These past 12 months have seen a whole lot going on that’s interested New Zealanders. We’ve had a massive sporting year, drama at Buckingham Palace and loads of big-name concerts.
People are at the heart of all these happenings, and Kiwis wanted to know all about them and why they were making headlines.
Google has shared the celebrities that Kiwis were intrigued to know about in 2023. These search terms are ranked by how much more they were Googled this year compared to last year.
Notable New Zealanders Kiwis Googled
Sportspeople were all over New Zealander’s search history when it came to local celebs, with eight of the top ten spots going to someone who competes at the highest level.
A couple of new faces, Ryan Fox (golfer) and Liam Lawson (motorsports) came in at #1 and #3 respectively, with worldwide star Israel Adesanya (MMA) slotting in between them. The only non-athletes were comedian Dai Henwood, who was #5, and radio personality Simon Barnett, who found himself at #8.
- Ryan Fox
- Israel Adesanya
- Liam Lawson
- Lydia Ko
- Dai Henwood
- Shaun Johnson
- Rachin Ravindra
- Simon Barnett
- Sam Whitelock
- Michael Boxall
Global Figures Kiwis Googled
Two headline-making controversial figures led Kiwis to the internet. British anti-trans activist Posie Parker saw the biggest increase in NZ searches compared to last year, with failed reality TV star turned online personality Andrew Tate being the next.
After them, it was Taylor Swift, who’s currently on a massive worldwide tour, David Beckham, who had a Netflix documentary released, and Harry Styles, who was touring NZ early in the year before shaving his head last month.
- Posie Parker
- Andrew Tate
- Taylor Swift
- David Beckham
- Harry Styles
- Prince Harry
- Margot Robbie
- Jeremy Renner
- Elton John
- Ed Sheeran
Google searches are a pretty good way to recognise exactly who and what Kiwis were interested in this year. With a couple of surprising names here and there, it’ll be interesting to see who pops up in 2024!
