Lee Tamahori Biography: Wife, Age, Net Worth, Siblings, Parents, Height, Children, Movies

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Warren Lee Tamahori is a renowned New Zealand film director. His breakthrough came with his feature directorial debut, Once Were Warriors (1994), a major critical and commercial success widely regarded as one of the greatest New Zealand films ever made.  

Following the acclaim of his debut, Tamahori has gone on to direct a diverse range of works, both in his native New Zealand and in Hollywood.

These include the survival drama The Edge (1997) and the Alex Cross thriller Along Came a Spider (2001).

Profile

• Full Name: Warren Lee Tamahori
• Stage Name: Lee Tamahori
• Born: June 17 1950
• Age: 74 years old
• Birthplace: Wellington, New Zealand
• Nationality: New Zealand
• Occupation: New Zealand film director
• Height: Unknown
• Parent: Phillip Tamahori and Patricia Tamahori
• Siblings: Renaye Tamahori and Glenn Tamahori
• Spouse: Kuniko Usui, Morag
• Partner: Sasha Turjak
• Children: 2
• Relationship: Unmarried
• Net Worth: Unknown

Early Life And Education

Warren Lee Tamahori was born on June 17, 1950, in Wellington, New Zealand. He was born to his parents, Phillip Tamahori and Patricia Tamahori.

Tamahori has two siblings: Renaye Tamahori and Glenn Tamahori. He grew up in Tawa, a northern suburb of Wellington, and was educated at Tawa School and Tawa College. Tamahori is of Māori descent, though his religious affiliation is unknown.

Career

Lee Tamahori’s journey into filmmaking began in the late 1970s when he started working in various entry-level positions. He began by doing odd jobs, then transitioned to working as a boom operator for Television New Zealand. He later worked on several feature films, including Skin Deep, Goodbye Pork Pie, Bad Blood, and Race for the Yankee Zephyr.

In the early 1980s, Tamahori‘s career took a significant turn when Geoff Murphy, the director of Pork Pie, promoted him to become an assistant director on the film Utu. Tamahori then worked as a first assistant director on several other projects, including The Silent One, Murphy’s The Quiet Earth, Came a Hot Friday, and Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence.

In 1986, Tamahori co-founded Flying Fish, a production company that specialized in creating commercials. This move proved to be a significant stepping stone in his career, as he gained recognition for his work on a series of high-profile television commercials, one of which was even awarded the ‘Commercial of the Decade.’

Tamahori’s breakthrough in the feature film industry came in 1994 with the release of Once Were Warriors, a gritty depiction of a violent Māori family. The film faced funding challenges, but it went on to break box office records in New Zealand and received rave reviews from renowned publications such as Time magazine, Village Voice, and The Melbourne Age, with several of them naming it one of the ten best films of the year.

Following the success of Once Were Warriors, Tamahori continued to work on a variety of projects, including the sequel to XXX (2002), titled XXX: State of the Union (2005), the science fiction action film Next (2007), and the drama The Devil’s Double (2011).

In recent years, Tamahori has also directed the rural-set drama Mahana (a.k.a. The Patriarch) in 2015 and the historical drama The Convert in 2022, further solidifying his status as a versatile and acclaimed filmmaker.

Social Media

• Instagram handle: @lee_tamahori

Personal Life

Lee Tamahori, the renowned New Zealand film director, has been married twice. His first wife was Morag, with whom he has one son, although the name of his first child is not publicly disclosed.

Tamahori‘s second marriage was to Kuniko Usui, whom he met on the set of the film Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence. They have one son together, in addition to Tamahori’s first child from his previous marriage.

Lee Tamahori is currently in a relationship with Sasha Turjak. The director has two sons, each from his two separate marriages, but the names of his children have not been made public.

Filmography

Film

• Thunderbox (1989)
• Once Were Warriors (1994)
• Mulholland Falls (1996)
• The Edge (1997)
• Along Came a Spider (2001)
• Die Another Day (2002)
• XXX: State of the Union (2005)
• Next (2007)
• The Devil’s Double (2011)
• Mahana (2016)
• Emperor (2017)
• The Convert (2023)

Television

• The Ray Bradbury Theater (1990-92)
• Billions (2020)

Net Worth

Lee Tamahori is an acclaimed New Zealand director whose exact net worth is unknown. While some sources estimate his net worth to be approximately $1.72 billion as of 2024, this figure has yet to be publicly verified.

Tamahori has had a successful career spanning New Zealand and Hollywood, contributing significantly to his wealth through various high-profile projects and collaborations. However, his net worth and financial details are not publicly disclosed.

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