[1] Tuala-Warren was born in Apia to a dentist father and a flight attendant mother, and was educated at Leifiifi College in Malifa and Tintern Grammar in Melbourne, Australia.
She won an AUSAID scholarship to the University of Sydney, graduating with a Bachelor of Economics in 1993.
She then won a NZODA Scholarship to the University of Waikato, where she graduated with a Bachelor and Master of Laws in 1997, before completing a pre-admission course at the university's Institute of Professional Legal Studies in 1998.
[8] In mid January 2025, Minister of Māori Development Tama Potaka appointed Tuala-Warren to the Waitangi Tribunal, a tribunal that considers Treaty of Waitangi claims and is tasked with fostering reconciliation between Māori people and the New Zealand Crown.
[9] She is married to New Zealand Māori Land Court judge Aidan Warren.