17 Facts About Rena Owen

Rena Owen regularly performed in local Maori culture groups and in dramas and musicals while in high school.

Rena Owen pursued a medical career and trained as a nurse at Auckland Hospital for three and a half years.

Once she qualified as a registered nurse, Rena Owen moved to London, United Kingdom.

Rena Owen trained at the Actors Institute in London in the mid-1980s and worked extensively in British theatre.

Rena Owen wrote and starred in Te Awa i Tahuti, which had a successful London tour and was later published by NZ Playmarket in 1991.

Rena Owen worked extensively in theatre; acting, writing, directing, working as a dramaturge, and was a founding member of Taki Rua Theatre.

Rena Owen played the lead in a Hawaiian play called Fine Dancing, adapted and directed Toa Fraser's play Bare for the Asian American Theatre Company in San Francisco.

In Once Were Warriors, Rena Owen portrayed the leading role of Beth Heke alongside Temuera Morrison, who played her husband.

Whilst playing a reoccurring role in WB's Angel, Rena Owen played supporting and cameo roles in multiple international independent films.

Rena Owen played leading roles in the Australian TV drama series Medivac in 1998 and recently in ABC's The Straits, a multi-ethnic crime-family drama.

In 2011, as part of the 2011 Rugby World Cup, Rena Owen took part in a televised concert called Mika's Aroha Mardi Gras.

Rena Owen played the part of the story teller at the event, hosting 15,000 people in the outdoor event which featured two concerts.

In 2016, Rena Owen was cast in the Freeform thriller series Siren as Helen, which was premiered on March 29,2018.

Rena Owen worked with the Star Wars Expanded Universe when she reprised her role as Taun We in the video game Star Wars: Republic Commando.

In 2021, Rena Owen reprised her role as Taun We in Star Wars: The Bad Batch.

Rena Owen won the Best Supporting Actress Award at the 2012 Aotearoa Film and Television Awards for her role as Hine Ryan in the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street.

Rena Owen was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her recurring role as Mere Hahunga in the award-winning Australian TV series, East West 101, at the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts, and nominated for Best Actress at the Montecarlo International Television Festival.