Ward-Lealand was born in
Wellington, New Zealand, to Philippa "Pippa" Mary (née Ward) and Conrad Ainsley Lealand. She has an older sister, Diana Mary Ward-Pickering and a half brother Simcha Lindt. From the age of seven, after experiencing the buzz of joining the cast of
Oedipus at Unity Theatre, Ward-Lealand knew that she wanted to be an actor. After first attending a summer school in Hawkes Bay, run by Auckland's influential
Theatre Corporate, Ward-Lealand then completed in 1982 a year-long diploma in acting with the company with Paul Minnifie, Judith Gibson, Elizabth Hawthorne, Elizabeth McRae, Linda Cartwright and Raymond Hawthorne as the main teachers /directors.
Her engagement in the cabaret diva genre became a hallmark of her style as a singer. Brel: The Words and Music of Jaques Brel
is a 2012 Silo Theatre show with Jacques Brel songs that Ward-Lealand was in along with Julia Deans, Tama Waipara and John Toogood directed by Michael Hurst and Leon Radojkovic. Brel'' went on to be performed at a few venues around New Zealand finishing at the New Zealand Festival in 2014. Ward-Lealand was a founding board member of
Watershed Theatre and a co-founder of the Large Group and the drama school, The Actors’ Program.'' Since performing in
Hedda Gabler, the final Theatre Corporate production, Ward-Lealand has contributed significant roles to the
Silo Theatre, such as Stevie in
The Goat or Who is Sylvie by Edward Albee performed in 2005 with her husband Michael Hurst; Martha in "That Face" by Polly Stenham However, her most extensive repertoire has been programmed by the Auckland Theatre Company (ATC), including playing Barbara in the 2010 production of August; Osage County; Ouisa Kitteridge in Six Degrees of Separation; The Witch in Into the Woods; the 2020 online role of Arkadina in ATC's Zoom production of ''Chekhov's The Seagull. She has directed
Aroha Awarau's scripts, such as
Exclusive in 2020. 2021 led to a new challenge through collaboration with Awarau and the producer Peata Melbourne. Ward-Lealand took on screen direction of the short film
Disrupt about drug addiction in Aotearoa, ending with a message of hope and redemption. ==Filmography==