Niki Caro

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Niki Caro is a New Zealand film director, screenwriter, and producer. She was born Nikola Jean Caro on September 20, 1966, in Wellington, New Zealand. She studied at Kadimah College and Diocesan School for Girls, then earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Auckland and a Postgraduate Diploma in Film from Swinburne University of Technology.

Caro began by making commercials and music videos and worked on TV before achieving her breakthrough with Whale Rider (2002), the story of a Māori girl who proves she can lead. The film won many awards and became New Zealand’s most successful movie at the box office.

She later directed Hollywood films such as North Country (2005), about a woman who faces sexual harassment in the workplace, and The Vintner’s Luck (2009) back in New Zealand. She directed McFarland, USA (2015) and The Zookeeper’s Wife (2017). In 2020 she directed Disney’s live-action Mulan, becoming the second woman and second New Zealand director at Disney to direct a film budgeted over $100 million.

Caro is married to architect Andrew Lister, and they have two daughters, Tui and Pearl.