Gemma GracewoodGemma Gracewood

Gemma Gracewood is a producer of things and people. She likes making good things happen. She once had a two-week internship at the Shortland Street storyliners' table but left halfway through the last day to see Disney on Ice with Nurse Carla Crozier.

Meet Aotearoa’s next acting superstar

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Young New Zealand actor Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie is surging to stardom on the back of acclaimed survivalist drama Leave No Trace and Taika Waititi’s upcoming Jojo Rabbit. Gemma Gracewood runs down what you need to know about her. Not to get too excited about it, but Wellington teen Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie is having a bloody … Read more

A daughter remakes her mother’s iconic TV series

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Gemma Gracewood talks to her sort-of-sister Elisabeth Easther, the host of new TV One series Islands of the Gulf, in which Easther revisits her mother’s trailblazing documentary series. Elisabeth Easther’s brother is married to my sister, so we’ve been “sisters-out-law” since we were riotous teens. I’ve watched Elisabeth go from playing Victoria the dinosaur in … Read more

Pumped for politics: I got my boobs out at the United Nations

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It’s not every day you can say you expressed milk in the presence of world leaders. Gemma Gracewood looks back at that time she breastfed at the United Nations in New York, and considers what it’s like to work while parenting in the world of film and TV. One of the things about being a … Read more

I donated my son’s placenta to science (and then I tracked down the scientist who took it)

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Gemma Gracewood grew a baby and a placenta and then she gave the placenta away. Here she interviews the scientist she gave it to. Content warning: There are photos of a placenta in this post. These photos are either totally “ewww” or completely effing amazing depending on your opinion of the placenta. Photos provided courtesy … Read more

Free the street: a geoblock plea to Shortland Street bosses from a super-fan abroad

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Five years ago, South Pacific Pictures responded to an online campaign from fans outside NZ and unblocked the 20th birthday special for a couple of days. A repeat, please, this time round, beseeches Gemma Gracewood from New York. Dear South Pacific Pictures, Five years ago when Shortland Street turned 20, your special 90 minute feature-length episode was … Read more