Julia Carolyn Margaret Morris (born 20 April 1968) is an Australian comedian, television presenter and actress who has worked extensively in Australian television and radio, touring the country with her solo comedy shows. She relocated to the United Kingdom in 2000, appearing on British television, then returned to Australia in 2007. She lived on the Central Coast for her childhood.

Personal life

Morris was educated at St Patrick's Catholic Primary School, St Joseph's Catholic College, East Gosford,

Santa Sabina College , motto_translation = Truth , established = , slogan = Shake the world , principal = Paulina Skerman , chairperson = Tony Woods , location = Strathfield, In ...

Strathfield Strathfield is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 12 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre of the Municipality of Strathfield. A ...

, and the Ensemble Theatre School. She later attended acting school for two years in Los Angeles. Morris married British comedian Dan Thomas in Las Vegas on 31 December 2005. They divorced in 2022.

Career

Television

Morris's first television appearance was in 1985, aged 17, as a contestant on the talent show ''

New Faces ''New Faces'' is a British television talent show that aired in the 1970s and 1980s. It has been hosted by Leslie Crowther, Derek Hobson and Marti Caine. It was produced for the ITV network by ATV, and later by Central. Original series: 1973 ...

''. She performed "

Holding Out for a Hero "Holding Out for a Hero" is a song recorded by Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler for the soundtrack to the 1984 film ''Footloose''. It later featured on her sixth studio album, ''Secret Dreams and Forbidden Fire'' (1986). The track was produced by Jim S ...

", a

Jim Steinman James Richard Steinman (November 1, 1947 – April 19, 2021) was an American composer, lyricist and record producer. He also worked as an arranger, pianist, and singer. His work included songs in the adult contemporary, rock, dance, pop, mus ...

song made famous by

Bonnie Tyler Gaynor Sullivan (née Hopkins; born 8 June 1951), known professionally as Bonnie Tyler, is a Welsh singer who is known for her distinctive husky voice. Tyler came to prominence with the release of her 1977 album '' The World Starts Tonight'' a ...

, and tied for first place. After several years in variety and stand-up, Morris's her big break came when she joined the ensemble cast of the hit Australian sketch comedy series '' Full Frontal'' in 1995. This led to hosting roles on ''Great Aussie Bloopers'' and "The Morris Report" on the live variety series ''

In Melbourne Tonight ''In Melbourne Tonight'', also known as ''IMT'', was a highly popular nightly Logie award-winning Australian variety television show produced at GTV-9 Melbourne from 6 May 1957 to 1970. Overview Graham Kennedy was the show's main host and sta ...

'', as well as regular appearances on ''

The Midday Show ''Midday'' (commonly referred to as ''The Midday Show'') is an Australian award-winning daytime television program, based on the variety format that aired on the Nine Network on 11 February 1985 until 27 November 1998. The show aired, like its ...

'', '' Good Morning Australia'', ''

Beauty and the Beast ''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve, Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' ( ...

'' and ''

Who Dares Wins ''Who Dares Wins'' (Latin: ''Qui audet adipiscitur''; el, Ο Τολμών Νικά, ''O tolmón niká''; french: Qui ose gagne; it, Chi osa vince; Portuguese: ''Quem ousa vence''; German: ''Wer wagt, gewinnt'') is a motto made popular in the E ...

'' as well as the action series ''

Gladiators A gladiator ( la, gladiator, "swordsman", from , "sword") was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gla ...

''. Morris relocated to the United Kingdom in 2000. As well as stand-up, she made appearances on the TV quiz '' QI'', an episode of the sitcom ''

Not Going Out ''Not Going Out'' is a British television sitcom that has aired on BBC One since 2006, and has 12 series making it the second longest running British sitcom (in series) behind the longest running sitcom worldwide, Last of the Summer Wine. It sta ...

'' playing a successful beautician, and in the sixth episode of season three of Kathy Griffin's ''My Life on the D-List'', offering advice on the British audiences. Morris also had a stint presenting the BBC's ''

Liquid News ''Liquid News'' was a daily round up of entertainment news for BBC Three (and before that BBC Choice) running from 30 May 2000 to 1 April 2004. The show was also broadcast weekly on BBC One and internationally on BBC Prime and BBC America. The p ...

'' show in 2002. Since her return to Australia in 2007, Morris has made appearances on ''

Thank God You're Here ''Thank God You're Here'' is an Australian television improvised comedy program created by Working Dog Productions, which premiered on Network Ten on 5 April 2006, and aired for the first three seasons and on Seven for the fourth season. Each ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', '' Spicks and Specks'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

The Singing Office ''The Singing Office'' is a television series that has an American and Australian version. It features ordinary citizens who form singing groups in their workplaces, then compete against other teams; the rights to the concept have been sold to 20 ...

'', '' It Takes Two'', ''

Sleuth 101 ''Sleuth 101'' was an Australian comedy "improvisatory whodunit game show" television series, broadcast on ABC1 in 2010. The series revolves around a murder-mystery that must be solved by a celebrity guest detective. Each episode features a gu ...

'', ''

Studio 10 ''Studio 10'' is an Australian morning talk show on Network 10. The show airs between 8:30am and noon on weekdays and a highlights show airs between 9:30am and noon on weekends. ''Studio 10'' is broadcast live from Network 10 Studios in Pyrm ...

'', '' The Project'', ''

The Living Room The Living Room was a music venue on Metropolitan Avenue in the Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, which was originally established on Stanton Street of the Lower East Side in Manhattan, New York City in 1988. The Liv ...

'', ''

Have You Been Paying Attention? ''Have You Been Paying Attention?'' (abbreviated on social media as HYBPA? and stylised on-screen as Have you been paying attention? in sentence case) is an Australian panel game television quiz show on Network 10. The series, which is produced ...

'' and ''

Hughesy, We Have a Problem ''Hughesy, We Have a Problem'' was an Australian comedy panel television series which premiered on Network 10 on 30 January 2018. The program was hosted by Dave Hughes, who along with a panel of comedians, attempted to solve problems of viewers ...

''. She won the third season of the reality singing series ''It Takes Two'', in which she was partnered with opera singer David Hobson. Her winnings were donated to the Emily Tapp Foundation, a charity dedicated to

melanoma Melanoma, also redundantly known as malignant melanoma, is a type of skin cancer that develops from the pigment-producing cells known as melanocytes. Melanomas typically occur in the skin, but may rarely occur in the mouth, intestines, or eye ( ...

awareness and prevention. She has also appeared in a series of commercials for

All-Bran All-Bran is a high-bran, high-fibre, wheat bran breakfast cereal manufactured by Kellogg's and marketed as an aid to digestive health. History The introduction of All-Bran in 1916 came on the heels of the success of Kellogg's Bran Flakes a yea ...

cereal, which also featured fellow actress and comedian

Helen Dallimore Helen Dallimore (born 31 October 1971) is an Australian actress, known for originating the role of Glinda the Good Witch, Glinda in the West End Theatre, West End production of ''Wicked (musical), Wicked''. Early life Dallimore grew up in Oxfor ...

. Morris was the winning contestant on the 2011 series of ''

The Celebrity Apprentice Australia ''The Celebrity Apprentice Australia'' is an Australian reality television series which aired on the Nine Network. Based on NBC's ''The Apprentice'', it first aired on 24 October 2011 and originally featured Mark Bouris, the founder and chairm ...

'', beating teammate Jason Coleman, model

Jesinta Campbell Jesinta Franklin (; born 12 August 1991) is an Australian model and beauty pageant titleholder. Franklin won Miss Universe Australia 2010 and represented Australia at Miss Universe 2010, placing 2nd Runner-Up. Early life Franklin grew up in ...

and

AFL AFL may refer to: Sports * American Football League (AFL), a name shared by several separate and unrelated professional American football leagues: ** American Football League (1926) (a.k.a. "AFL I"), first rival of the National Football Leagu ...

footballer

Shane Crawford Shane Barry Crawford (born 9 September 1974) is a former Australian rules football player, television media personality and author. He played 305 senior games for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL) and won the ...

. In 2012, Morris has starred as Gemma Crabb in the

Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...

's Melbourne-made drama series ''

House Husbands ''House Husbands'' is an Australian television comedy drama. The show debuted on the Nine Network on 2 September 2012. Set in Melbourne, ''House Husbands'' stars Firass Dirani, Gyton Grantley, Rhys Muldoon and Gary Sweet as four fathers who sta ...

''. The show commenced a second season on 8 April 2013. In April 2013, Morris was announced as the new host of television talent show ''

Australia's Got Talent ''Australia's Got Talent'' is an Australian reality television talent show. The show is based on the ''Got Talent'' series format that originated in the United Kingdom with Simon Cowell. The first six seasons aired on the Seven Network, from 2 ...

'', which has switched from the

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...

to the

. On 1 February 2015, Morris began co-hosting the Australian version of '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!'' with

Chris Brown Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. According to '' Billboard'', Brown is one of the most successful R&B singers of his generation, having often been referred to by many contempo ...

Network 10 Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of five ...

. In 2018, Morris hosted an updated version of dating show ''

Blind Date A blind date is a social engagement between two people who have not met, usually arranged by a mutual acquaintance. Structure A blind date is arranged for by a mutual acquaintance of both participants. The two people who take part in the blind ...

'' on

. On 24 February 2019, she also began co-hosting ''

Chris & Julia's Sunday Night Takeaway ''Chris & Julia's Sunday Night Takeaway'' (frequently referred to as ''Sunday Night Takeaway'' or simply ''Takeaway'') is an Australian television variety show, presented by Chris Brown and Julia Morris. It premiered on Network 10 on 24 February ...

'' with

. At the 61st TV Week Logie Awards in 2019, Morris was nominated for the

Gold Logie The Gold Logie Award for Most Popular Personality on Australian Television, commonly referred to simply as the Gold Logie, is an award presented annually at the Australian Logie Awards. The Gold Logie was first awarded at the 2nd Annual TV We ...

for the two aforementioned shows as well as '' I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here''! In 2020, Morris appeared as "Kitten" on the second season of ''

The Masked Singer Australia ''The Masked Singer Australia'' is an Australian reality television Reality competition, singing competition show hosted that premiered on Network Ten, Network 10 on 23 September 2019. Hosted by Osher Günsberg, the show is based on the intern ...

'' and was eliminated in the semi-final, placing 5th overall.

Live performance

Morris tours international comedy festivals, appearing at 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 ...

, South Africa's Vodacom Funny Festival, Montreal's Just For Laughs and 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 won a Herald Angel Award at the

2001 Edinburgh Festival Fringe The 2001 Edinburgh Festival Fringe was the 54th Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The Fringe ran from 5–27 August 2001 and presented 1462 shows over 176 venues. Awards Theatre Scotsman Fringe First Awards Week One: *''Gagarin Way'' *''Runt'' *''Like ...

and '' Time Out'' magazine's Comedy Performer of the Year Award in 2004. She is a former manager of Sydney's

Comedy Store The Comedy Store is an American comedy club opened in April 1972. It is located in West Hollywood, California, at 8433 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip. An associated club is located in La Jolla, San Diego, California. History The Comedy ...

venue. In 1999 Morris toured in the critically acclaimed Australian production of the

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

musical ''

I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change ''I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change'' is a musical comedy with book and lyrics by Joe DiPietro and music by Jimmy Roberts. It is the second-longest running Off-Broadway musical.Gans, Andrew"I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change Ends NYC Run A ...

''.

Television

As herself

References

External links

Official website
*
BBC News article discussing the Liquid News presenter lineup, August 2002

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20040928023524/http://www.brightoncomedyfestival.com/ladyjuliamorris.asp Review of 2004 Brighton Comedy Festival show ''Lady Julia Morris Live''br>Julia Morris biography
– It Takes Two website {{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Julia Australian women comedians Australian expatriates in the United Kingdom Living people 1968 births Australian people of Welsh descent The Apprentice Australia candidates The Apprentice (franchise) winners Australia's Got Talent Helpmann Award winners Comedians from Sydney