Jeanette Thomas

Although her alarm is set for 3:30am daily, Jeanette Thomas knows she’s one of the lucky ones. She truly loves her job and is grateful her mornings are filled with authenticity, laughter and joy alongside her co-host Robert Rakete on The Breeze's breakfast show. No stranger to early mornings, for almost 19 years, Jeanette hosted TVNZ's long-running show Good Morning, where she got to meet and interview hundreds of wonderful New Zealanders and international guests every day. Jeanette has also hosted or co-hosted many well-known titles, including Three’s hit consumer show Target, House Trap, House of the Year, Jim's Car Show and 5:30 with Jude. In 2005, she worked as a journalist for 3News.

Turning 50, Jeanette has a genuine appreciation for what she has achieved. Her adoring husband, Dave, two fabulous kids, Charlie and Mia, and a couple of rescues, Sam and Ben, keep her on her toes when she’s not planning her show or on the air. While desperately sad about not being born with a green thumb, Jeanette directs that energy to supporting her eldest, Charlie, in the plight of the critically endangered orangutans of Indonesia and is the New Zealand ambassador for The Orangutan Project. Her family sponsors three orphaned orangutan babies in Sumatra and Borneo, and she and Charlie are keen to educate as many people as possible on the devastating effect of deforestation on our planet.

While she continues to have a deep passion for working in television and radio after spending time in an orangutan sanctuary in Sumatra, who knows what she might end up doing when the kids leave home?