Peata’s first involvement in the film industry was a baptism by fire at age 19, when she took on the Wardrobe HOD role on indie film Northspur.
Since then she has focused on acting & stuntwork, spending a few months in Auckland annually to study under acting coach Elena Stejko and renowned stuntwoman Dayna Grant. Some of her on-screen highlights include Netflix’s East of Eden (2026), Lee Tamahori’s The Convert (2024) and Māori TV’s Kairākau S4 (2024). She is a presenter on an episode of VICE Australia & Tourism NZ’s Local Access series, and also stars in locally-made short film War Paint (2023), which won several international awards for best drama before airing on Whakaata Māori and being streamed for 18 months on Maori+. She is represented by ODD Management.
In 2020 Peata attended a First Assistant Camera course in Chch with the NZ Cinematography Society, and has since worked as a 1st AC, lighting assist or camera operator on numerous projects throughout the Top of the South Island region. These include data wrangling & operating C Camera on a reality series for Irish TV (filmed locally in Ngātimoti), focus pulling on Kiwi-Bollywood short film collaboration Tinsel over Twizel, and 3rd AC on critically-acclaimed NZFC short First Horse, starring Troy Kingi (winner of the 2024 First Nations award at Sydney Film Festival).
Also a classically-trained pianist & flute player, Peata grew up playing and singing in bands, orchestras, chamber groups & choirs. Similarly, she trained in classical ballet for 10 years before transitioning into contemporary and various street dance styles, with an emphasis on Krump. Dance then took a back seat for a couple of years as she focused her sporting energies on mau rākau (Māori martial arts), passing her first grade after just 3 months in the sport. She is currently working towards her Poutoru grading under Te Whare Tu Taua o Aotearoa (The Ancient School of Māori Weaponry).
