Peter Jackson

Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand filmmaker, entrepreneur and visual effects pioneer. He is best known as the director, screen-writer, and producer of the Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001–2003) and the Hobbit trilogy (2012–2014), both of which are adapted from the novels of the same name by J. R. R. Tolkien. Other notable films include the critically lauded drama Heavenly Creatures (1994), the horror comedy The Frighteners (1996), the epic monster remake film King Kong (2005), District 9 (2009), the World War I documentary film They Shall Not Grow Old (2018) and the documentary The Beatles: Get Back (2021). He is the fifth-highest-grossing film director of all-time, with his films having made over $6.5 billion worldwide.

Jackson began his career with the "splatstick" horror comedy Bad Taste (1987) and the black comedy horror Meet the Feebles (1989) before filming the zombie comedy Braindead (1992). He shared a nomination for Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay with his collaborator Fran Walsh for Heavenly Creatures, which brought him to mainstream prominence in the film industry. For The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), Jackson won three Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. His other accolades include three BAFTAs, a Golden Globe, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and four Saturn Awards among others.

Jackson established WingNut Films as his production company in 1987. In 1993, he co-founded the Wellington-based companies Weta Workshop (now Wētā Workshop), to handle special and physical effects, and Weta Digital (now Wētā FX), to focus on digital visual effects. In 2002, Jackson was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit. He was later knighted as a Knight Companion of the order by the Governor-General of New Zealand, Sir Anand Satyanand, at a ceremony in Wellington in April 2010. Jackson received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in December 2014, and in May 2026, he was awarded the Honorary Palme d'Or at the 79th Cannes Film Festival in recognition of his lifetime contribution to cinema. He is one of the wealthiest New Zealanders, with an estimated net worth of $1.9 billion in 2026.