Jaymee | Manurewa, Auckland

“Home for me is going back to my hometown where I’m from, which is Gisborne. I’m originally from Tūparoa down on the East Coast, and home means just spending time with family there, and being able to connect with my roots and doing some of the things that our ancestors did, which is like fishing and going and getting kaimoana and stuff like that.

Just that feeling of the environment that makes you feel comfortable, where you are and where you’re loved.

I was born in Middlemore but my dad’s Māori side is from the East Coast and my mum’s side is from up North, Ngāpuhi and we’ve just always been raised in Auckland. We started out in Manurewa, and then we moved to Pukekohe in 2005, when I was five, and I pretty much grew up there in Pukekohe from when I was five to about 15, and then I moved to my nan’s in Manukau, Auckland and ended up finishing high school at Manurewa High, and I ended up getting a lot more opportunities that I was interested in because I’m into performing arts. Dancing. I love to sing and perform and acting. I was given a lot more dancing opportunities. I ended up joining school dance crews, and we ended up taking out a lot of street dance competitions, and it was really fun and a challenging experience, but it taught me a lot. From there I ended up living in ‘Rewa, and then ended up getting signed to a talent agency, and then from there I ended up doing my first serious job with a New Zealand documentary by Radio New Zealand. They did a documentary on the New Zealand Wars, called Waitara Wars, and I was one of the Māori females who fought in the war, and it was just basically telling the people about how the women would fight just as much as the men would, back in those times when their land and stuff were getting taken off of them. That was a really cool experience for my first job on camera, and then from there I ended up getting jobs with Shortland Street being a background nurse. That was really cool since I had always watched them growing up, and then to be on it myself was really cool. To see the stars and work with them, myself was really cool. Then just been doing more jobs and retail jobs and other hospitality, catering jobs, but I really am trying to become a professional actress later on in my career.

Aroha nui. That means it’s okay, or you’ll be alright. I think it means that. Just saying you’ll be alright, to spread love, that’s cool.”