Rima Te Wiata

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Rima Te Wiata
Rima Te Wiata (cropped).jpg
Te Wiata in 2017
Born
Heather Rima Te Wiata [1]

(1963-10-11) 11 October 1963 (age 61)
London, UK
NationalityNew Zealander
Occupations
  • Actress
  • singer
  • director
  • designer
  • comedian
  • stage, film, and television actress
  • voice artist
Years active1973−present [2]
Parent(s) Inia Te Wiata, Beryl Te Wiata

Heather Rima Te Wiata MNZM (born 11 October 1963) is a New Zealand actress, comedian, singer and voice artist, who is also notable for her career in Australia, her career in stage, TV and film has spanned over 50 years and she is especially known her long-running recurring role in TV soap opera Sons and Daughters as Janice Reid in 204 episodes. [1] [3]

Contents

Early life

Te Wiata was born in London, England, the only child of opera singer Inia Te Wiata and actress and writer Beryl Te Wiata, on 11 October 1963. [4] [5] She is of the Ngāti Raukawa iwi. [6] Her father died when she was eight years old, and she and her mother returned to New Zealand two years later. [1] They settled in Auckland, where Te Wiata attended Epsom Girls' Grammar School, after leaving school she initially wanted to become a dentist, and worked as a dentist's assistant [6]

Career

Te Wiata, has been a performer since the aged of 10, having sang in TV presenter's Max Cryers children's choir, by 17 she made her stage debut in a production of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie at Auckland's Mercury Theatre, and later attended the New Zealand Drama School. [7] After graduating in 1983, [8] she went on a six month national tour, singing in Footrot Flats. [1]

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 , the police drama Shark in the Park, comedies The Billy T James Show and Porters, and sketch shows Laughinz,Issues and More Issues. [1] [9] Her roles in these sketch shows were written by David McPhail, Jon Gadsby and A. K. Grant and included impersonations of politician and future Prime Minister Helen Clark and newsreader Judy Bailey. The show won her the Viewers' Choice Most Popular Female on TV Award for two consecutive years, before she left the series in 1992. [1]

Te Wiata next spent two years working on the Australian sketch comedy show Full Frontal and also began appearing in films, including Send a Gorilla (1988), Cops and Robbers (1993), Hinekaro Goes on a Picnic and Blows Up another Obelisk (1995) and Via Satellite (1998).

Te Wiata's stage appearances have included starring roles as Sally Bowles in Cabaret , Lady Macbeth in Macbeth , the voice of the cannibalistic singing plant in Little Shop of Horrors and directing and acting in The Vagina Monologues in Dunedin.

In 2014 she appeared in horror comedy Housebound and in 2016 in Hunt for the Wilderpeople. [1]

In 2017, Te Wiata starred in season two of the podcast Within the Wires portraying artist and historian Roimata Mangakāhia. [10]

In 2023 she appeared in four episodes of season 2 of The Wheel of Time . [1]

Te Wiata has also released a self-titled jazz album, and toured with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. [1]

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. [11] In the 2017 New Year Honours, she was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to film and television. [1]

In October 2019 she was presented with a Scroll of Honour from the Variety Artists Club of New Zealand for her contribution to New Zealand entertainment.

Filmography

YearTitleRole
1986–1987 (204 episodes) Sons and Daughters Janice ReidTV series
1988 Send a Gorilla LisaFilm
1989–1990 Shark in the Park JackoTV series
19901990: The IssuesVarious charactersTV series
1991IssuesTV series
1992 Alex Female CommentatorFilm
1992More IssuesVarious charactersTV series
1993–1994 Full Frontal Various charactersTV series
1994Kevin Rampenbacker and the Electric KettleCop
1995 Overnight MelFilm
1995–1997 Adventures of Cumie the Cloud Voice artistTV series
1997H.M.S PinaforeMrs Cripps, known as Little ButtercupTV movie
1998Via SatelliteJan
2005 50 Ways of Saying Fabulous Evey
2007 Shortland Street Liz ArthurTV series
2008 Table Plays GeorgieTV series
2011BlissMiss Watson
2014 Housebound Miriam BucknellFilm
2015TatsuBudgie's MumTV miniseries
2016 Hunt for the Wilderpeople Bella FaulknerFilm
2016Terry TeoAunty HinetuTV series
2017JoyrideMrs. Davidson
2016–2017 The Barefoot Bandits Mamma Mia - Mamma Moa - TV Mum (voice)
2017–2019 Within the Wires NarratorPodcast
2018 The Breaker Upperers Shona
2018Tongue TiedAhoTV series
2019 Golden Boy CarolTV series
2020This TownJanice
2018–2020 Westside IrisTV series
2021The Tender TrapSharon Armstrong
2022 My Life is Murder SpencerTV series
2019–2022Kiri and LouPania - Small- Lelamala (as voice)TV series
2023 The Wheel of Time Sheriam BayanerTV series
2024 We Were Dangerous The MatronFilm

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Rima Te Wiata". nzonscreen.com. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  2. "Rima Te Wiata theatre roles". AusStage.
  3. Taonga, New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu. "Te Wiata, Inia Morehu Tauhia Watene Iarahi Waihurihia". teara.govt.nz. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  4. "Rima Te Wiata and her beloved Kiwi characters". Stuff. 30 December 2016. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  5. "Te Wiatas lost their house". The Press . Vol. 104, no. 30684. 25 February 1965. p. 2. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  6. 1 2 "Rima Te Wiata" . Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  7. "Rima Te Wiata". The Court Theatre. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  8. "Graduate". www.toiwhakaari.ac.nz. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  9. "ScreenTalk: Rima Te Wiata". The Big Idea. 2 April 2012. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  10. "Within the Wires - Night Vale Presents" . Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  11. "Rima Te Wiata". Auckland Actors. Retrieved 14 April 2018.