Teuila Blakely
A major role in one of New Zealand's most successful movies ever and a second movie about to hit the screens in 2011, several years presenting her own live prime time show on music television, a broadcaster on breakfast and drive time radio, playwright and now star of Shortland Street - there's really nothing in the entertainment business that Teuila Blakely hasn't given a try!
Teuila's portrayal of Leilani in Sione's Wedding earned her a best actress nomination at the 2006 New Zealand Screen Awards. As the host of popular live Saturday night show Freestyle for 3 years (she was also one of the founding hosts when C4 music television began) with her vivacious and easy-going style Teuila quickly became one of the country's favourite television personalities.
She has also presented for M2 (TVNZ), C4 and Juice Music Television as a specialist celebrity interviewer (both in studio and for the red carpet) and featured as a presenter and special guest for major television productions across several channels.
Teuila had a regular role in the first series of Outrageous Fortune as Savannah and was the voice behind the sassy Sina Tapili, a key character in the iconic cartoon comedy series bro'Town for three series. Last year she also starred in the TVNZ series This is Not My Life and the TV3 comedy series Radirahdirah.
In 2003, she wrote, starred in and produced the critically
acclaimed play Island Girls, for which the New Zealand Herald named
her one of the country's brightest young writers.
In addition to working in front of the camera, Teuila's voice has
carried across the airwaves for many years. She helped launch
Auckland hip hop radio station Flava FM as its first drive time
host before going on to be a co host on the breakfast show for
national Pacific Island network Niu FM and is a sought after voice
for commercials on radio and television. She has also hosted
several youth talk back shows in her early radio career.
After two guest appearances on Shortland Street in 2010 and 2011, Teuila took a brief break Sione's 2: Unfinished Business, a the sequel to the smash hit movie, Sione's Wedding, which will be released in cinemas in early 2012. Her Shortland Street character, Vasa Levi returned to the show fulltime in August 2011.
