Ruakere started out as a presenter for popular children's television shows such as
What Now in New Zealand in the late nineties and later on
ITV' s
SMTV Live in 2003. From 2011 to 2014, Ruakere played the character of
Roimata Ngatai on
Shortland Street, her most notable television role to date. In 2018, Ruakere was a contestant on
Dancing with the Stars. She and dancing partner Enrique Johns made it to the grand final, where they were first of the four teams to be eliminated. In 2022, she became the host of New Zealand's edition of
FBoy Island. ==Personal life==