Hinemoa Elder

Hinemoa Elder was born in England to a Māori mother and a Pākehā  father. She  won TV fame as Hine Elder, model and presenter on 1990s youth shows, including 3.45 LIVE! and The Bugs Bunny Show. Her high profile marriage to broadcaster Paul Holmes meant her move into medicine was closely followed. In 2011 Elder was awarded a Doctor of Philosophy for developing tikanga approaches to treat brain injured Māori youth. Dr Elder is a Fellow of the Royal Australia and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, and a fluent te reo Māori advocate. In 2022 she was an interviewee on Indigenous 100, a series showcasing Māori thought leaders.

I remember being told I was a ‘TV bimbo’ when I was training in psychiatry, having already completed my medical training. I was blindsided. Those words aimed to put me in a box. Those words were designed to constrain and define me … preclude me from being anything else. Hinemoa Elder, in her 2020 book Aroha