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Urzila Carlson

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Urzila Carlson
Born1975 or 1976 (age 48–49)
Johannesburg, South Africa
Medium
  • Stand-up
  • Panel shows
NationalityNew Zealand
Years active2008–present
Subject(s)
  • Parenting
  • Emigration
Children2
Websiteurzilacarlson.com
Known for

Urzila Carlson (/ˈɜːrʃɪlə/ UR-shih-la;[citation needed] (born 1976[1]) is a South African-born New Zealand comedian and actress, known for her stand-up performances as well as her appearances on television programs in both New Zealand and Australia. Carlson is a regular panellist on 7 Days[2][3] and both the Australian and New Zealand version of Have You Been Paying Attention?. She has also been a panellist on The Masked Singer Australia for the show's second and third seasons[4] and a contestant on the second season of Taskmaster NZ.

Early life and education

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Urzila Carlson was born in 1976 at the Queen Victoria Hospital in Johannesburg.[5] She grew up on the Ingwelala nature reserve,[6] next to Kruger National Park[7] and has a brother and a sister.[6][8] Her father was a violent alcoholic, and her parents separated when she was 6 or 7 years old.[1][6][8]

Career

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Carlson's first job was as a typesetter for a South African newspaper, which she did for 12 years.[2] By the age of 24 she was "production manager for Africa's largest newspaper group with 13 newspapers and 6 magazines",[6] and won awards for graphic design and photo re-touching.[5]

She moved to New Zealand in 2006,[5] and moved into comedy in 2008, when she was 32.[2][6]

She has appeared on the Australian shows The Project, Studio 10, Spicks and Specks, Orange Is the New Brown, Have You Been Paying Attention?, Hughesy, We Have a Problem,[9] and two seasons of The Masked Singer.[4] She has also appeared on New Zealand shows 7 Days, Have You Been Paying Attention? and Super City.[1][2][9]

Her stand-up routines include The Long Flight To Freedom.[5] Carlson performed at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival Gala from 2016 to 2018.[8]

In 2021, she was a contestant on the second series of Taskmaster NZ.[10]

In 2022, she was a guest judge on RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under.[11] In 2023, Carlson appeared on Guy Montgomery's Guy Mont-Spelling Bee.[citation needed]

Recognition and awards

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Carlson was nominated for the Helpmann Award for Best Comedy Performer in 2018.[citation needed]

In 2019, she appeared in Netflix's Comedians of the World.[12][13][9] In October of that year, she was presented with the Rielly Comedy Award from the Variety Artists Club of New Zealand for her contribution to New Zealand entertainment.[citation needed]

She received 'Best Female Comedian' at the New Zealand Comedy Guild Awards.[8][when?]

Personal life

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Carlson speaks South African English and Afrikaans.[5] She emigrated to New Zealand from South Africa in 2006 after being subjected to a series of thefts, including her car being stolen, an armed robbery at work, and a break-in at her home, in which she and her neighbours confronted the intruder with cricket bats. She became a New Zealand citizen in 2012 and renounced her South African citizenship.[5]

Carlson is a lesbian, and came out to her mother when she was 24.[2][1] She refers to herself as a "lesbiterian",[14] a portmanteau of lesbian and Presbyterian.[1][12] She married her partner Julie in 2014, and they have a son and a daughter together.[15][16]

Her 2016 memoir is called Rolling with the Punchlines.[8][17]

In 2018, she was named Australasian Ambassador of South African Tourism, representing the country as part of an ongoing campaign to encourage Australians, New Zealanders, and South African expats to visit the country.[7]

As of 2019 she lives in Auckland.[6][16][13]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Quinn, Karl (8 March 2018). "Urzila Carlson treats stand-up 'like I'm at a barbecue with mates talking s---'". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2019. The 42-year-old South African-born, Auckland-based lesbyterian...
  2. ^ a b c d e Du Chateau, Carroll (24 July 2012) Urzila Carlson: The comedian standing up for herself Archived 28 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine, The New Zealand Herald, New Zealand Media and Entertainment. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  3. ^ Kanowski, Sarah (23 March 2018) Urzila Carlson: a life without regrets Archived 5 May 2018 at the Wayback Machine, Conversations, Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Accessed 27 April 2018.
  4. ^ a b "The first unmasking. Urzila Carlson is ready to play detective". ViacomCBS ANZ. Network Ten. 16 July 2020. Archived from the original on 16 July 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "Urzila Carlson: The Long Flight To Freedom". Theatre Review. Archived from the original on 31 March 2022. Retrieved 17 January 2019. [dead link‍]
  6. ^ a b c d e f Dann, Jennifer (29 November 2016). "Twelve questions with Urzila Carlson". The New Zealand Herald. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  7. ^ a b Comedian Urzila Carlson Is New South African Tourism Ambassador Archived 17 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine Travel Monitor. 2 October 2018
  8. ^ a b c d e "'Rolling With The Punchlines' Is Urzila Carlson's Fascinating Memoir". lotl.com. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  9. ^ a b c "Who Is Urzila Carlson? New Details On The Comic From 'Comedians Of The World' On Netflix". YourTango. 7 January 2019. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  10. ^ "Taskmaster NZ to return with new line up of comedians". Stuff.co.nz. 29 May 2021. Archived from the original on 20 July 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  11. ^ Loschiavo, Will. "Urzila Carlson: Beyond Comedy". Out in Jersey. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  12. ^ a b Steve Bennett (2 January 2019). "Comedians Of The World – Urzila Carlson". Chortle. Archived from the original on 3 January 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  13. ^ a b "Urzila Carlson goes global with Netflix comedy special Comedians Of The World". Newshub. 12 April 2018. Archived from the original on 20 February 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  14. ^ "Urzila Carlson: The comedian standing up for herself". NZ Herald. 25 July 2023. Archived from the original on 25 July 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  15. ^ "7 Days comedian Urzila Carlson welcomes baby boy". Stuff. 12 August 2016. Archived from the original on 21 January 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  16. ^ a b Weaser, Laura. "Urzila's Kiwi love story". Now To Love. Archived from the original on 14 October 2017. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  17. ^ Urzila., Carlson (2016). Rolling with the punchlines. Sydney: A & U New Zealand. ISBN 9781877505638. OCLC 1057621440.
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