Kirsty is a multifaceted individual who wears many hats, including writer, actor, director, producer, and coach for young actors. Her most recent acting credit was the role of Sarah in Damien Power's feature film No Exit, with upcoming projects including Suzanne Adamson's Save Me, Hamilton's feature Without Sin, and the short film The Rose Garden.
Born and raised in New Zealand, Kirsty is of Maori descent, specifically Whanau a Pani, Ngai Tuhoe, Ngati Ruapani, Ngati Kahungunu, Scottish, English, German, and Irish heritage. She trained as an actress at Toi Whakaari - The New Zealand Drama School, alongside Hamilton.
Kirsty has had a diverse range of roles in film, including Catherine in Simon Bare's short film Eau De La Vie, and Grace in Costa Botes' feature film Saving Grace, which earned her a nomination for Best Actress at the NZ TV and film awards. She has also appeared in numerous stage productions, such as Rosalind in Miranda Harcourt's production of Shakespeare's As You Like It, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, Maria in Twelfth Night, Charlotte in Harold Pinter's Party Time, Mouse in Riwia Brown's Roimata, and many more.
In 2007, Kirsty was selected as a Shakespeare Globe Center of New Zealand's Fellow at Shakespeare's Globe theater in London, where she studied acting Shakespeare alongside Rawiri Paratene. She later graduated from the European Act summer acting, teaching Meisner, and screenwriting program in London, Paris, and Berlin through the London Actor's Center, showcasing at RADA.
Kirsty returned to New Zealand to pursue a place in the creative writing Masters at the International Institute of Modern Letters, earning her degree in 2012. She then went on to gain an honors degree in screen production at the University of Auckland, where she made her first two short films, Kat and Breathe.
In 2016, Kirsty was chosen by the New Zealand Directors Guild to participate in a series of workshops for female writer/directors transitioning to feature films, and was also selected by the New Zealand Film Commission as an Accelerator participant at MIFF. She is a qualified secondary school teacher of Drama and English, and has completed her third short film, Cold, starring Matthew Sunderland, which premiered at the Sandy Dennis Film Festival in 2018.
