Folau was born Solonaima Maria Tuta'ia in Tokoroa on 18 February 1987, the daughter of Fuisami Tuta'ia, a forestry worker, and his wife, Niukini, a homemaker, who in 1983 had moved to New Zealand from Samoa.[1][2] She was named for her grandmothers, Solonaima and Malia, and she began using her middle name when she entered school as her teacher had difficulty pronouncing her first name.[2] Maria Tuta'ia was an attendee of Lynfield College but in the final year of it, transferred to Mount Albert Grammar School. At MAGS, she became a captain of its first Premier Netball team, which under her command came fourth at the Upper North Island Secondary Schools tournament and New Zealand Secondary Schools' Championships respectively. In 2003, Folau was named in the New Zealand U21 squad and two years later she became part of the winning team that brought home the 2005 World Youth Cup from Miami. That year, she was called into the Silver Ferns team, making her on-court debut when the Ferns toured Jamaica.[3]
In the 2010 ANZ Championship, Folau was the first and only player to be sent off during the match against the Swifts for persistent breaking. This send off happened in the last two minutes of the match and she took no further part in that match.
She is renowned for scoring the crucial goals, such as in the gold medal match against Australia at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, and during the 2011 ANZ Championship season when she scored the winning goal in the dying seconds against the Magic.
In 2014, Folau was inducted into the Mt. Albert Grammar School Hall of Fame.[7]
In December 2019, Netball New Zealand announced that Folau had retired from domestic and international netball. She finished her career with 150 caps for the Silver Ferns, the second-most capped player for her nation behind Laura Langman.[14]
In February 2022 it was reported that the Queensland Firebirds were in discussions with Folau.[15]
