Taika Waititi Net Worth (Money & Salary)

What is Taika Waititi’s Net Worth and Salary?

With a net worth of $13 million, Taika Waititi, a New Zealand director, writer, comedian, actor, and painter, is widely recognized. He is acclaimed for his work in writing and directing films such as “Eagle vs Shark” (2007), “Boy” (2010), “What We Do in the Shadows” (2014), “Hunt for the Wilderpeople” (2016), and “Jojo Rabbit” (2019). Additionally, he directed the hit Marvel film “Thor: Ragnarok” (2017), which amassed a box office gross of $854 million.

Besides his directing and writing roles, Taika has also been a producer for “What We Do in the Shadows,” “Hunt for the Wilderpeople,” and “Jojo Rabbit,” as well as the television series “Wellington Paranormal” (2018–present) and “What We Do in the Shadows” (2019–present). His 2004 short film “Two Cars, One Night” earned him a nomination for an Academy Award. On-screen, Waititi has portrayed characters such as Viago in “What We Do in the Shadows,” Korg in “Thor: Ragnarok,” and Adolf Hitler in “Jojo Rabbit,” and he voiced IG-11 in the Disney+ series “The Mandalorian” in 2019.

From 2007 to 2009, Taika directed four episodes of HBO’s “Flight of the Conchords,” which featured his college friends and collaborators Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement, along with directing the band’s music videos for “Ladies of the World,” “Mutha’uckas,” and “Leggy Blonde,” included in those episodes. In 2017, he received the title of New Zealander of the Year.

Early Life

Born as Taika David Cohen on August 16, 1975, in Raukokore, New Zealand, Taika’s parents split when he was young; his mother, Robin Cohen, worked as a schoolteacher, while his father, Taika Waititi, was a farmer and artist. Raised mainly by Robin, he attended Onslow College, later enrolling in Victoria University of Wellington to study theatre, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1997. Initially using the surname Cohen for his film projects and Waititi for his visual art, Taika identifies as a “Polynesian Jew,” having grown up “half Jewish and half Maori.” At Victoria University, he met Jemaine Clement, with whom he co-wrote and co-directed “What We Do in the Shadows,” and together they formed comedy troupes So You’re a Man and The Humourbeasts, the latter of which created the award-winning stage show “The Untold Tales of Maui.”

Career

Taika debuted as an actor in the 1999 New Zealand film “Scarfies,” subsequently appearing in “Snakeskin” (2001) and TV series including “The Strip” (2002), “The Tribe” (2002), “Revelations” (2003), and “Freaky” (2003). He wrote and directed the 2002 short film “John and Pogo,” followed by “Two Cars, One Night” (2004) and “Tama Tū” (2005) as well as “What We Do in the Shadows: Interviews with Some Vampires.” His first feature film, “Eagle vs Shark” (2007), starred Jemaine Clement, with Taika also appearing as Gordon. The following year, “Boy” premiered at Sundance Film Festival 2010, receiving a Grand Jury Prize nomination, where Waititi played Alamein. In 2011, he portrayed Thomas Kalmaku in “Green Lantern.” Co-writing, co-directing, and starring in the 2014 vampire mockumentary “What We Do in the Shadows,” he won several awards, leading to an American spin-off television series and the New Zealand series “Wellington Paranormal.”

In 2016, he wrote and directed “Hunt for the Wilderpeople,” also featuring in the film. Taika created the short films “Team Thor” (2016) and “Team Thor: Part 2” (2017), and went on to direct “Thor: Ragnarok,” which became the ninth-highest-grossing film of 2017. Taika produced the2018 saw the release of the film “The Breaker Upperers,” followed by Waititi’s multifaceted involvement in “Jojo Rabbit” where he wrote, directed, produced, and starred, ultimately earning an Oscar for his efforts. That same year, he directed an episode of “The Mandalorian” and committed to writing and directing “Thor: Love and Thunder.” In May 2021, it was revealed that Waititi would join the cast of HBO’s “Our Flag Means Death” as Blackbeard, alongside his “What We Do in the Shadows” co-star Rhys Darby. Additionally, he is set to develop two animated series for Netflix, both inspired by Roald Dahl’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” with one series centering on the Oompa-Loompas.

Taika Waititi / Fernando Leon/Getty Images

Personal Life

In 2011, Taika entered into marriage with filmmaker Chelsea Winstanley, and together they welcomed two daughters, Te Hinekāhu and Matewa Kiritapu. Their professional collaboration includes works such as “What We Do in the Shadows” and “Jojo Rabbit.” However, the couple divorced in 2018. In 2022, Taika tied the knot with Rita Ora.

(Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/MG23/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue)

Awards and Nominations

Three Academy Awards have recognized Waititi’s talents, granting him the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for “Jojo Rabbit” in 2020; he also received nominations for Best Short Film, Live Action for “Two Cars, One Night” and Best Motion Picture of the Year for “Jojo Rabbit.” His work has garnered him two Primetime Emmy nominations, for Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance in “The Mandalorian” and Outstanding Comedy Series for “What We Do in the Shadows.” The screenplay of “Jojo Rabbit” has brought him accolades from various organizations including the BAFTA Awards, AACTA International Awards, Hollywood Critics Association, Online Association of Female Film Critics, and Writers Guild of America, while the film also secured him a Grammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media and recognition at the Leeds International Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, Aspen Filmfest, and CinEuphoria Awards.

Taika also received accolades for “What We Do in the Shadows,” earning awards from the Fangoria Chainsaw Awards, Fantaspoa International Fantastic Film Festival, Hawaii International Film Festival, Hermosillo International Film Festival, Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival, Sitges – Catalonian International Film Festival, Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, Titanic International Film Festival, Torino Film Festival, and Warsaw International Film Festival. Furthermore, he has secured five New Zealand Film and TV Awards: Achievement in Directing in Film for “Eagle vs Shark,” Best Director for “Hunt for the Wilderpeople,” and Best Director in a Film Feature, Best Supporting Actor in a Feature Film, and Best Screenplay for a Feature Film for “Boy.” Additional accolades from the AFI Fest (“Two Cars, One Night” and “Boy”), Amiens International Film Festival (“Two Cars, One Night”), and Aspen Shortsfest (“Two Cars, One Night” and “Tama tu”), as well as the Berlin International Film Festival (“Two Cars, One Night,” “Tama tu,”and the film festivals include “Boy” at the US Comedy Arts Festival, “Hunt for the Wilderpeople” at the DeadCenter Film Festival, Edinburgh International Film Festival, and Fantasia Film Festival, “Eagle vs Shark” at both Newport Beach Film Festival and US Comedy Arts Festival, as well as “Tama tu” at the Sundance Film Festival, and “Boy” at Melbourne International Film Festival.

Real Estate

In 2018, a purchase of $2.4 million was made by Taika and Chelsea for a 2,323 square foot residence located in Studio City, Los Angeles. Early in 2021, they listed the four-bedroom, three-bathroom home for $2.75 million. The previous owner was Marti Noxon, renowned writer, director, and producer, credited for works such as “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “UnREAL,” and “Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce.”