Hannah Gadsby (born 1978) is an Australian comedian, writer, and actress. She began her career in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

after winning the national final of the

Raw Comedy Raw Comedy is an Australian annual competition for emerging stand-up comedians held by Melbourne International Comedy Festival. It was established in 1996 and is supported by national youth radio station Triple J. In 2011, there were 1,100 conte ...

competition for new comedians in 2006. In 2018, her show '' Nanette'' on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

won the

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for Variety Special is awarded to one television special each year. In the 1960s and between 1979 and 2008, specials competed alongside nominees for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series. In th ...

and a

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...

. Starting in 2019, she toured internationally with her show ''

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals *Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking *Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil W ...

'' and the recorded special was released on Netflix in 2020. In 2021, she was awarded an honorary doctorate from the

University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College, one of the university's residential colleges, first pro ...

. In March 2022, she published ''Ten Steps to Nanette: A Memoir Situation''.

Early life

Hannah Gadsby was born in Smithton, a small town on the remote north-west coast of

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. She was the youngest of five children. She attended

Smithton High School The Smithton School District is located in Smithton, Missouri, Smithton, a city in Pettis County, Missouri, Pettis County in the United States state of Missouri. History The school opened on 23 December 1912, and the Smithton School District h ...

from 1990 to 1995. In year 12, she attended Launceston College, where she had a

nervous breakdown A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...

. She began studying at the

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

but later transferred to the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...

, where she earned a bachelor's degree in

art history Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...

and curatorship in 2003. After her education, Gadsby worked in bookshops in

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

and became a

projectionist A projectionist is a person who operates a movie projector, particularly as an employee of a movie theater. Projectionists are also known as "operators". Historical background N.B. The dates given in the subject headings are approximate. Early ...

at an outdoor cinema in Darwin. She then spent two years picking vegetables and planting trees along the east coast of Australia. She became homeless, which she later attributed in part to her

ADHD Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by excessive amounts of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that are pervasive, impairing in multiple contexts, and otherwise age-inapp ...

, and ill enough with

acute pancreatitis Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a sudden inflammation of the pancreas. Causes in order of frequency include: 1) a gallstone impacted in the common bile duct beyond the point where the pancreatic duct joins it; 2) heavy alcohol use; 3) systemic disease; ...

to require hospitalisation.

Career

Stand-up comedy

On a visit to her sister in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

in 2006, Gadsby entered

in 2006, progressing through the heats to win the national prize. As the winner, she was sent to the So You Think You're Funny? competition at the

Edinburgh Fringe Festival The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

, where she won second prize. Her first solo show was titled ''Hannah Gadsby is Wrong and Broken'', and won the 2007 Best Newcomer Award at the

before she went on tour with the show in Edinburgh and New York. In 2008, she performed ''Meat the Musical'' with Amelia Jane Hunter at the

Melbourne International Comedy Festival The Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF) is the largest stand-alone comedy festival and the second-largest international comedy festival in the world. Established in 1987, it takes place annually in Melbourne over four weeks, typicall ...

. She continued to perform at festivals, including the

Kilkenny Comedy Festival The ''Cat Laughs Comedy Festival'' is a comedy festival held over the first weekend in June each year in Kilkenny, County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland. It was founded in 1994. History Cat Laughs was envisioned in 1994 by Lynn Cahill who ran Bi ...

, Montreal Just for Laughs Festival,

and

New Zealand International Comedy Festival {{Short description, Annual comedy festival in New Zealand The New Zealand International Comedy Festival is held simultaneously over three weeks during April/May in Auckland and Wellington. From its beginnings as a 2-day event, the Festival has n ...

. In September 2022, Gadsby signed a multi-title deal with

''Nanette''

Gadsby created the stand-up show she named '' Nanette'' partly as a response to the public debate which took place in Australia before the law was changed to allow same-sex marriage, and also after her diagnosis of

autism The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...

. ''Nanette'' explores topics such as

homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitude (psychology), attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, h ...

xenophobia Xenophobia () is the fear or dislike of anything which is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression of perceived conflict between an in-group and out-group and may manifest in suspicion by the one of the other's activities, a ...

sexism Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers primari ...

, and

gendered violence Gender-related violence or gender-based violence includes any kind of violence directed against people due to their gender or gender identification. Types of gender-related violence include: * Violence against women (sometimes referred to simply as ...

. Elahe Izadi of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' states although ''Nanette'' is a comedy, Gadsby insists the audience recognize the dark truth of

trauma Trauma most often refers to: * Major trauma, in physical medicine, severe physical injury caused by an external source * Psychological trauma, a type of damage to the psyche that occurs as a result of a severely distressing event *Traumatic i ...

and

assault An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in crim ...

. During the show, Gadsby says she is quitting

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

. In a review for '' Time Out'' of her next show ''Douglas'', Ben Neutze wrote that in ''Nanette'', "Gadsby's main objective was to deliver a fiery and furious takedown of the heterosexual patriarchy." According to Mary Luckhurst, writing in ''Persona Studies'', "During ''Nanette'', Gadsby ritually murdered her old persona and assumed a new high-status role that radically altered her relationship to the audience." After winning the

Barry award, the

Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

Comedy Award, and

Helpmann Award for Best Comedy Performer The Helpmann Award for Best Comedy Performer is an award, presented by Live Performance Australia (LPA) at the annual Helpmann Awards The Helpmann Awards are accolades for live entertainment and performing arts in Australia, presented by indu ...

released the film version of ''Nanette'' in 2018. On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, ''Nanette'' received an approval rating of 100% based on reviews from 49 critics.

''Douglas''

In March 2019, Gadsby previewed her new show, ''

'', in Adelaide, before touring the U.S. and Australia, where many shows were sold out in advance. In the show, she explores new personal revelations "with empathy, wit and some extremely relatable metaphor", and creates something "bigger than comedy" according to one reviewer of the preview show. In ''Douglas'', she discusses her autism diagnosis, aiming to help people understand

neurodiversity Neurodiversity refers to diversity in the human brain and cognition, for instance in sociability, learning, attention, mood and other mental functions. It was coined in 1998 by sociologist Judy Singer, who helped popularize the concept alo ...

as part of a normal variation of the human condition. In a review of the show for ''Time Out'', Anne-Marie Peard wrote, "''Douglas'' will create change and help people, especially undiagnosed women, to see that they may not have the right words to describe how they experience life; it's describing that experience to those who still say or think the words that belittle and damage." In 2020, Netflix released a filmed version of the live show.

''Body of Work''

In July 2021, Gadsby started with her solo show ''Body of Work'' in several venues in Australia, New Zealand, Europe, and the UK. Dates were also announced in the United States. In a review for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', Brian Logan wrote, "Its predecessors, the smash hits Nanette and Douglas, shot the Tasmanian to stardom – but weren't all smiles. Her latest, recounting romance and recent marriage to her producer Jenney Shamash, arrives with a lighter, looser vibe."

TV roles

Gadsby co-wrote and co-starred in the Australian

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

TV show ''

Adam Hills Tonight ''Adam Hills Tonight'', formerly known as ''Adam Hills in Gordon Street Tonight'', is a comedic Australian television interview show that ran from February 2011 to July 2013 on ABC1. It was hosted by comedian Adam Hills and co-starred Hannah Gads ...

'' through three seasons from February 2011 to July 2013. She had regular segments called "On This Day" and "Hannah Has A Go" and also featured on the couch, contributing as host

Adam Hills Adam Christopher Hills (born 10 July 1970) is an Australian comedian, radio and television presenter. In Australia, he hosted the music quiz show '' Spicks and Specks'' from 2005 to 2011, and again in 2021 onwards, and the talk show ''Adam Hi ...

interviewed his guests. She co-wrote (with Matthew Bate) and presented a three-part series on ABC, ''Hannah Gadsby's Oz'', which aired in March 2014. Produced by

Closer Productions Closer Productions is a film and television production company founded by filmmakers Sophie Hyde and Bryan Mason in Adelaide, South Australia, in January 2004. It is known for award-winning feature films such as '' 52 Tuesdays'' (2013) and ''A ...

, this series set out to "debunk the myths of the Australian identity perpetuated by tsnational art". From 2013 to 2016, she co-wrote 20 episodes of the television series ''

Please Like Me ''Please Like Me'' is an Australian television comedy-drama series created by and starring Josh Thomas. Thomas also serves as a writer for most episodes. The series premiered on 28 February 2013 on ABC2 in Australia and is now available on Netf ...

'' with fellow comedian Josh Thomas. In it, she played Hannah, a fictional version of herself.

Guest appearances

Gadsby's Australian and international television appearances include ''

Rove Live ''Rove'', also titled ''Rove Live'', was an Australian television variety show that featured live music performances and interviews with local and international celebrity guests. The program premiered on the Nine Network on 22 September 1999, be ...

'' (2009), ''

Good News Week ''Good News Week'' is an Australian satirical panel game show hosted by Paul McDermott that aired from 19 April 1996 to 27 May 2000, and 11 February 2008 to 28 April 2012. The show's initial run aired on ABC until being bought by Network Ten in ...

'' (2009), '' Spicks and Specks'' (2010), '' Agony Aunts'' (2012), '' QI'' (2018), ''

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It is the seventh incar ...

'' (2018, 2020), and TV3's game show, ''

7 Days Seven Days or 7 Days may refer to: * Week, an amount of time Film * ''7 Days'' (2010 film) (''Les 7 jours du talion''), Canadian thriller film * ''7 Days'' (2021 film), American romantic comedy film * ''Seven Days'' (1925 film), American silent ...

''. She was a presenter at the

70th Primetime Emmy Awards The 70th Primetime Emmy Awards honored the best in U.S. prime time television programming from June 1, 2017, until May 31, 2018, as chosen by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The ceremony was held live on September 17, 2018, at the ...

in 2018, presenting the award for

Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series is presented to the best directing of a television drama series, usually for a particular episode.Though this category is the dominant one in which dramatic directing has been ...

. Gadsby was also a guest on

Conan O'Brien Conan Christopher O'Brien (born April 18, 1963) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and producer. He is best known for having hosted late-night talk shows for almost 28 years, beginning with ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' (19 ...

's podcast ''

Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend ''Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend'' is a weekly podcast hosted by American comedian and former talk show host Conan O'Brien. It is co-hosted by O'Brien's assistant, Sona Movsesian, and producer, Matt Gourley. The podcast debuted in November 2018 ...

'' in 2019.

Art-related tours and shows

Between 2009 and 2013, Gadsby presented comedy art tours in conjunction with the

National Gallery of Victoria The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and most visited art museum. The NGV houses an encyclopedic art collection across two ...

, with themes such as paintings of the

Holy Virgin Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...

Dada Dada () or Dadaism was an art movement of the European avant-garde in the early 20th century, with early centres in Zürich, Switzerland, at the Cabaret Voltaire (Zurich), Cabaret Voltaire (in 1916). New York Dada began c. 1915, and after 192 ...

ism,

Modernism Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating ...

and the nude in art. She has given talks on art and opened exhibitions. Gadsby has written and presented two documentary specials for the ''

Artscape Artscape may refer to: * Artscape (festival) Artscape is an annual art festival held in the Mount Royal neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland in July. Since its first annual event in 1982, it has become the largest free arts festival in America. It ...

'' program on ABC TV: ''Hannah Gadsby Goes Domestic'' (2010) and ''The NGV'' ''Story'' (2011). In 2015, she wrote and performed ''Hannah Gadsby: Arts Clown'', a series for

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

based on her comedy art shows.

''Ten Steps to Nanette: A Memoir Situation''

In March 2022, Gadsby published ''Ten Steps to Nanette: A Memoir Situation''. The book was a ''New York Times''

bestseller A bestseller is a book or other media noted for its top selling status, with bestseller lists published by newspapers, magazines, and book store chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and specialties (novel, nonfiction book, cookb ...

. A review in ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'' by Trish Bendix stated the book "addresses the weighted issues of historical gender-based violence, misogyny, sexual abuse, homophobia, ableism and fatphobia, all of which Gadsby has directly experienced", and that Gadsby wrote, "I am triggering all the warnings." ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

'' wrote, "Consistently self-effacing and contemplative, Gadsby acknowledges that her unique brand of deadpan observational comedy isn't for everyone, especially since it often skewers 'the two most overly sensitive demographics the world has ever known: straight white cis men and self-righteous comedians. Thomas Floyd wrote in a review for ''The Washington Post'', "In ''Ten Steps'', she is understandably vague but remarkably vulnerable, writing: "I want the world to stop demanding gratuitous details in exchange for empathy. Entertainment in exchange for understanding."" ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

'' wrote, "Gadsby resists centering her abusers, instead offering a candid, often bawdy account of her nonlinear path toward healing—shaped by a gauntlet of therapists, a career in 'mak nga joke out of' her mental health, and her loving yet complex relationship with her family." Dana Dunham wrote for the ''

Chicago Review of Books The ''Chicago Review of Books'' is an online literary publication of StoryStudio Chicago which reviews recent books covering diverse genres, presses, voices, and media. The magazine was started in 2016 and Adam Morgan is the founding editor-in-c ...

'' that Gadsby "describes ''Nanette'' inception, its iterations, and its careful layering, representing her thinking in actual images of her early notes and through artistic metaphor: the shapes of ideas, the palette of thoughts. Any artist, any creator should value the chance to examine the composition of this revolutionary work, and the context from which it came."

Awards

* 2006: Melbourne International Comedy Festival

winner * 2006:

, So You Think You're Funny? – Second place * 2007:

Adelaide Fringe The Adelaide Fringe, formerly Adelaide Fringe Festival, is the world's second-largest annual arts festival (after the Edinburgh Festival Fringe), held in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Between mid-February and mid-March each year, i ...

, Best Newcomer Award for ''Hannah Gadsby is Wrong and Broken'' * 2010:

– nominee for ''The Cliff Young Shuffle'' * 2010:

– Directors' Choice Award * 2011:

– nominee for ''Mrs Chuckles'' * 2011:

Barry Award nominee * 2017:

for ''Nanette'' * 2017:

, Barry Award winner for ''Nanette'' * 2017:

Comedy Award – joint winner for ''Nanette'', tied with John Robins for ''The Darkness of Robins'' * 2017:

Best Comedy Award * 2018: 7th AACTA International Awards Best Comedy Program – nominee * 2018:

AACTA Award for Best Performance in a Television Comedy The AACTA Award for Best Performance in a Television Comedy is an accolade given by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA), a non-profit organisation whose aim is to "identify, award, promote and celebrate Australia's greates ...

* 2019:

for ''Douglas'' * 2019:

MTV Movie & TV Awards The MTV Movie & TV Awards (formerly the MTV Movie Awards) is a film and television awards show presented annually on MTV. The first MTV Movie Awards were presented in 1992. The ceremony was renamed the MTV Movie & TV Awards for its 26th editio ...

– nominee for Best Real-Life Hero * 2019:

for ''Nanette'' * 2019:

for ''Nanette''

Tours

* ''Kiss Me Quick I'm Full of Jubes'' (2009) * ''The Cliff Young Shuffle'' (2010) * ''Mrs Chuckles'' (2011) * ''Hannah Wants a Wife'' (2012) * ''Happiness Is a Bedside Table'' (2013) * ''The Exhibitionist'' (2014) * ''Dogmatic'' (2015) * ''Donkey'' (2016) * '' Nanette'' (20172018) * ''

'' (2019) * ''Body of Work'' (2021present)

Filmography

Television

Film

Bibliography

Personal life

Gadsby is openly lesbian and often includes

LGBTQ ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

-related themes in her stand-up routines. Gadsby was diagnosed with

and

in 2017. In January 2021, Gadsby married producer Jenney Shamash. Gadsby is an active supporter of various charities. Organisations she has assisted include Big Brothers Big Sisters of Melbourne,

Edmund Rice Camps Edmund Rice Camps (often referred to as ERC or Eddie Rice Camps) is a charitable volunteer organisation closely associated with the Congregation of Christian Brothers The Congregation of Christian Brothers ( la, Congregatio Fratrum Christianorum; ...

of Victoria, and the

Sacred Heart Mission Sacred Heart Mission in St Kilda, an inner suburb of Melbourne, is a medium-sized not-for-profit organisation that grew from the Catholic parish of The Sacred Heart in Grey Street, West St Kilda. It addresses homelessness, social exclusion an ...

References

External links

* *
2019 TED Talk Three ideas. Three contradictions. Or not.
Hannah Gadsby {{DEFAULTSORT:Gadsby, Hannah Adam Hills Tonight Australian National University alumni Australian stand-up comedians Living people People from Smithton, Tasmania Australian women comedians Lesbian comedians People on the autism spectrum Primetime Emmy Award winners Australian lesbian actresses Helpmann Award winners Edinburgh Festival performers 1978 births