[5] Rose's father John is a Samoan man and a first-generation immigrant to New Zealand; he joined the Polynesian Panthers movement when he was a teenager, and went on to work in an administrative role at the Rastafarian Church.

[6][5] Her mother Diane is a Pākehā New Zealander of Scottish and Croatian heritage; she works as a teacher, and moved to Kampala, Uganda to teach English in the 2010s.

[15] Since graduating from the "Class Comedians" programme, Matafeo went on to win best newcomer at the 2010 New Zealand International Comedy Festival.

She has had success with her solo stand-up comedy shows at the festival: Life Lessons I've Learnt from the 60s Based on Things I've Seen on Television (2011), Scout's Honour (2012) and The Rose Matafeo Variety Hour (2013).

Upon TVNZ U finishing, she took on a new role as a writer for Jono and Ben at Ten, a satirical news and comedy sketch show.

Having toured as a stand-up comedian for ten years, Matafeo said in 2018 that she wanted to "take a break from hour long comedy" and instead act more, write more, and also direct.

[39] In July 2020, Matafeo joined Guy Montgomery on the comedy show Tiny Tour of Aotearoa travelling across New Zealand.

[42] In April 2021, Starstruck, a six-part rom-com created by and starring Matefeo aired on the BBC (UK), HBO (USA), TVNZ (New Zealand), and ABC (Australia).

[44][45][46] Co-written by Matafeo and Alice Snedden, the cast included actor Nikesh Patel, as leading man and love interest Tom.

[57] Matafeo is a supporter of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand and was scheduled to host their campaign launch for the 2020 general election, but was later asked to step down from the role.