Rosemary Riddell is an actor, film director and Family Court judge from New Zealand. Riddell was born and educated in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

. She began her career working in broadcasting and public relations, then went overseas and met her husband Mike Riddell in London. After their three children had started school, Riddell enrolled to study law at university, and was admitted to the bar in 1992. She worked in family law for Gaze Burt in Auckland, and in 1997 she moved to

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

to join Gallaway Haggitt Sinclair. She was made a partner in the firm in 1999. Riddell has served as a Council member of the Otago District Law Society, and President of the Otago Women Lawyers Society. She was appointed a Family Court judge in 2006, and sat in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

for 12 years before retiring, after which she wrote the book ''To Be Fair: Confessions of a District Court Judge''. Riddell began acting at the

Downstage Theatre Downstage Theatre was a professional theatre company in Wellington, New Zealand, that ran from 1964 to 2013. For many years it occupied the purpose-built Hannah Playhouse building. Former directors include Sunny Amey, Mervyn Thompson, and Colin ...

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

in the 1970s. In 2007, her short film ''Cake Tin'' won the Sandcastle Award at the 2007 Moondance Film Festival. In 2009, Riddell directed a feature film ''

The Insatiable Moon ''The Insatiable Moon'' is a 2010 New Zealand drama film, based on a 1997 novel of the same name by Mike Riddell, who also wrote the screenplay. The film was directed by Rosemary Riddell, and stars Rawiri Paratene in the leading role as Arthu ...

,'' based on a novel by her husband Mike Riddell. She has been Deputy Chair of the

Fortune Theatre The Fortune Theatre is a 432-seat West End theatre in Russell Street, near Covent Garden, in the City of Westminster. From 1989 until 2023 the theatre hosted the long running play '' The Woman in Black''. History The site was acquired by aut ...

Board in Dunedin.

References

Year of birth missing (living people) People from Auckland 21st-century New Zealand judges New Zealand women judges New Zealand film directors Living people 20th-century New Zealand lawyers 21st-century women judges Family Court of New Zealand judges {{NewZealand-law-bio-stub