Nigel Owens was born on 18 June 1971 and raised in the village of Mynyddcerrig, near Cross Hands in Carmarthenshire. He is a fluent Welsh speaker. He was a school technician at Ysgol Gyfun Maes Yr Yrfa Cefneithin and a youth worker with Menter Cwm Gwendraeth.
He was appointed as an international referee in 2005, and that year officiated at his first international between Ireland and Japan in Osaka. He made his World Cup debut on 11 September 2007 in the match between Argentina and Georgia in Lyon, France.
He is one of only two referees to be appointed to two consecutive Heineken Cup finals: Munster v Toulouse at the Millennium Stadium in 2008; and Leicester Tigers v Leinster at Murrayfield in 2009. He has since done a third final: Leinster v Ulster at Twickenham in 2012. This as well as two European Challenge Cup finals make a total of five European finals, making him the most capped referee in European competition.
Nigel Owens is also known as a TV personality and is one of the presenters on Jonathan, a rugby-themed Welsh language chat show hosted by former Welsh international Jonathan Davies, broadcast on S4C on the eve of big international matches. He co-presents the sports-themed Welsh language chat show Bwrw'r Bar and now has his own show, the quiz programme Munud i Fynd.
Shortly after the 2007 Rugby World Cup, Owens was named 'Gay Sports Personality of the Year' at gay rights group Stonewall's awards ceremony in London.
His autobiography, Hanner Amser (Half Time), was published in Welsh in 2008, then in English in 2009. In 2011 he was made a member of the Gorsedd of Bards at their National Eisteddfod in Wrexham.
He was a patron of the LGBT Centre of Excellence Wales, until its disbandment in late 2012, but he is still that of the Wooden Spoon Society rugby charity.
In 2013 Owens became a patron of the Bullies Out charity in Wales.
In 2015 Owens was appointed as the referee for the 2015 Rugby World Cup Final between New Zealand and Australia at Twickenham.
Of the appointment, it was written in The Independent: "Nigel Owens deserved the honour of controlling the Rugby World Cup final, since he is the best referee in any of our major sports. The antithesis of a rulebook automaton, he is authoritative without being condescending and balances sharp comment with quick humour."
Residents from his home village, Mynyddcerrig, in Carmarthenshire, decorated the streets with bunting and banners to celebrate.
As well as the 2015 final, his handling of the New Zealand-France quarter final was widely hailed as the standout performance of a referee at this World Cup, with former players and coaches unanimous in their praise for him.
He was watched by millions during the world cup final but a couple of weeks later, he returned to grass roots when he officiated a match between Gowerton RFC and Crymych RFC in Swalec League Division One West where the average attendance is 150.
Ahead of the match, Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) Match official manager Nigel Whitehouse is quoted as saying: "He had a fantastic World Cup and was the people's choice to take charge of the final. But he is refereeing two village teams next weekend - it will be good for him."
In November 2015, he announced that he intends to keep officiating in international rugby for another four years.
On 28 November 2020, Owens refereed his 100th international match in the Autumn Nations Cup game between France and Italy, becoming the first referee to reach the landmark. Two weeks later, he announced his immediate retirement from international duty, saying "Nobody has a divine right to go on forever," but expressed a desire to continue refereeing club matches in the Pro14 and at club level in Wales.