Jay Tewake (born 25 February 1990 Papatoetoe, Auckland, New Zealand) is a New Zealand actor. He is best known for his work on the short film GURL^[1] and the reality TV mini series Queens of Panguru.^[2]

Tewake has also done notable work in Music with producing acts including Mika Haka,^[3] JGeek and the Geeks,^[4] Bare Feet Street^[5] and many more. In 2011, Jay Tewake performed at the 2011 Rugby World Cup Music Event Mika's Aroha Mardi Gras.^[6] It was televised on Māori Television. He performed He Hoi alongside his back up dancers GlamBoyz & Ka 400.^[7]

Tewake was featured on Māori Television multiple times in a TV series called KA TV and KA Life. The shows were family shows promoting Health, fitness, well-being with dance, healthy eating and exercise.^[8] The TV series went on to become a free school holiday program to teach kids to dance.^[9] They also did a couple of publicity stunts with flash mobs. They got to join the 2011 Rugby World Cup Music Event Mika's Aroha Mardi Gras and the 2011 Kiwi Day Out.^[10]

In 2017, Jay Tewake starred in the reality TV Series The Queens of Panguru alongside Ramon Te Wake and Maihi Makiha.^[11] The five episode short series is about three well known people from the LGBT community who live in the big city of Auckland, return home to their roots.^[12] The TV series was televised on Māori Television.^[13]

In 2020, Tewake starred the lead role in the short film GURL.^[14] The film was a prequel of the biopic "The Book of Carmen" which is currently in pre-production.^[15] The film is based on the life of Carmen Rupe.^[16] Tewake also sang on the film's soundtrack.^[17] Winner for Best Actor in Medium Length Film at Brazil International Film Festival.^[18]

On the show Queens of Panguru, Tewake describes himself as a "young gay glamboy".^[19] He is the descendant of Heremia Te Wake who was a notable tribe leader, who is the father of respected kuia (Māori elder), Dame Whina Cooper.^[20]