Beryl Te Wiata
{{Short description|New Zealand actor, author and scriptwriter}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}
{{Use New Zealand English|date=May 2017}}
{{Infobox person
|name = Beryl Te Wiata
|image =
|alt =
|caption =
|birth_name = Beryl Margaret McMillan
|birth_date = {{Birth date|1925|4|15|df=y}}
|birth_place = Christchurch, New Zealand
|death_date = {{death date and age|2017|5|4|1925|4|15|df=y}}
|death_place = Auckland, New Zealand
|spouse = {{marriage|Inia Te Wiata|1959|1971|end=d.}}
|children = 1; Rima Te Wiata
|occupation = {{Hlist|Actress|author|scriptwriter}}
| alma_mater = Royal Central School of Speech and Drama
}}
Beryl Margaret Te Wiata (née McMillan; 15 April 1925 – 4 May 2017) was a New Zealand actor, author, and scriptwriter.
Early life and family
Born in Christchurch on 15 April 1925, Te Wiata was the daughter of Ethel Laura McMillan (née Hamilton) and Archibald Neil McMillan.{{cite book |editor-last=Taylor |editor-first=Alister |title=New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa 2001 |year=2001 |publisher=Alister Taylor Publishers |location=Auckland |issn=1172-9813}} She was educated at Wellington East Girls' College from 1939 to 1941, and the Central School of Speech and Drama in London from 1949 to 1950.
In 1948 she was working as a secretary in London when she met opera singer Inia Te Wiata.{{cite news|url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/central-leader/182667/Song-of-the-past-given-new-voice|title=Song of the past given new voice|date=3 January 2008|work=Central Leader|first=Cleo|last=Fraser|accessdate=6 May 2017}} They married on 24 October 1959 at Evesham, Worcestershire, England, and had one daughter, Rima, who became an actor and entertainer.{{DNZB|title=Te Wiata, Inia Morehu Tauhia Watene Iarahi Waihurihia|first=Beryl|last=Te Wiata|id=5t12|accessdate=6 May 2017}} Inia Te Wiata died in 1971, and Beryl Te Wiata returned to New Zealand with her daughter two years later.{{cite news | title=Trauma of widowhood | date=18 March 1987 | work=Auckland Star | page=B8 | first=Caron | last=Eastgate}}{{cite news | title=This Kiwi took flight from wings | date=12 August 1981 | work=Auckland Star | first=Anne | last=Fenwick | page=18}}
Career
Beryl Te Wiata was a film, television and stage actress. Her television appearances included roles on Shortland Street, Mercy Peak, Outrageous Fortune, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, and Xena: Warrior Princess.{{IMDb name|0853496|Beryl Te Wiata}} She was also a panelist on the New Zealand version of the television advice show Beauty and the Beast, hosted by Selwyn Toogood.{{cite news|title=How's Life no ratings beast|date=5 May 2002|work=Sunday Star Times|page=5|first=Robyn|last=McLean}}
She appeared in movies including the 1981 mystery horror Strange Behavior, Constance in 1984, Mesmerized in 1986, and the 1993 biopic Bread & Roses based on the life of Sonja Davies. She wrote most of the comic sketches for, and starred in, two one-woman stage shows, Mrs. Kiwi Arthur presents and Mrs. Kiwi Arthur presents … more in the early 1980s.{{cite web|url=http://natlib-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/primo_library/libweb/action/dlDisplay.do?vid=NLNZ&docId=NLNZ_ALMA21220792140002836|title=Mrs. Kiwi Arthur presents|publisher=National Library of New Zealand|accessdate=6 May 2017}}
She wrote a biography of her late husband, titled Most happy fella: a biography of Inia Te Wiata, first published in 1976,{{cite web|url=http://www.aucklandmuseum.com/collection/object/am_library-catalogq40-11885 |title=Most happy fella: a biography of Inia Te Wiata|website=Auckland War Memorial Museum|accessdate=6 May 2017}}{{cite news|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=10478897|title=Treasures from that happy fella|date=29 November 2007|work=New Zealand Herald|accessdate=6 May 2017| first=William|last=Dart}} as well as his biography for the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. In 2007, she compiled and wrote the liner notes for 49 tracks performed by Inia Te Wiata, released by the National Library of New Zealand.
Death
Beryl Te Wiata died on 4 May 2017, aged 92. She is survived by her daughter, Rima Te Wiata.{{cite news|url=http://notices.nzherald.co.nz/obituaries/nzherald-nz/obituary.aspx?n=beryl-margaret-te-wiata&pid=185301302|title=Beryl Te Wiata death notice|date=6 May 2017|work=New Zealand Herald|accessdate=6 May 2017}}
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Te Wiata, Beryl}}
Category:Writers from Christchurch
Category:People educated at Wellington East Girls' College
Category:Alumni of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama
Category:New Zealand film actresses
Category:New Zealand television actresses
Category:New Zealand stage actresses
Category:20th-century New Zealand non-fiction writers
Category:20th-century New Zealand women writers
Category:New Zealand soap opera actresses
Category:20th-century New Zealand actresses