Magda Szubanski

Magda Szubanski AO (b. 1961) is one of Australia's most-loved comedians and performers. She was born in Liverpool, England and her family moved to Australia when she was four. Studying fine arts and philosophy at the University of Melbourne, she performed in the revue Too Cool for Sandals, which resulted in her and her co-stars being spotted by producers from ABC Television. This led to the creation of two seasons of the TV comedy sketch show The D-Generation (1986–1987), which Szubanski co-wrote. The series gave rise to a breakfast radio program which ran on Triple M from 1986 to 1992, as well as a four specials screened by Channel 7 in 1988 and 1989. Szubanski was subsequently one of the creators of Fast Forward (1989–1992), writing and performing characters such as Pixie-Anne Wheatley, Lynne Postlethwaite, and Chenille of Chenille's Institute du Beauté. In 1995 Szubanski teamed up with Jane Turner and Gina Riley to create Big Girls Blouse, the first all-female Australian sketch comedy television program. For her next venture with Riley and Turner, the sitcom Kath & Kim, Szubanski created her best-known character: the hapless, Shane-Warne-obsessed netball enthusiast Sharon Strzelecki. Szubankski played Sharon in all four seasons of the series, which screened between 2002 and 2007, and in the film Kath & Kimderella (2012). Among her numerous other screen credits are the films Babe (1995), Babe: Pig in the City (1998), Happy Feet (2006) and Happy Feet 2 (2011); the sketch comedy series Open Slather (2015) and the telemovie series Dogwoman (2000–2001). Her many accolades include the Most Popular Comedy Personality award at the Logies in 1991, 1992 and 1996; an Australian Film Institute award (2002); and two AWGIES for her writing for Big Girls Blouse and Fast Forward.

In her 2015 memoir Reckoning – which she has said was 'emotionally gruelling' to write – Szubanski frankly recounted her experiences of intergenerational trauma, anxiety and depression; of growing up aware that she was 'that most reviled and despised thing: a lezzo'; and of the binge eating and weight gain that became a way of hiding her sexual identity. Having come out to her parents in 1992, she came out publicly in 2012 and has since become a prominent and forthright advocate for LGBTIQA+ rights. Her support for same-sex marriage was considered crucial to the success of the YES vote in the 2017 marriage equality plebiscite. Reckoning took out several awards including Book of the Year and Biography of the Year at the Australian Book Industry Awards, and the Douglas Stewart Prize for Non-fiction at NSW Premier's Literary Awards for 2016.

Purchased with funds provided by Jillian Broadbent AC 2021
© Jacqueline Mitelman