Amanda Diana Bishop (born 10 December 1979) is an Australian actress and comedian, known for her comedy portrayals of

Julia Gillard Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is an Australian former politician who served as the 27th prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013, holding office as leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). She is the first and only ...

, the former

Prime Minister of Australia The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister heads the executive branch of the Australian Government, federal government of Australia and is also accountable to Parliament of A ...

, in the television comedy '' At Home with Julia''. Bishop had previously portrayed Gillard in the series '' Double Take'', when Gillard was

Deputy Prime Minister of Australia The deputy prime minister of Australia is the deputy chief executive and the second highest ranking officer of the Australian Government. The office of deputy prime minister was officially created as a ministerial portfolio in 1968, althoug ...

. Raised in

Bunnan Bunnan is a town in the Upper Hunter Shire in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is located on Bunnan Road east of Merriwa about 270 kilometres north of Sydney, and is part of the Hunter (federal) and Upper Hunter The Up ...

in the

Hunter Region The Hunter Region, also commonly known as the Hunter Valley, is a region of New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney. It contains the Hunter River and its tributaries with highland areas to the north and so ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Bishop gained a degree in music from the University of New England,Playing not so 'real' Julia
''Newcastle Herald'', 8 September 2010. and then trained at the

Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts The Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) at Edith Cowan University (ECU) was established in 1980 to provide performing arts tuition. WAAPA (commonly pronounced "whopp-a") operates as a part of ECU, located at the ECU campus in ...

. Bishop has collaborated with producer Michael Bourchier on two children's television series: ''

The Upside Down Show ''The Upside Down Show'' is a children's television series produced by Blink Films and Sesame Workshop. It was made for the Noggin channel. The series is set in a strange apartment building where the doors lead to a variety of unusual rooms. It is ...

'', on which she played the role of Mrs. Foil in every episode, and '' Penelope K, by the way'', on which she played the title role. Bishop first impersonated Julia Gillard as part of ''Waiting for Garnaut'', the 2008

Wharf Revue The Wharf Revue is a series of musical comedy revues presented by the Sydney Theatre Company. Each show features four comedians – usually Jonathan Biggins, Phillip Scott (actor), Phillip Scott and Drew Forsythe, accompanied by a female performer ...

by the

Sydney Theatre Company Sydney Theatre Company (STC) is an Australian theatre company based in Sydney, New South Wales. The company performs in The Wharf Theatre at Dawes Point in The Rocks area of Sydney, as well as the Roslyn Packer Theatre (formerly Sydney Thea ...

Jonathan Biggins Jonathan Martin Biggins (born 14 September 1960) is an Australian actor, singer, writer, director and comedian. He has appeared on film, stage and television as well as in satirical sketch comedy television programmes. He was born in Newcast ...

, Phillip Scott and

Drew Forsythe Drew Forsythe (born 23 August 1949) is an Australian actor, singer, writer, and comedian. He has appeared on film, stage, and television, as well as in satirical sketch comedy television programs. Early life Born in Sydney, New South Wales, F ...

. She reprised the role for the short-lived sketch comedy '' Double Take''. A clip filmed for ''Double Take'' of Bishop performing "9 to 9", a parody of "

9 to 5 Working(laboring) time is the period of time that a person spends at paid Wage labour, labor. Unpaid work, Unpaid labor such as personal housework or caring for children or pets is not considered part of the working week. Many countries regula ...

" mocking

Kevin Rudd Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957) is an Australian former politician and diplomat who served as the 26th prime minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010 and again from June 2013 to September 2013, holding office as the leader of the ...

's reputation for working his staff hard, was a hit on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

after Gillard became Prime Minister and the skit was mentioned on '' Q&A'' by

Magda Szubanski Magdalene Mary Therese Szubanski ( ; born 12 April 1961) is an Australian comedy actress, author, singer and LGBT rights advocate. She performed in ''Fast Forward'', '' Kath & Kim'' as Sharon Strzelecki and in the films ''Babe'' (1995) and ' ...

. In 2011 Bishop co-wrote, and portrayed Gillard in, the four-part sitcom, '' At Home with Julia'', on

ABC1 ABC TV, formerly known as ABC1, is an Australian national public television network. It is owned and operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and is the flagship ABC Television network. The headquarters of the ABC TV channel an ...

lampooning the relationship between Gillard and her real partner

Tim Mathieson Timothy Raymond Mathieson (born 1957) is an Australian hairdresser and the former partner of Julia Gillard, former Prime Minister of Australia. He entered the public spotlight in 2006 when they became partners. Gillard was Deputy Leader of the ...

(played by Bishop's ''Myles Barlow'' co-star, Phil Lloyd).Amanda Bishop in At Home with Julia
''ABC News'', 8 September 2011. Bishop reprised the Gillard character once again, among other roles, in the comedy series ''

Wednesday Night Fever ''Wednesday Night Fever'' was an Australian television topical sketch satire series produced and broadcast by the ABC1. The first episode went to air on 3 July 2013. Hosted by comedian Sammy J, the series featured a mix of live studio performan ...

''. In 2017, she appeared in the children's television series ''

Drop Dead Weird ''Drop Dead Weird'' is an Australian-Irish children's comedy drama television series screening on the Seven Network's digital channel 7TWO from 6 November 2017. This Australian/Irish co-production was created by Sally Browning and Dean Cropp. I ...

''.

References

External links

* Living people Australian television actresses Australian women comedians Australian impressionists (entertainers) University of New England (Australia) alumni People from the Hunter Region 1979 births {{Australia-comedian-stub