Taika Waititi Net Worth, Source of Income and Bio

Taika Waititi Biography

Taika Waititi is a filmmaker, actor, and comedian from New Zealand.

He has directed and starred in several films, such as Boy, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, What We Do in the Shadows, and Jojo Rabbit, for which he won an Oscar.

He has also ventured into the superhero genre with Thor: Ragnarok and Thor: Love and Thunder, bringing his unique vision and voice to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

He is also a TV creator and producer, working on shows like Flight of the Conchords, The Mandalorian, and Reservation Dogs.

PROFILE SUMMARY

• Full name: Taika David Waititi
• Date of birth: August 16, 1975
• Age: 49 years old
• Gender: Male
• Place of birth: Wellington, New Zealand
• Nationality: New Zealand
• Profession: Filmmaker, actor, comedian
• Height: 1.85 m
• Parents: Robin Cohen (mother), Taika Waititi (father)
• Siblings: N/A
• Spouse: Chelsea Winstanley (m. 2011; Sep. 2018), Rita Ora (m. 2022)
• Children: Te Hinekāhu Waititi (daughter), Matewa Kiritapu Waititi (son)
• Relationship status: Married
• Net worth: $25 million

Early Life and Education

Taika Waititi, aged 49 years old, was born on August 16, 1975, in Wellington, New Zealand.

His father, Taika Waititi, was a Māori artist and farmer, and his mother, Robin Cohen, was a Jewish teacher and social worker.

His parents divorced when he was young, and he grew up mostly with his mother in the suburb of Aro Valley. He has no siblings.

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He attended Onslow College and Wellington College, where he was involved in drama and theatre. He then studied theatre at Victoria University of Wellington, where he met Jemaine Clement, who would become his long-time collaborator and friend. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1997.

Personal Life

Taika Waititi has been married twice. He married Chelsea Winstanley, a film producer, in 2011, and they have two children, Te Hinekāhu and Matewa Kiritapu.

They separated in 2018 and divorced in 2020. He is married to Rita Ora, a singer and actress, whom he married in 2022. They met on the set of Thor: Love and Thunder, where Ora had a cameo role.

Taika Waititi also advocates for indigenous rights and environmental issues and has supported various charities and causes, such as UNICEF, Greenpeace, and the New Zealand Film Commission.

Career

Taika Waititi began his career as a comedian and actor. He was part of a comedy group called So You’re a Man and later formed a duo with Jemaine Clement called The Humourbeasts. He also appeared in TV shows and films like The Strip, Scarfies, and Snakeskin.

He made his first feature film, Eagle vs Shark 2007, starring Loren Taylor and Clement.

He also directed episodes of Flight of the Conchords, a comedy series created by Clement and Bret McKenzie, which aired on HBO from 2007 to 2009.

He gained international recognition for his 2010 film Boy, based on his childhood, and became the highest-grossing New Zealand film.

The film was a success and won several awards, including the Grand Prix at the Berlin International Film Festival.

Then he released another hit, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, in 2016, which starred Sam Neill and Julian Dennison.

The film also won several awards, including the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival.

He also co-wrote and starred in What We Do in the Shadows, released in 2014. He played the role of Viago, a vampire who lives with other undead flatmates in Wellington. The film spawned a TV series in 2019, which was co-created and executive-produced by Taika Waititi.

He ventured into the superhero genre with Thor: Ragnarok 2017, which he also co-wrote and played the voice of Korg, a rock-like alien.

He returned to direct and voice Korg in Thor: Love and Thunder in 2022, featuring Natalie Portman, Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, and Christian Bale.

He won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for his 2019 film Jojo Rabbit, which he also directed and played the role of Adolf Hitler, the imaginary friend of a young Nazi boy.

He also won a Grammy Award for producing the film’s soundtrack, which featured songs by David Bowie, The Beatles, and Tom Waits.

He has been involved in several TV projects, such as directing an episode of The Mandalorian and voicing the character IG-11, a bounty hunter droid, in 2019.

He also co-created and executive-produced Reservation Dogs, which premiered in 2021 and followed the lives of four Native American teenagers in Oklahoma.

Taika Waititi directed, executive produced, and starred in the comedy Our Flag Means Death, which debuted in 2022. The film was based on the true story of a British aristocrat who became a pirate.

He is also working on several upcoming films, such as Next Goal Wins, a sports comedy film, and also to direct and co-write a Star Wars film, which is expected to be released in 2025.

Awards

Here are some of Taika Waititi’s notable awards below:

• Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Jojo Rabbit (2020)
• BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Jojo Rabbit (2020)
• Grammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media for Jojo Rabbit (2021)
• AFI Award for Movie of the Year for Jojo Rabbit (2020)
• Grand Prix at the Berlin International Film Festival for Boy (2010)
• Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival for Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016)
• New Zealand Order of Merit for services to film (2019)

Controversy

Taika Waititi has faced some criticism and backlash for some of his creative choices and opinions, such as:

• Playing Adolf Hitler in Jojo Rabbit, which some people found offensive or insensitive, despite the film’s anti-fascist message and satire.
• Calling New Zealand “racist as fuck” in an interview with Dazed in 2018, which some people found exaggerated or divisive, despite his intention to raise awareness and spark dialogue.
• Kissing Rita Ora and Tessa Thompson in a three-way embrace in Sydney in 2021, which some people found inappropriate despite their apparent consent and relationship status.

Social Media

• Instagram handle: @taikawaititi
• Twitter handle: @TaikaWaititi

Filmography

• Eagle vs Shark (2007) – Director, writer, actor.
• Boy (2010) – Director, writer, actor, producer.
• What We Do in the Shadows (2014) – Director.

Net Worth

Taika Waititi has an estimated net worth of over $25 million having earned his wealth as a successful filmmaker, actor, and comedian, as well as his endorsements.