Nathan Cleary is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a halfback for the Penrith Panthers in the Australian NRL and Australia at international level. He was born on November 14, 1997, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Cleary is of Croatian and Ukrainian descent. His father, Ivan Cleary, is a former professional rugby league footballer who coaches him at the Penrith Panthers. Nathan Cleary spent much of his childhood living in Auckland, New Zealand, where his father was playing for and later coaching the New Zealand Warriors. He previously held a New Zealand passport.