From Fiji, to becoming a well-known face on New Zealand television, actress and director Nicole Whippy has forged a career that defies the odds.
The 47-year-old of Suva moved to Auckland when her dad, a fitter and turner, moved the whole family to New Zealand.
“I was brought up in a community in East Auckland where there weren’t many Fijians at all,” Ms Whippy said.
“There were two Tongan families and us. I felt like I really gravitated towards the Tongan families actually.”
Her mother hails from Vanuabalavu, while her father is from Savusavu in Cakaudrove.
Ms Whippy’s love for stage performance started early.
She attended Pigeon Mountain Primary, Bucklands Beach Intermediate and Macleans College where she balanced netball and dance. Her discovery of Shakespeare solidified her passion for acting.
“We entered a competition where I got to play Olivia in Twelfth Night.
“At the same time, our netball team was planning to come to Fiji to play netball. I had to choose.
True to her love, she chose to stay behind and play Olivia’s role.
“We won the Shakespeare competition. And then when I left school, I went straight to performing arts school because I didn’t think there was anything else I could actually do.
After high school, she spent three years completing her degree in performing and screen arts, which led to her first professional acting role in Xena: Warrior Princess, playing Amazon Queen Chilapa.
Shortly after, she landed a role in Jackson’s Wharf, setting her on a path to screen acting.
After that it was just, one project after another. Whippy said she recalls feeling like an outsider in the New Zealand entertainment industry.
“Being a Fijian face in New Zealand at that time… there were no brown people on TV,” she said.
“It wasn’t easy because I never felt like I fit in anywhere. When you’re brought here to live in a very white community, you can’t help but feel like that.
That’s why I feel very connected when I come back here to Fiji.”
Whippy also ventured into directing, writing and teaching. She runs the Point Chevalier Drama Club, a safe space for young actors aged six to sixteen, and hosted workshops at the University of the South Pacific.
Her daughter, Pearl, is now following in her footsteps, having already appeared on multiple film sets, while her husband, Tom, works as a production designer.
Whippy spent four and a half years on Shortland Street, one of New Zealand’s and Fiji’s most demanding television productions.
“Shortland Street burnt me. It burnt me out. It’s the fastest turnaround in the world. You get three takes and then you’re out.”
“It’s a really dramatic show and sometimes you can get lost in it but I’m glad to have been apart of it.”
Whippy said she remains committed to telling Pacific stories. She believes Fiji is on the verge of a creative boom and she hopes to encourage young filmmakers to embrace their unique perspective.
Plus she acknowledges the deep ties she has with her homeland.
“We don’t need to be like them. You don’t need to be like anyone else in the world,” she said.
