profit organisation and show business club. It was founded in 1966 and became an incorporated society in 1972. The VAC was formed to promote goodwill within the New Zealand enterta ...

for her contribution to New Zealand entertainment.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Te Wiata, Rima Living people 1963 births 20th-century New Zealand actresses 21st-century New Zealand actresses Ngāti Raukawa people New Zealand Māori actresses New Zealand comedians New Zealand film actresses New Zealand stage actresses New Zealand musical theatre actresses New Zealand podcasters New Zealand television actresses New Zealand women comedians New Zealand women podcasters Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit People educated at Epsom Girls' Grammar School Toi Whakaari alumni