Teuila turns 50 6 PASSION.PAIN & LOSING MY LIBIDO'

After a wild party to celebrate her half-century, the actress looks back on her roller-coaster journey to stardom and her surprising next chapter

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T euila Blakely has just celebrated her 50th birthday with a spectacular party, but in spite of dancing into the wee small hours with her closest friends, when Teuila speaks to Woman's Day to share her bold plans for the next half-century, her eyes shine brightly.

"I'm so excited for what's to come because I just have some really big projects ahead in the pipeline," enthuses the optimistic actress, writer, broadcaster and producer.

"I'm also aware that nothing is ever guaranteed and I've never seen the industry as bleak as it is at the moment, but one thing I do know, I will make the most of every day!" Determined from an early age to be a success, Teuila's steely character was forged when she fell pregnant at just 16 and was forced to go it alone. Jobs in retail followed, then a lucky break in 2003 saw the solo mum land a gig on brand-new music channel C4.

A glittering career ensued with roles in Outrageous Fortune, Bro'Town, Sione's Wedding and Shortland Street, as well as on radio. But in 2014, at the height of her fame, an intimate recording with Warriors star Konrad Hurell made headlines and threatened to destroy her career. But Teuila didn't just survive the controversy - she thrived in its wake.

'I intend to live my life as brightly as possible'

The vivacious star's rigid determination to triumph was sharpened yet again when she lost her mother in 2022.

"Our relationship was a journey," she admits. "Our reconciliation was a slow slide that started when I visited Samoa for the first time when I was 25. It was there I saw Mum in her element. I understood where she was from and that gave me a deeper understanding of who she really was as a person." Teulia is also eternally grateful to have been with her mother when she passed away.