Kellie Blizard
As an actress, writer, voice artist and theatre producer, not to mention a mum to two young children, downtime doesn’t feature a lot in Auckland star Ana Corbett’s diary.
“Mothers can carry a lot of mental and emotional stress, and I’m constantly trying to figure out how to balance all the things I do, as well as being a present and fun mum,” says the 37-year-old, who is mother to Otis, six, and Tallula, two.
She lends her soothing voice to ads for brands such as New World and Kiwibank, and will be a familiar face from local series, including Shortland Street and Duckrockers. More recently, she landed a major guest role in the Aussie-made TVNZ+ series Totally Completely Fine, starring fellow Kiwi Thomasin McKenzie.
But despite her blossoming career, it hasn’t all been plain sailing for Ana, who was struck down with a mysterious autoimmune condition in 2022.
“Our son had come into our room in the middle of the night, so I carried him back to his room, but when I bent down in the dark to put him on his bed, I lost balance and my knee hit the ground,” recalls Ana.
She “didn’t feel too bad at the time” and woke up twice more that night to feed baby Tallula, who was then just six months old. “But the next morning, my knee was so swollen, I wondered if I’d torn a ligament or dislocated something.”
With COVID restrictions still in place, seeking medical assistance wasn’t straight-forward, so Ana decided if it was still swollen the next day, she’d see a doctor.
“It was even worse then, so I went to A&E, where x-rays didn’t reveal anything, apart from a lot of fluid in my knee, so all they could do was put it in a brace and book me for an MRI the following week.”
When tests and scans proved inconclusive, Ana’s mettle was sorely tested. “It was horrible. I’d wake each morning quite stiff in my ankles and knees, then as the day went on, arthritic pain would spread as my joints became sorer and more swollen, until I was in agony.”
Ana was reduced to crawling on the floor to care for her kids and because her partner Sam Jellie was working 12-hour days on Netflix series Sweet Tooth, it was impossible to rest.
“About four weeks later, when I was still on crutches, I was asked to audition for an American commercial that needed a mother and a six-month-old baby. I said no because of the injury, but they asked me to reconsider as they hadn’t found the right person.”
Torn about turning down lucrative work, Ana did do the audition with her bubba, taking great pains to disguise her hobble.
“It sounds absolutely nuts now as I could barely walk and I was terrified my knees would give way in front of all these people, but Tallula and I got the job!”
Prior to filming, Ana’s osteo and acupuncturist did what they could to ease her pain and build strength, strapping both knees for the shoot.
“In my breaks, I’d hide off-set with my legs up the wall to help reduce the swelling.”
As for a diagnosis, Ana’s specialists remained perplexed.
“The doctors thought it was the beginnings of undiagnosed rheumatoid arthritis, but blood tests kept coming back negative, so they eventually concluded that it was a reactive type of arthritis caused by the initial injury.”
Happily, the pain finally started to clear six months later. “I started to get better around the same time I stopped breastfeeding, so I do wonder if hormones, and the softening of bones and joints during pregnancy and post-partum, contributed to whatever it was. I was also incredibly overtired, so maybe the knee injury created an auto- immune response to fatigue.”
Properly back on her feet now, Ana is delighted to have a lead role in Auckland Theatre Company’s production of O Le Pepelo, Le Gaoi Ma Le Pala’ai/The Liar, The Thief And The Coward, a dark comedy that explores notions of family, leadership and legacy in Samoan culture. The new gig means getting fit again is a major priority.
“It was horrible to think I might never run around with my kids again – that I’d never get better,” she says. “I’m terrified I’ll injure myself again, which is why I go to the gym as much for my mental health as my physical health.
“When I come home from working out, the kids always ask, ‘How was training today, Mum? Did you lift any weights?’ I love how they’re seeing me get strong again and that they understand how important it is for their mum to live a healthy, active life.”
O Le Pepelo, Le Gaoi Ma Le Pala’ai opens 5 March at Auckland’s ASB Waterfront Theatre. For more details and tickets, visit atc.co.nz.
