Rosemary Riddell is an actor, film director and Family Court judge from New Zealand. Riddell was born and educated in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

. She began her career working in broadcasting and public relations, then went overseas and met her husband

Mike Riddell Michael Riddell (23 March 1953 – 26 March 2022) was a New Zealand Christian minister and writer. Early life Riddell was born in Porirua East (now Cannons Creek), New Zealand, and began schooling at Porirua East Primary School. He was the yo ...

in London. After their three children had started school, Riddell enrolled to study law at university, and was admitted to the bar in 1992. She worked in family law for Gaze Burt in Auckland, and in 1997 she moved to

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

to join Gallaway Haggitt Sinclair. She was made a partner in the firm in 1999. Riddell has served as a Council member of the Otago District Law Society, and President of the Otago Women Lawyers Society. She was appointed a Family Court judge in 2006, and sat in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

for 12 years before retiring, after which she wrote the book ''To Be Fair: Confessions of a District Court Judge''. Riddell began acting at the Downstage Theatre in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

in the 1970s. In 2007, her short film ''Cake Tin'' won the Sandcastle Award at the 2007

Moondance Film Festival The Moondance International Film Festival is an independent annual film festival and awards competition in the USA that takes place in the fall. The first Moondance Film Festival was held in 2000. The festival has usually been held in Boulder, Co ...

. In 2009, Riddell directed a feature film '' The Insatiable Moon,'' based on a novel by her husband Mike Riddell. She has been Deputy Chair of the Fortune Theatre Board in Dunedin.

References

Year of birth missing (living people) People from Auckland 21st-century New Zealand judges New Zealand women judges New Zealand film directors Living people 20th-century New Zealand lawyers 21st-century women judges Family Court of New Zealand judges {{NewZealand-law-bio-stub