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Famous New Zealanders

Rowena Othlie Jackson

  • Born 1926 in Invercargill and went to school at Epsom Girls' Grammar School in Auckland.
  • Won a Royal Academy of Dancing scholarship and left New Zealand to study in England at Sadler's Wells in 1946.
  • From 1954 to 1959 was a prima ballerina with the Royal Ballet and toured in Europe and North America.
  • Married Philip Chatfield in 1958 and returned to New Zealand to become Artistic Director of the New Zealand Ballet. They had two children.
  • Was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) for her services to ballet.
  • Was noted for her "fouettes" or turns, for which she held the world record.