Rachel House (actress)

Rachel Jessica Te Ao Maarama House (born 20 October 1971) is a New Zealand actress and director. She is best known for her roles in the films of Taika Waititi. and has received numerous accolades including an Arts Laureate, NZ Order of Merit, 'Mana Wahine' from WIFT NZ and Te Waipuna a Rangi (Matariki Awards) for her contributions as an actor and director.

Early life
House was born 20 October 1971 in Auckland and raised in Kamo, Whangārei by her adoptive Scottish parents John and Sheila House. Her Māori iwi (tribal) affiliations are Ngāti Mutunga, Te Ātiawa and Ngāi Tahu.

Acting
House attended the New Zealand national drama school, Toi Whakaari, graduating in 1992. She went into stage work with the Pacific Underground Theatre and the Auckland Theatre Company.

She has acted in several major productions that have toured nationally and internationally, including Hone Kouka's Waiora, Carol Anne Duffy's The Worlds Wife and the UK/New Zealand co-production of Beauty and the Beast.

In 1998 House made her screen debut in the short film Queenie and Pete. In 2002 she appeared in the award-winning feature film Whale Rider. In 2005 she became a series regular on Maddigan's Quest alongside a young Rose McIver.

In 2008 House appeared in Taika Waititi's first feature film, Eagle vs Shark. She has gone on to become a regular collaborator with Waititi, appearing in his second film, Boy, in 2010, and providing acting coach for the young actors on set. In 2016 she appeared in Waititi's third film, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, and again provided acting coaching for the young lead Julian Dennison.

House voiced Gramma Tala in the 2016 Disney animated film Moana. In 2017, she played Grandmaster's bodyguard Topaz in Thor: Ragnarok. In 2019, she was one of the leading roles in Bellbird, a film that received several awards at several international film festivals. In 2020, she voiced Terry in the Pixar animated film Soul.

She plays one of the main roles in the Australian 2023 comedy drama series Bay of Fires, and in 2024 will reprise her role in the second season of the award-winning Netflix series Heartbreak High. In response to her work in Australia, Bridget McManus of the Sydney Morning Herald wrote, "with her commanding presence and unmistakable New Zealand accent, Rachel House is a serial scene-stealer on Australian television and film."

In television, House became a series regular in the Netflix reboot series Heartbreak High as Principal Stacy "Woodsy" Woods in 2022. The same year, House also appeared in the Apple TV+ series Foundation 2 and ABC series Bay of Fires. In 2023, House portrayed the pirate Mary Read in season 2 of the HBO Max comedy Our Flag Means Death.

As a voice actor, she is known for her roles as 'Gramma Tala' in Disney's Moana (2016) and 'Terry' in Pixar's Soul (2020). In 2023 she voiced 'Grandma Coco' in the Māori language version of Pixar's Coco (2017). She has starred in numerous animated series for television, including Sherwood, The Lion Guard, Amphibia, Pinecone and Pony, What If…?, Kiff and Koala Man.

As an acting coach, House has worked alongside Jane Campion for Top of the Lake and The Power of the Dog (2021); and with Taika Waititi on Boy (2010), Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016), Jojo Rabbit (2019) and Next Goal Wins (2023).

House was named as part of the cast for Stan Australia series Sunny Nights.

Directing
House has directed numerous theatrical performances, short films and a feature film released in 2024.

After graduating from drama school in 1992, House went on to direct theatrical performances, including Have Car, Will Travel by Mitch Tawhi Thomas in 2001 for which she won several awards.

In 2008 House studied directing at the Prague Film School in the Czech Republic. While there she made two short films, Bravo and New Skirt.

In 2010, she directed Kylie Meehan's short film The Winter Boy, produced by Hineani Melbourne for the New Zealand Film Commission's Premiere Shorts.

In 2012, House directed the Māori-language version of Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida, Toroihi rāua ko Kahira, adapted by Te Haumihiata Mason and set in a classical Māori and a pre-colonial Māori world. It was performed as part of an international series at London's Globe Theatre. Other theatre directing work includes the award-winning production of Hinepau, which House also co-adapted from Gavin Bishop's original book and toured both nationally and internationally, Neil La Bute's The Mercy Seat and Hui by longtime collaborator Mitch Tawhi Thomas that premiered at the Auckland Arts Festival in 2013.

In 2016, House directed Auckland-based theatre company Silo Theatre's production of Medea, a contemporary retelling of the Euripides myth created by Australian theatre-makers Kate Mulvany and Anne-Louise Sarks.

House has co-directed with Tweedie Waititi of Matewa Media for the Māori language versions of Disney animated films The Lion King (2004) and Moana (2016).

In 2024, House's first feature film as a director premiered in Taranaki, Aotearoa New Zealand. The Mountain is "a heartfelt drama about three children on a mission to find healing under the watchful eye of Taranaki Mounga (Mountain) and discover friendship in the spirit of adventure".

Recognition
In 1995, House won the "Most Promising Female Newcomer of the Year" Chapman Tripp Theatre Award for her one-woman show Nga Pou Wahine by Briar Grace-Smith. In 2000 she won Most Outstanding Performance for her role in Witi Ihimaera's critically acclaimed play Woman Far Walking (as Tiriti, a 160-year-old woman) and in 2003, Best Supporting Actress in Henrik Ibsen's An Enemy of the People.

House won the 2001 Director of the Year award at both the Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards and the New Zealand Listener Awards for her direction of Mitch Tawhi Thomas' play Have Car Will Travel.

She attended the Prague Film School in 2008 and was awarded Best Director and Best Film Audience Award for her two short films made while studying there.

In 2012, she received the New Zealand Arts Foundation's Laureate Award, which is given as an investment in excellence across a range of art forms for an artist with prominence and outstanding potential for future growth. In the same year, she won Production of the Year and Director of the Year at the Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards, for her direction of Toroihi rāua ko Kahira.

In 2016, House received the WIFT (Women in Film & Television) NZ Mana Wāhine Award for her prolific contribution to theatre and film, both in front of and behind the camera.

In the 2017 Queen's Birthday Honours, House was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the performing arts.

In 2018, House was a joint winner with Professor Derek Lardelli of the Te Waipuna-ā-Rangi Award for Arts and Entertainment at the Matariki Awards, held by Whakaata Māori (formerly Māori TV).