Wehipeihana grew up in Wellington. Her mother, Colleen Smith, was a feminist activist and Wehipeihana was involved in feminist protests from a young age. Of
Māori descent, Wehipeihana has whakapapa (heritage) to the
Ngāti Tukorehe and
Ngāti Porou iwi. Wehipeihana has written as a columnist for
Newsroom. In 2020, she won Opinion Writer of the Year at the
2020 Voyager Media Awards. In 2020 she hosted the podcast
Getting Better for
Radio New Zealand about her experiences as a Māori medical student. The podcast won the Best Narrative Podcast award at the 2021 Voyager Media Awards. The book won the best first book award for general non-fiction at the 2024
Ockham New Zealand Book Awards, and was shortlisted for the overall general non-fiction award. At the ceremony, Wehipeihana said she wanted politicians in attendance to hear "that the front line of the health system can speak back". and had a daughter. after which she returned to using her maiden name. ==References==