If you’ve got big news to share, you usually want to tell your loved ones first. And when Shortland Street star Bella Kalolo-Suraj found out she had been nominated for TV Personality of the Year at the New Zealand Television Awards, it was her on screen brother, actor Theo Dāvid, she spilled to.
But when she took out the prestigious trophy at the star-studded event last Friday, there were two people the Christchurch-born actress and singer, 42, desperately wanted to tell. As tears fill her eyes, Bella shares the heartbreak behind her win – that her late parents never got to see their daughter on their favourite TV drama.
“I wish my parents had seen me on Shortland Street,” she says. “They loved the show. They encouraged me to do this and I feel them around all the time.”
Much to her parents’ pride, Bella was the first in her family to pursue a job in entertainment.
She explains, “My mum Aneriueta Teta Pa’o-Sopoaga was an educator, and also a translator at the High Courts and hospitals. My older siblings are both in education. I didn’t follow in that path. To placate Mum, I studied for a year, doing a certificate in communication skills with people with disabilities. While I liked it, I knew that it wasn’t going to be my forever thing.”
Bella’s mum and her dad Fetuao “Fred” Lauvi Sopoaga could see the joy performing gave her, so they encouraged her to chase her showbiz dreams.
“I was the only kid they had that they were like, ‘Go and do whatever you want to do, whatever makes you happy!’” she smiles. Music was that thing.
“I’m really proud that something of me has made an impression somewhere. To be honest, I would have been happy just with the nomination. I felt shocked – no one knows who the hell I am!
“But there are people who I’ve mentored, people I gig with, people I’ve toured with and those who I’ve acted with on stage… Maybe it’s my ‘day ones’ who voted – the people who have been there since day one.”
Humble Bella – who is of Ngāti Porou, Samoan and Tongan descent – reached great heights, playing with her band at the Glastonbury Festival, where she also performed with Chaka Khan, as well as opening for John Mayer at his 2019 Auckland concert. But the musician had always hankered to be an actress, fulfilling that ambition with roles in Kiwi classics such as Sione’s Wedding and Duckrockers – and she is also the emerald-clad Mother Nature in that power company commercial.
“I don’t set out to be a high achiever,” says Bella. “I just really enjoy the people I work with and what I do.”
She’s had an acting agent for less than three years, with Shorty her first full-time acting gig. She first appeared in Ferndale in May 2022.
Bella shares, “There are so many people who have been just beautiful along the journey of being an actor and have really pushed me into spaces where I’ve once felt uncomfortable but have come to love.”
Her greatest support, she says, is her husband of four years, Suraj Kumar, 34.
She explains, “He met me when I was still gigging and doing shows. Taking home this prestigious award at the end of the night… It was not just for me. Suraj was super-proud that I won.
“Being an actor, especially on Shortland Street, is no easy task. It’s not for the weak, it’s hard work. It’s the equivalent of being on tour and always living out of your suitcase because it’s the consistency that you have to pour in.”
Bella can see that is where she is similar to her character Selina To’a – a strong, tenacious nurturer – but she will never be as barb-tongued.
“She is probably more brash and a little bit harsher than I am. She’s a motherly figure and a kind of older sister to a lot of people in Ferndale, which is more the common ground that I share with Selina.”
Bella grins a little as she acknowledges it can be hard for Shorty fans to separate her from her character. Next month, she’ll appear at Palmerston North’s Christmas in the Square event, where locals previously cheered for Selina. The actress laughs, “I’m like, ‘She’s not here today. Today I am me. I’m Bella!’”
She insists winning this trophy will not go to her head. She’ll continue to be down-to-earth and always up for a laugh, particularly with Suraj.
“We laugh a lot, we play-fight a lot and we’re constantly pranking,” laughs Bella. “He hates being frightened and that’s what I try to do daily. I’ll stay true to who I am. I’m as transparent as a jellyfish!”
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
