Campion was born in
Wellington, New Zealand, the second daughter of
Edith Campion (née Beverley Georgette Hannah), an actress, writer, and heiress; and
Richard M. Campion, a teacher, and theatre and opera director.[SUP]
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[6][/SUP] Her maternal great-grandfather was Robert Hannah, a well-known shoe manufacturer for whom
Antrim House was built. Her father came from a family that belonged to the fundamentalist Christian
Exclusive Brethren sect.[SUP]
[7][/SUP]Along with her sister, Anna, a year and a half her senior, and brother, Michael, seven years her junior, Campion grew up in the world of New Zealand theatre.[SUP]
[5][/SUP] Their parents founded the New Zealand Players.[SUP]
[8][/SUP] Campion initially rejected the idea of a career in the dramatic arts and graduated instead with a
Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from
Victoria University of Wellington in 1975.[SUP]
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In 1976, she enrolled in the
Chelsea Art School in London and traveled throughout Europe. She earned a graduate diploma in visual arts (painting) from the
Sydney College of the Arts at the
University of Sydney in 1981. Campion's later film work was shaped in part by her art school education; she has, even in her mature career, cited painter
Frida Kahlo and sculptor
Joseph Beuys as influences.[SUP]
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