Michèle Edith A'Court (born 1961) is a New Zealand comedian, writer and feminist. She has toured New Zealand and international venues with her standup comedy shows and in 2010 was awarded the Female Comedian of the Decade at the NZ Comedy Guild Awards. A'Court has appeared in many TV shows since the late 1980s including ''

What Now ''What Now'' is a New Zealand children's television programme that premiered on Saturday 9 May 1981. It is currently filmed before a live audience at a different school in New Zealand, which is selected every week. The show airs every Sunday at ...

'', ''

7Days ''7DAYS'' was an English language free daily newspaper published in the United Arab Emirates. It was in circulation between 2003 and 22 December 2016. History and profile ''7DAYS '' was the region's first free daily newspaper. It was part-owned ...

'' and '' The Project''. She is a regular columnist with ''

The Spinoff ''The Spinoff'' is a New Zealand online magazine and news website that was founded in 2014. It is known for current affairs coverage, political and social analysis, and cultural commentary. It earns money through commercial sponsorship and su ...

'' and the author of two books. She was appointed an

Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rend ...

, for services to the entertainment and comedy industries, in the

2023 New Year Honours The 2023 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebration ...

Biography

A'Court trained in journalism, and has a degree in English literature and drama from

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well know ...

. In the mid-1980s she worked as a TVNZ publicist. She then got a job as a host on children's television show ''What Now'' starting in 1987. She saw comedy as a vehicle for social activism as a feminist as well as making people feel 'better about life'. When she was young was inspired by the comedy of

Danny Kaye Danny Kaye (born David Daniel Kaminsky; yi, דוד־דניאל קאַמינסקי; January 18, 1911 – March 3, 1987) was an American actor, comedian, singer and dancer. His performances featured physical comedy, idiosyncratic pantomimes, and ...

and

Carol Burnett Carol Creighton Burnett (born April 26, 1933) is an American actress, comedian, singer, and writer. Her groundbreaking comedy variety show ''The Carol Burnett Show'', which originally aired on CBS was one of the first of its kind to be hosted ...

. When she started doing stand-up comedy in the 1990s there were very few women. A'Court acknowledged in 2022 the fight for women to get a fairer representation as performers was continuing and also recognised that now comedy billing that used to be often one women per show are now often a 50:50 ratio. In stand-up A'Court has toured New Zealand and performed around the world including Las Vegas, Edinburgh, and Vancouver. A'Court supported the comedy industry of New Zealand by establishing the New Zealand Comedy Guild and she was the chairperson from 1999 to 2006. Since 2009 A'Court regularly appears on the comedy TV show ''7Days'' and since 2018 has been a regular host on the current affairs programme ''The Project'' (both on the New Zealand Three TV channel). Some recent stand-up comedy performances include headlining ''Mt Eden Comedy with Michele A'Court'' in 2015, and ''Friday Laughs'' in 2022 alongside her husband, comedian Jeremy Elwood. A'Court has written two books. Her first book, ''Stuff I Forgot To Tell My Daughter'' (2015), was based on her stand-up comedy show of the same name. A'Court has written guest columns for ''

Stuff Stuff, stuffed, and stuffing may refer to: *Physical matter *General, unspecific things, or entities Arts, media, and entertainment Books *''Stuff'' (1997), a novel by Joseph Connolly (author), Joseph Connolly *''Stuff'' (2005), a book by Jere ...

'' and is a guest writer for ''

''.

Books

* ''Stuff I Forgot To Tell My Daughter'' (2015) * ''How We Met'' (2018) * Foreword – ''Funny As: The Story of New Zealand Comedy''

Selected screenography

* ''L&P Top Town'' (1986) Final * ''What Now?'' (1987–1988), Presenter, Writer – Television * ''Choice Not Chance'' (1992), Presenter – Short Film * ''Pulp Comedy'' (1995–2003), Subject – Television * ''Comedy Central'' (1995–1997), As: Various roles – Television * ''Newsflash'' (1998), Writer – Television * ''A Kiwi Christmas'' (1998), Narrator – Television * ''Teen Sex'' (2005), Narrator – Television * ''Breakfast'' (2006–2008), Presenter – Television * ''Shortland Street'' (2008–2009), Writer, As: Helen Carson – Television * ''7 Days'' (2009) – ongoing, Subject – Television * ''Staines Down Drains – Fool's Gold'' (2011), Writer, As: Mary–Jane Staines, Herk and Beanz – Television * ''A Night at the Classic'' (2012), As: Michele – Television * ''

Go Girls ''Go Girls'' is a New Zealand comedy-drama television series that centers on four adult friends, three female and one male, living on Auckland's North Shore. In the fifth season it was the same premise, but this time centered on five adult fr ...

'' (2013), As: Miriam Hirsch – Television * ''Funny As: The Story of New Zealand Comedy'' (2019), Subject – Television * ''The Project'' (2018) – ongoing, Presenter – Television * ''On the Rag'' (2019–2022), Presenter – Web

Awards and nominations

* Special Recognition Award for Excellence in Presentation (1991): ''Choice Not Chance'' ITVA Awards (New Zealand arm of the International Television Association) * Female Comedian of the Decade (2010) New Zealand Comedy Awards (NZ Comedy Guild) * VAC Reilly Award for Excellence in Comedy (2015) * Nominated – Best Presenter: Entertainment (2020) (with Leonie Hayden and Alex Casey): ''On the Rag''

New Zealand Television Awards New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

* Appointed

in the

, for services to the entertainment and comedy industries

Personal life

A'Court lives in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

and is married to comedian Jeremy Elwood.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:ACourt, Michele 1961 births Living people New Zealand entertainers 21st-century New Zealand writers 21st-century New Zealand women writers 21st-century New Zealand non-fiction writers Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit New Zealand women comedians New Zealand comedians New Zealand stand-up comedians Victoria University of Wellington alumni