Nicola Kāwana

Nicola Kāwana,

Graduate of Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School and a performer of Maori and Pakeha descent affiliated with Ngaruahine, Ngati Ruanui, and Ngati Kahungunu o Wairarapa, Kawana has worked across theatre, television, and film since 1998. Best known for voicing Mad Maggie in Apex Legends, playing Huia Samuels in Shortland Street, and Senior Sergeant Pounamu Edwards in One Lane Bridge, she is a playwright and UNICEF Global Parent.

Nicola Kāwana’s Path from Taranaki to the Apex Games

A Taranaki-born actress of Maori and Pakeha descent, Nicola Kawana represents one of the most compelling crossovers between New Zealand screen performance and international gaming. Affiliated with the iwi Ngaruahine, Ngati Ruanui, and Ngati Kahungunu o Wairarapa, her career began in the community theatres of Hawera before professional training sharpened it into something far broader in reach. Graduating from Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School in 1994, she entered an industry where Maori performers were underrepresented – and made her presence felt on every platform she stepped onto.

Shortland Street and the Weight of Representation

The role of Huia Samuels – the hospital’s Chief Executive Officer on Shortland Street, New Zealand’s longest-running television series – brought Kawana to national attention from 2005 to 2006. The character resonated far beyond ratings, particularly among Maori and younger audiences who rarely saw themselves reflected in senior professional roles on primetime television. Years after the character’s departure, Kawana noted that recognition on the street remained consistent, and that the impact of that representation stayed with her. Early television work on Jackson’s Wharf earned her a nomination and the tag “standout talent,” setting the tone for what followed.

Mad Maggie and the Apex Legends Universe

When Respawn Entertainment introduced Margaret Kohere – known universally as Mad Maggie – as the 20th legend in Apex Legends Season 12 in 2022, the choice of Kawana as her voice was deliberate and fitting. The character hails from Salvo, carries the cadence of the Pacific, and demands a performance that can shift between menace and dark humour without losing authenticity. Kawana brought all of that. Her work extended well beyond the initial launch – she reprised the role across the animated short series Stories from the Outlands and through the Kill Code multi-part series in 2023, embedding Mad Maggie firmly into the game’s ongoing lore. For many Apex players globally, her voice became the sound of one of the franchise’s most distinctive characters.

One Lane Bridge, Film, and Stage Depth

Season three of One Lane Bridge placed Kawana in the role of Senior Sergeant Pounamu Edwards, a commanding presence in a series that had already established itself as one of New Zealand’s most acclaimed crime dramas. Her film work spans genre – from the lead role of Margaret Crane in the horror-comedy Fresh Meat opposite Temuera Morrison, to playing Lollie alongside Martin Clunes in The Man Who Lost His Head. On stage, she has carried productions for the Auckland Theatre Company and Silo Theatre, with credits including North by Northwest, Rendered, White Rabbit Red Rabbit, and the internationally toured UPU. In 2021 she added playwright to her credentials with Kupapa, a work centered on her ancestor Lucy Takiora Lord and performed for Te Pou Theatre.

Frank Management and a Career That Keeps Expanding

Represented by Frank Management in New Zealand, Kawana continued adding to an already extensive screen profile through the mid-2020s. The series Tangata Pai in 2024, a drama set in Taranaki examining the collision of activism, identity, and politics, saw her in a core cast role. In 2026, two productions are listed on her agency profile – Dead Ahead season two and Bust Up season one – confirming that more than three decades into a career that started in community theatre, she is working at full pace. Kawana is also a member of Equity New Zealand and has served as a UNICEF Global Parent, bringing the same seriousness she applies to performance into advocacy work.