Taika David Cohen was born in the tiny village of Raukokore, New Zealand, the son of an artist and a school teacher. His father was of Te Whanau-a-Apanui descent, a Maori Iwi (tribe) located on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand. His mother, Robin Cohen, was the daughter of Russian Jews who had emigrated to New Zealand. His father left the family when Taika was five. Waititi says he considers himself a Polynesian Jew.