KIWI PERFOMER'S TAROT TALENT TRUSTING HER MAGIC

Whether she's healing or entertaining, the accomplished actress lifts others up

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Amanda Grace Leo doesn't do things by halves. Earlier this year at Auckland's Cabaret Festival, the multi-talented performer found herself belting out a tune just minutes after singing legend Hollie Smith had sung the exact same number.

“I'd picked At Last by Etta James, but then Hollie jumped up before me and sang it!” laughs Amanda. “I had two minutes to find something else. Honestly, I should have asked her to do Bathe In The River with me. That's my only regret!”

It’s the kind of story that perfectly sums up the 33-year-old actress, MC, wedding celebrant, singer and professional tarot reader - she's confident, funny and totally unflappable.

“For a long time, I thought I had to choose between my worlds. But now I realise they were never separate - they were just waiting to meet.”

Born in New Zealand, raised in Singapore from age nine and returning to Aotearoa for university, Amanda grew up a “hybrid kid”.

She explains, “I've got that Kiwi chill, but I also understand the Singaporean drive to achieve. Living between both worlds has given me perspective.”