Shavaughn Ruakere (born 3 March 1978) is a New Zealand

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

actress and television presenter. She is best known for her role as presenter on the children's TV show What Now. Shavaughn also played the role of Roimata Ngatai on the prime-time soap opera ''

Shortland Street ''Shortland Street'' is a New Zealand prime-time soap opera centring on the fictitious Shortland Street Hospital, first broadcast on TVNZ 2 on 25 May 1992. It is New Zealand's longest-running drama and soap opera, being broadcast continuously ...

''.

Early life

Ruakere was born in

Hāwera Hāwera is the second-largest centre in the Taranaki region of New Zealand's North Island, with a population of . It is near the coast of the South Taranaki Bight. The origins of the town lie in a government military base that was established ...

but lived in

Ōpunake Ōpunake is a small town on the southwest coast of Taranaki in New Zealand's North Island. It is located 45 kilometres southwest of New Plymouth. Rahotu is 16 km to the northwest. Manaia is 29 km to the southeast. State Highway ...

until her family moved to

New Plymouth New Plymouth ( mi, Ngāmotu) is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, Devon from where the first English settlers to New Plymouth migrated. Th ...

when she was eight years old. She attended university in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

before relocating to

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

for a television presenter role on ''

What Now ''What Now'' is a New Zealand children's television programme that premiered on Saturday 9 May 1981. It is currently filmed before a live audience at a different school in New Zealand, which is selected every week. The show airs every Sunday at ...

''.

Career

Ruakere started out as a presenter for popular children's television shows such as ''

'' in New Zealand in the late nineties and later on '' ITV s ''

SMTV Live ''SMTV Live'' (an abbreviation of ''Saturday Morning Television Live'', and also stylised as ''SM: LIVE'') was a British Saturday morning children's television programme, produced by Blaze Television for ITV. Operating on a similar format t ...

'' in 2003. Her acting career began with minor roles in the films ''

River Queen ''River Queen'' is a 2005 New Zealand-British war drama film directed by Vincent Ward and starring Samantha Morton, Kiefer Sutherland, Cliff Curtis, Temuera Morrison and Stephen Rea. The film opened to mixed reviews but performed well at the ...

'' (2005) and ''

Sione's Wedding ''Sione's Wedding'' (also marketed outside New Zealand as ''Samoan Wedding'') is a 2006 New Zealand comedic film directed by Chris Graham and written by James Griffin and Oscar Kightley, and produced by South Pacific Pictures South Pacif ...

'' (2006). From 2011 to 2014, Ruakere played the character of Roimata Ngatai on ''

'', her most notable television role to date. In 2018, Ruakere was a contestant on ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series ''Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the form ...

''. Although making it to the Grand Final, she and dancing partner Enrique Johns were first of the four teams to be eliminated. In 2022, she became the host of New Zealand's edition of FBoy Island.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* 1978 births Living people New Zealand film actresses New Zealand television actresses New Zealand Māori actresses New Zealand Māori people People from Hāwera New Zealand soap opera actresses 21st-century New Zealand actresses {{NewZealand-actor-stub