Local Focus: Actor Te Ao o Hinepehinga goes from Gisborne to the world

Her name means "Women of a new dawn" and Te Ao o Hinepehinga attributes her home of Turanganui a Kiwa (Poverty Bay- the first city to see the new dawn) as a driving force in her career.

The successful actor's most recent acting work has been in Los Angeles and Mexico, but Te Ao has put in the hard yards.

"I've been working as an actress for two years paid and five years unpaid and I grew up in the beautiful Turanganui a Kiwa'

Named after two mana wahine it's no surprise the Head High and Shortland Street actor attributes the secret to her success to her mother.

"She has been my inspiration and motivation to do everything and anything and she was the one who gave me the strength to pursue this crazy lifestyle that is very uncertain."

Tania Rauna says her daughter first told her she was her champion the first time she was bullied at school "because I went straight to the school and dealt with it".

"She said to me 'Mum you're always my hero because you told that boy to stop bullying me, and you didn't say it in a way that hurt him, you just told him it's not nice to feel that way.'

Te Ao fell in love with drama at Tolaga Bay Area School and received a performing arts degree in Christchurch before heading overseas.

"I wanted her to focus on her studies because the programme is really hard and the discipline is really hard for Māori, and the programme that she was at was hard for her as a Māori wahine.

"So, I said no you suck it up, and you focus on passing that course and you don't leave and you don't get a job till it's done and so yeah and look at where she got to."

Even with a degree behind her, Te Ao knew the road to acting was never going to be an easy one.

"My acting teacher said you will get 100 noes before you get the first yes.

"Constant rejection isn't an easy thing and it's not something that is comfortable for a person.

"Regardless of who you are or how comfortable you are within yourself, being rejected multiple times sucks.

"By some miracle of luck, after five years of chasing the dream, coming home and getting an agent was what launched my career.

"Booked my first job working for the Auckland Theatre Company doing a play called Mahuika.

"Booked the gig on Head High which is probably what most people in New Zealand know me for - Aria O'Kane.

"Whoever thought I was capable of playing a 15-year-old? Thank you. I'm not 15 but I appreciate the compliment.

"Then working on Shortland Street as Waimarama Glover which was an amazing time."

Te Ao has recently returned home from Mexico where she was working on a top-secret project for Snapchat.

"I can't tell you anything about it, but it's great and I got to do all my own fight stunts which is pretty awesome for any actor to be able to say.

"Now I'm back home getting grounded and enjoying the life of lockdown with my whanau."

She has a new passion, teaming up with fellow actor and Gisborne local Te Huamanuka Luiten-Apirana to create ways to support and mentor young people in Tairawhiti.