Magda Szubanski AO (b. 1961), actor and writer, was born in Liverpool, England and moved to Australia when she was four. While studying Arts at the University of Melbourne, Szubanski performed in the revue Too Cool for Sandals, where she and her co-stars Michael Veitch and Tom Gleisner were spotted by ABC producers. This led to the creation of the TV comedy show, The D-Generation, on which she performed from 1986–1987 and where she met Jane Turner. She was then one of the creators of Fast Forward (1989–1992) for the Seven Network, writing and performing as characters including Pixie-Anne Wheatley and Lynne Postlethwaite ('I said "Love", I said "Pet", I said "Please"'), and working alongside Turner and Gina Riley. In 1995 Szubanski teamed up with Riley and Turner to create Big Girl's Blouse, the first all-female Australian sketch comedy program. She is perhaps best known for her poignant performance as Sharon Strzelecki in the TV series Kath & Kim (2002–2007), and later the film Kath & Kimderella (2012), again with Riley and Turner. She worked with director George Miller for the films Babe (1995), Babe: Pig in the City (1998), Happy Feet (2006) and Happy Feet 2 (2011). In 2007 she performed on stage in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and The Madwoman of Chaillot. Her accolades include the Most Popular Comedy Personality award at the Logies in 1991, 1992 and 1996; an AACTA award for her role as Sharon Strzelecki in 2002; and several writing awards for her 2015 memoir Reckoning, including Book of the Year at the 2016 Australian Book Industry Awards. Szubanski is an advocate for LGBTIQA+ rights and campaigned for marriage equality.
