After coming to prominence as a rugby player, Hewitt became a public speaker and was also the first ‘Dancing with the Stars’ winner.
He passed away, in the company of his immediate family, in the early hours of this morning, Hewitt's family said in a statement.
He was also a key player for the Hurricanes in Super Rugby.
In 1997 Hewitt had a famous face-off with England player Richard Cockerill during the haka before a test in Manchester.
“It was like there were only two people on that field,” Hewitt said later.
“At one point I thought to myself ‘if I had a patu [club] I would have cut his head off’ and I was going into that place.
"I don’t know why... it was a big game and we were going to war and he’s my enemy, [a] kill or be killed scenario. I likened it to that and yeah, I suppose it is now part of that folklore much like when the Irish stepped over the line with Buck Shelford.”
His rugby career was marred by a high-profile incident in Queenstown in 1999 when he broke into the wrong hotel room while drunk.
"Although rugby dominated his early life, he established a thriving humans relations consultancy after retirement, and his services were much in demand both nationally and internationally.
"He walked confidently in both Māori and Pakeha worlds and was a particular role model for troubled youth, citing his own background, and offering inspirational teachings that one’s present life need not be one’s future," the family statement said.
