Heather Rima Te Wiata (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.
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. She is of the Ngāti Raukawa iwi. Her father died when she was eight years old, and she and her mother returned to New Zealand two years later. 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.
Career Te Wiata has been a performer since the age of 10. Having sung in TV presenter's Max Cryer's 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. 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, the police drama Shark in the Park, comedies The Billy T James Show and Porters, and sketch shows Laughinz, Issues and More Issues. 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.
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.
In 2017, Te Wiata starred in season two of the podcast Within the Wires portraying artist and historian Roimata Mangakāhia.
In 2023 she appeared in four episodes of season 2 of The Wheel of Time.
Te Wiata has also released a self-titled jazz album, and toured with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.
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, she was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, 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 for her contribution to New Zealand entertainment.
Filmography YearTitleRole 1986–1987 (204 episodes) Sons and Daughters Janice Reid TV series 1988 Send a Gorilla Lisa Film 1989–1990 Shark in the Park Jacko TV series 1990 1990: The Issues Various charactersTV series 1991 IssuesTV series 1992 Alex Female CommentatorFilm 1992 More Issues Various charactersTV series 1993–1994 Full Frontal Various charactersTV series 1994 Kevin Rampenbacker and the Electric Kettle Cop 1995 Overnight MelFilm 1995–1997 Adventures of Cumie the Cloud Voice artistTV series 1997 H.M.S Pinafore Mrs Cripps, known as Little ButtercupTV movie 1998 Via Satellite Jan 2005 50 Ways of Saying Fabulous Evey 2007 Shortland Street Liz ArthurTV series 2008 Table Plays GeorgieTV series 2011 Bliss Miss Watson 2014 Housebound Miriam BucknellFilm 2015 Tatsu Budgie's MumTV miniseries 2016 Hunt for the Wilderpeople Bella FaulknerFilm 2016 Terry Teo Aunty HinetuTV series 2017 Joyride Mrs. Davidson 2016–2017 The Barefoot Bandits Mamma Mia - Mamma Moa - TV Mum (voice) 2017–2019 Within the Wires NarratorPodcast 2018 The Breaker Upperers Shona 2018 Tongue Tied AhoTV series 2019 Golden Boy CarolTV series 2020 This Town Janice 2018–2020 Westside IrisTV series 2021 The Tender Trap Sharon Armstrong 2022 My Life is Murder SpencerTV series 2019–2022 Kiri and Lou Pania - Small- Lelamala (as voice)TV series 2023 The Wheel of Time Sheriam BayanerTV series 2024 We Were Dangerous The MatronFilm
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