I don’t care that you lot didn’t enjoy Thor: Love and Thunder — Taika Waititi is an absolute gem.
He’s talented as all get-out, and a single misfire doesn’t unmake Thor: Ragnarok any more than it undoes Our Flag Means Death, What We Do in the Shadows, or Reservation Dogs. Each of those gifts to media boast heavy involvement from Waititi, and it is his stellar sense of humor, easygoing directorial manner, and firm grasp of comedic programming that makes each of them so popular.
That’s all on top of his other work, of course, which has seen the New Zealand actor, director, and producer earn nearly three dozen nominations, and a half dozen award wins. Jojo Rabbit is easily Waititi’s most-awarded project, but his most popular remains up to debate. His least popular, on the other hand, seems pretty clear in the wake of what may persist as the MCU’s worst-ever year (or two) of releases.
Love and Thunder aside, Waititi is a successful filmmaker with a lengthy and successful career ahead of him. He’s got Next Goal Wins collecting stellar scores from audiences (even if critics are largely unimpressed) and five fresh projects on the docket for 2024 and beyond. He’s doing more than fine for himself, and that goes for his personal life as well as professional. The 48-year-old was recently remarried in an intimate L.A. ceremony, after months of rumors about his future with Rita Ora.
Are Taika Waititi and Rita Ora married?
Rumors that Waititi and Ora had secretly tied the knot started as early as late 2021, but it wasn’t until fall of 2022 that the pair officially said “I do.” After meeting in 2018, the pair remained friendly but unpartnered for several years, until they finally decided to give dating a go in 2021. Their relationship was instant, and constant, news, and sparked the aforementioned rumors for months leading up to their actual nuptials.
Ora proposed to Waititi in the summer of 2022, and a few weeks later the pair were wed at their home in Los Angeles. They were surrounded by an intimate group of friends and family members — yes, Waititi’s bestie, Jemaine Clement, made the journey from New Zealand — and the couple continues to look back fondly on the ceremony just over a year later.
Waititi was married once before, between 2011 and 2018, to New Zealand film producer Chelsea Winstanley. The pair share two daughters, both of whom were in attendance at he and Ora’s wedding.