Magdalene Mary Therese Szubanski ( ; born 12 April 1961) is an Australian comedy actress, author, singer and

LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender ( LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, ...

advocate. She performed in ''

Fast Forward To fast-forward is to move forwards through a recording at a speed faster than that at which it would usually be played, for example two times or two point five times. The recordings are usually audio, video or computer data. It is colloquially ...

'', '' Kath & Kim'' as Sharon Strzelecki and in the films ''Babe'' (1995) and '' Babe: Pig in the City'' (1998), ''

Happy Feet ''Happy Feet'' is a 2006 computer-animated jukebox musical comedy film directed, produced, and co-written by George Miller. It stars the voices of Elijah Wood, Robin Williams, Brittany Murphy, Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, Hugo Weaving, and ...

'' (2006) and ''

Happy Feet Two ''Happy Feet Two'' is a 2011 computer-animated jukebox musical comedy film directed, produced and co-written by George Miller. It is the sequel to the 2006 film ''Happy Feet'', it stars Ava Acres, Elijah Wood, Robin Williams (in his final anima ...

'' (2011). In 2003 and 2004 surveys, she polled as the most recognised and well-liked Australian television personality. Szubanski has spoken openly about her struggles with intergenerational trauma, anxiety and suicidal ideation in her teens. She became an activist for LGBT rights and, in 2017, promoted

same-sex marriage in Australia Same-sex marriage in Australia has been legal since 9 December 2017. Legislation to allow same-sex marriage, the '' Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Act 2017'', passed the Australian Parliament on 7 December 2017 and rece ...

. In 2015, Szubanski released her memoir, ''Reckoning''.

Early life and education

Szubanski was born on 12 April 1961, in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

, England. Her mother Margaret (née McCarthy) is Scottish-Irish and came from a poor family. Her father, Zbigniew Szubanski, came from a well-off Polish family and was an assassin in a counter-intelligence branch of the Polish resistance movement in World War II. She is a cousin of Polish actress Magdalena Zawadzka. She attended Siena College, Melbourne. In 1976, as a Year 10 student, she captained a team on the television quiz show ''

It's Academic ''It's Academic'' is the name for a number of televised academic student quiz shows for high school students through the United States and internationally. ''It's Academic'' programs have notably aired on NBC-owned WMAQ-TV Chicago, WRC-TV ( ...

''. Szubanski studied fine arts and philosophy at the University of Melbourne and, decades later, in 2016, attained a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Arts (degree with honours).

Career

Television

Magda Szubanski (Sharon Strzelecki) at Kath & Kimderella movie premiere

Szubanski was a writer and performer of sketch comedy. In 1985, while performing in a

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb no ...

revue of ''Too Cool for Sandals'', Szubanski,

Michael Veitch Michael Veitch (born 29 November 1962 in Melbourne) is an Australian author, actor and broadcaster, best known for his roles on the sketch comedy television shows '' The D-Generation'', '' Fast Forward'' and '' Full Frontal'', as well as for hi ...

Tom Gleisner Thomas Edmund Gleisner (born 24 October 1962) is an Australian comedian, television presenter, producer, director, writer, occasional actor and author. Gleisner currently hosts Network 10's ''Have You Been Paying Attention?''. Early life and ...

and others were talent-spotted by

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

(ABC) producers, which led to ''

The D-Generation ''The D-Generation'' was a popular and influential Australian TV sketch comedy show, produced and broadcast by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) for two series, between 1986 and 1987. A further four specials were broadcast on the ...

'' television sketch comedy show. Szubanski was one of the creators and performers of the ''

'' television sketch comedy for the

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

, in which she played various characters, including Pixie-Anne Wheatley, Chenille from the Institute de Beauté, Wee Mary MacGregor,

Joan Kirner Joan Elizabeth Kirner (née Hood; 20 June 1938 – 1 June 2015) was an Australian politician who was the 42nd Premier of Victoria, serving from 1990 to 1992. A Labor Party member of the Parliament of Victoria from 1982 to 1994, she was a mem ...

, Michelle Grogan. The character of Lynne Postlethwaite was first performed on the ABC's ''The D-Generation''. It was originally written by John Allsop and Andrew Knight, but from ''Fast Forward'' on Szubanski co-wrote the sketches, and created and co-wrote her characters. In 1995, she and friends

Gina Riley Gina Riley (born 6 May 1961) is an Australian actress, writer, singer and comedian, known for portraying Kim Craig in the television series ''Kath & Kim'', and for her work in musical theatre. Television and film Riley became a popular televis ...

and

Jane Turner Jane Turner (born 1 December 1960) is an Australian actress, comedian and Logie Award-winning comedy series creator and screnwriter. Career Turner, although best known as a comedy performer, made her acting debut in the internationally ren ...

wrote, performed and produced the first all-female Australian sketch comedy television program; ''

Big Girl's Blouse ''Big Girl's Blouse'' was an Australian skit program that aired in the mid-1990s on the Seven Network. The show was created by Gina Riley, Jane Turner and Magda Szubanski who all went on to star in ''Kath & Kim''. There were four one-hour episo ...

''. When Riley and Turner developed sketch-characters they had created into the sitcom '' Kath & Kim'', Szubanski joined them to play Sharon Strzelecki, a character she had previously created. In 1999, Szubanski created, wrote, co-produced and played Margaret O'Halloran in the ''

Dogwoman ''Dogwoman'' is a series of Australian television telemovies screened on the Nine Network in 2000. The telemovies were created by and starred Magda Szubanski as Margaret O'Halloran. Margaret, a professional dog trainer, is drawn into a world of m ...

'' series of TV films, a detective style show based on the idea an expert "dog-whisperer" who, by treating problem dogs, inadvertently stumbles upon and solves human crimes. Sharon Strzelecki (7879439094)

In 2009, she appeared on '' Who Do You Think You Are?'' where she explored her father's Polish Resistance activities as well as the story of her shell-shocked Irish grandfather and her sculptor ancestor Luigi Isepponi who assisted in making the

Death mask A death mask is a likeness (typically in wax or plaster cast) of a person's face after their death, usually made by taking a cast or impression from the corpse. Death masks may be mementos of the dead, or be used for creation of portraits. It ...

for William Burke, half of the duo Burke and Hare, notorious grave robbers and serial killers. From 3 September 2018, Szubanski recurred as Jemima Davies-Smythe on '' Neighbours''. Her character officiated the first same-sex wedding on Australian television. On 8 April 2019, she appeared as "Guest Announcer" on ''

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 ...

s season finale where she participated in a number of roles. On 9 March 2021, Szubanski was announced as the host of the Nine Network's revival of '' The Weakest Link''. Initially due to premiere on 4 May 2021, it instead premiered on 25 May following a tight production schedule.

Film

Szubanski performed in the 1995 film ''

Babe Babe or babes may refer to: * Babe, a term of endearment * A newborn baby * An attractive (especially female) person People Nickname * Babe Adams (1882–1968), American Major League Baseball pitcher * Babe Barna (1917–1972), American Maj ...

'' as Esme Hoggett. She reprised her role in the 1998 sequel, '' Babe: Pig in the City''. She then teamed up again with director/producer George Miller to voice the role of Miss Viola in the animated films ''

'' and ''

''. In 2007, she had a minor role as Mrs Lonsdale, the housemaid in ''

The Golden Compass ''Northern Lights'' (titled ''The Golden Compass'' in North America and some other countries) is a young-adult fantasy novel by Philip Pullman, published in 1995 by Scholastic UK. Set in a parallel universe, it follows the journey of Lyra Be ...

'' to

Lyra Belacqua Lyra Belacqua (), also known as Lyra Silvertongue, is the heroine of Philip Pullman's trilogy ''His Dark Materials''. In ''His Dark Materials'' Lyra is a young girl who inhabits a universe parallel to our own. Brought up in the cloistered world ...

Musical theatre

In 2007, Szubanski ventured into musical comedy, taking on the role of William Barfee in the Melbourne Theatre Company production of the hit Broadway musical ''

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee ''The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee'' is a musical comedy with music and lyrics by William Finn, based on a book by Rachel Sheinkin, conceived by Rebecca Feldman with additional material by Jay Reiss. The show centers on a fictional spe ...

''. ''Variety'' described her performance as "sensationally good". ''Australian Stage'' said, "Magda Szubanski as the Eric Cartman-esque William Barfee steals the show." In 2008, she again participated in some gender-blind casting, taking on the role of pint-sized gangster Big Jule in a major stage production of ''

Guys and Dolls ''Guys and Dolls'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" (1933) and "Blood Pressure", which are two short stories by Damon Runyon, and also bo ...

''. In 2010, she appeared in the first Indigenous musical film ''

Bran Nue Dae __NOTOC__ ''Bran Nue Dae'' is a 1990 musical set in Broome, Western Australia, that tells stories and of issues relating to Indigenous Australians. It was written by Jimmy Chi and his band Kuckles and friends, and was the first Aboriginal Aust ...

'' as Roadhouse Betty alongside Geoffrey Rush, Ernie Dingo, Missy Higgins and

Deborah Mailman Deborah Jane Mailman (born 14 July 1972) is an Australian television and film actress, and singer. Mailman played the character Kelly Lewis on the Australian television series ''The Secret Life of Us'' and Cherie Butterfield in the Australian c ...

. The film was directed by Rachel Perkins, daughter of the Aboriginal activist Charlie Perkins. In 2012, she again teamed with Rush to appear in the Stephen Sondheim musical '' A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum''.

Other projects

In 2004, Szubanski advertised the airline

Jetstar Jetstar Airways Pty Ltd, operating as Jetstar, is an Australian low-cost airline (self-described as "value-based") headquartered in Melbourne. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Qantas, created in response to the threat posed by airline Virgi ...

. Szubanski became a spokesperson for the dieting company Jenny Craig in November 2008. Szubanski joined Jenny Craig weighing 110 kg and had been diagnosed with sleep apnoea. By July 2009, she had lost 36 kg to weigh 85 kg. She later regained weight, then was dropped as a spokesperson for Jenny Craig. However, subsequent weight loss led to her being re-signed as their spokesperson. She was later again dropped from Jenny Craig. She was also featured in commercials for Telstra in 2014. In 2019, she appeared in an Uber Eats ad in her Sharon Strzelecki character with a "Kim", referencing fellow ''Kath & Kim'' character

Kim Craig Kimberly Diane "Kim" Craig (née Day) is the moody, immature and accident-prone daughter in the Australian sitcom ''Kath & Kim'', portrayed by Gina Riley. Along with co-star Jane Turner who plays Kim's onscreen mother Kath Day-Knight, Riley is th ...

, but who turns out to be

Kim Kardashian Kimberly Noel Kardashian (formerly West; born October 21, 1980) is an American socialite, media personality, and businesswoman. She first gained media attention as a friend and stylist of Paris Hilton, but received wider notice after the s ...

Memoir

In 2015, Szubanski released a memoir, ''Reckoning'', in large part about her father, Zbigniew Szubanski who was a World War 2 Polish Resistance assassin, and dealing with themes of intergenerational trauma, possible genetic inheritance of traumatic memory and Szubanski's struggles with her own sexuality. The book won the TBA and $40,000 Douglas Stewart Prize for Nonfiction and "Book of the Year" and "Biography of the Year" at the Australian Book Industry Awards. Reviewer Peter Craven, in ''The Australian'', said it would "dazzle every kind of reader" and described it as "a riveting, overwhelmingly poignant autobiography by a woman of genius. It is a book about how someone might live with the idea of killing the thing they love. It is a story of love and death and redemption and a daughter's love for her father. It is an extraordinary hymn to the tragic heroism at the heart of ordinary life and the soaring moral scrutiny of womankind. Every library should have it, every school should teach it." Richard Ferguson in ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' wrote, "This is documentary writing of the highest order and Szubanski has given life to an incredible war story…Reckoning, this tale of war and suburbia, sexuality and comedy" and referred to Szubanski as an A-grade non-fiction writer. Actor and friend

Geoffrey Rush Geoffrey Roy Rush (born 6 July 1951) is an Australian actor. He is known for his eccentric leading man roles on stage and screen. He is among 24 people who have won the Triple Crown of Acting, having received an Academy Award, a Primetime Em ...

launched her book and wrote in ''The Guardian'': "I was absorbed in preparing for King Lear when I read the book. The classical stature of that particular father-daughter relationship didn't go unnoticed. Magda grew up in the shadow of a difficult reckoning — the summation, the questioning, the Elizabethan sense of settling the bill with one's parents. As she phrases it: her father needed to forget— she needed to remember. The only way forward was back. Her book riffs a major life in a reflective minor key. I've got lost in Joyce's Dublin, Woolf's Bloomsbury, the Bronte Sisters' Yorkshire moors. Now I'm enthralled with Magda Szubanski's Croydon, Australia's own collective sub-conscious suburb, the architecture of which she deftly anoints as Bauhaus's "bastard child"...Reckoning is really a non-fiction novel – and its invitation into Magda's story is infectious." The Premier's Award judges described ''Reckoning'' as 'warm, clear, wise, funny and deeply intelligent. The amplitude of Szubanski's writing is particularly impressive. Her voice has a light surety, while constantly giving narrative and moral weight to the larger themes of grief, family, migration and finding one's place in the world'."

Recognition

In 2019, Szubanski was appointed an officer in the general division of the Order of Australia (AO) "for distinguished service to the performing arts as an actor, comedian and writer, and as a campaigner for marriage equality."

LGBT rights activism

Szubanski has been a vocal campaigner for LGBT rights and for same-sex marriage since coming out publicly. She is patron of the LGBT group, Twenty/10. During the same-sex

Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey The Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey was a national survey designed to gauge support for legalising same-sex marriage in Australia. The survey was held via the postal service between 12 September and 7 November 2017. Unlike voting in ...

, Szubanski was interviewed on several TV shows advocating for a "Yes" result. The co-chair of Australian Marriage Equality rated her crucial in the success of the "Yes" campaign. Some have credited her contribution to the same-sex marriage survey as having been "crucial" to the outcome. Her appearance on '' Q&A'' is considered by some to be pivotal in the debate. Her National Press Club address, entitled "What It Feels Like To Be An Unwilling Human Guinea Pig In A Political Experiment", spoke of the pain as well as the joy experienced by LGBT people throughout the duration of the survey.

Charity

In 2020, Szubanski and Will " Egg Boy" Connolly raised $190,000 for bushfire affected communities and together with trauma experts co-founded "Regeneration", a creative arts project to provide mental-health support. In 2013, Szubanski became the Patron of "Twenty10".

Controversies

In 2019, Szubanski was involved in a campaign targeting

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

preacher A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach components such as a ...

and rugby league football player

Israel Folau Israel Folau ( to, ‘Isileli Folau; born 3 April 1989) is an Australian professional rugby union footballer who plays for the Shining Arcs in the Japan Rugby League One and the Tonga national rugby union team. He has previously played Aust ...

after he called on homosexuals to "repent of their sins and turn to God". Szubanski prominently launched an appeal to fund opposition to Folau. After Szubanski was criticized, Folau called for an end to on-line attacks on Szubanski. In 2020, the Commissioner for eSafety, Julie Inman Grant, told senate estimates that Szubanski had been the target of "Volumetric...co-ordinated right-wing extremist attacks" after she appeared in a COVID safety ad. In April 2021 Szubanski faced criticism and calls for her to hand back the award which had appointed her officer in the Order of Australia (AO) after she criticised the appearance of

Jenny Morrison Jennifer Morrison (née Warren; born 8 January 1968) is an Australian former registered nurse and the wife of Scott Morrison, who was prime minister of Australia from 2018 to 2022. Early life and career Morrison was born in Sydney on 8 Januar ...

, wife of the

Australian Prime Minister The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister heads the executive branch of the federal government of Australia and is also accountable to federal parliament under the principl ...

Scott Morrison Scott John Morrison (; born 13 May 1968) is an Australian politician. He served as the 30th prime minister of Australia and as Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia from 2018 to 2022, and is currently the member of parliament (MP) for t ...

. Commenting on the Morrisons in a photograph of the Prime Minister signing a condolence book after the death of

Prince Philip Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from E ...

, Szubanski compared the Prime Minister's wife's appearance to a character in a fictional religious extremist society of sex slaves from the series ''

The Handmaid's Tale ''The Handmaid's Tale'' is a futuristic dystopian novel by Canadian author Margaret Atwood and published in 1985. It is set in a near-future New England in a patriarchal, totalitarian theonomic state known as the Republic of Gilead, which h ...

''.

Personal life

On 14 February 2012, Szubanski

came out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...

in a statement supporting

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...

and stated that she "absolutely identifies as gay" in an interview on Australian TV current affairs program '' The Project''. Szubanski has described herself as "culturally Catholic".

Filmography

Television

Film

Stage

* ''Too Cool for Sandals'' (1985) - various * ''The Rise and Fall of Little Voice'' (1993) - Sadie * '' Grease: The Arena Spectacular'' (National Australia Tour) (2005) - Miss Lynch * ''The Madwoman of Chaillot – (2007) – Countess Aurelia'' * ''

'' (2008) – Big Jule * '' A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum'' (2012) - Domina

Awards

Acting * Won the 'Most Popular Comedy Personality' award at the 1991, 1992 and 1996

Logie awards The Logie Awards (officially the TV Week Logie Awards; colloquially known as The Logies) is an annual gathering to celebrate Australian television, sponsored and organised by the magazine ''TV Week''. The first ceremony was held in 1959 as the ...

* Won the Australian Film Institute's award 'Best Actress in a Supporting or Guest Role in a Television Drama' award in 2002 * Nominated 'Best Family Actress' OFTA Film Awards 1999 * Nominated for the 'Most Popular Actress' award at the 2005

Logie Awards The Logie Awards (officially the TV Week Logie Awards; colloquially known as The Logies) is an annual gathering to celebrate Australian television, sponsored and organised by the magazine ''TV Week''. The first ceremony was held in 1959 as the ...

, for her role in '' Kath & Kim'' * Nominated for 'Best Actress in a Supporting or Guest Role in a Television Drama or Comedy' award in 2003 at the AFI Awards * Nominated for 'Best Actress in a Supporting or Guest Role in a Television Drama or Comedy' award in 2004 at the AFI Awards * Nominated for 'Best Female actor in a Musical' at the 2006 Helpmann Awards for her role in ''The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee'' * Nominated for 'Female Actor in a Featured Role' at the 2006

Green Room Awards The Green Room Awards are peer awards which recognise excellence in cabaret, dance, drama, fringe theatre, musical theatre and opera in Melbourne. The awards were started in 1982 when Blair Edgar and Steven Tandy formed the Green Room Awards A ...

for her role in ''The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee'' * Nominated Silver Logie 'Most Popular Actress' in '' Kath & Kim'' 2008 * Nominated for 'Best Actress Supporting Role' Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards 2014 for 'Goddess' Writing * Winner – Awgie Award for sketch comedy BIG GIRL'S BLOUSE * Winner – Awgie Award FAST FORWARD Writing team best Comedy/Revue/Sketch, 1990, 1991 * Winner, Nielsen BookData Booksellers Choice Award, 2016 award * Winner, Book of the Year, Australian Book Industry Awards, 2016 award * Winner, Biography of the Year, Australian Book Industry Awards, 2016 award * Winner, Douglas Stewart Prize for Non-Fiction, NSW Premier's Literary Awards, 2016 award * Winner, Indie Award for Non-Fiction, 2016 award * Winner, Victorian Community History Award Judges' Special Prize, 2016 award * Shortlisted, Matt Richell Award for New Writer of the Year, Australian Book Industry Awards, 2016 award * Shortlisted, Dobbie Literary Award, 2016 award * Shortlisted, National Biography Award, 2016 Other * Winner, Liberty Voltaire Award for Free Speech, 2018 * Winner, Excellence in Women's Leadership Victoria, 2018 *

Officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

(AO), 2019 *Nominated, Victorian Australian of the year, 2017 *Australia Post, Australian Legends of Comedy stamp series, 2020

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Szubanski, Magda 1961 births 20th-century Australian actresses 20th-century LGBT people 21st-century Australian actresses 21st-century LGBT people AACTA Award winners Australian women comedians Australian film actresses Australian musical theatre actresses Australian television actresses Australian voice actresses Australian game show hosts Comedians from Melbourne Australian people of English descent Australian people of Irish descent Australian people of Polish descent Australian people of Scottish descent Actresses from Liverpool Audiobook narrators Australian lesbian actresses Lesbian comedians Living people Logie Award winners Officers of the Order of Australia University of Melbourne women 20th-century English women 20th-century English people 21st-century English women 21st-century English people

Early life and education

Career

Television

Film

Musical theatre

Other projects

Memoir

Recognition

LGBT rights activism

Charity

Controversies

Personal life

Filmography

Television

Film

Stage

Awards

References

Further reading

External links