Mary-Anne Fahey (born 19 August 1955 as Mary-Anne Waterman) is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

actress, comedian and writer.

Biography

Fahey has starred in and written for numerous comedy programs including ''

The Comedy Company ''The Comedy Company'' was an Australian comedy television series first aired from 16 February 1988 until about 11 November 1990 on Network Ten, Sunday night and was created and directed by cast member Ian McFadyen, and co directed and produced ...

'', ''

Kittson Fahey ''Kittson Fahey'' is an Australian sketch comedy television series that was first screened on the ABC between 1992 and 1993. The series starred Jean Kittson and Mary-Anne Fahey Mary-Anne Fahey (born 19 August 1955 as Mary-Anne Waterman) is an ...

'' (the first Australian female-only sketch comedy program), ''Get a Life'' and ''

One Size Fits All "One size fits all" is a description for a product that would fit in all instances. The term has been extended to mean one style or procedure would fit in all related applications. It is an alternative for "Not everyone fits the mold." "Tool tar ...

''. She also had roles in Future Schlock, ''

The Dunera Boys ''The Dunera Boys'' is a 1985 Australian mini series based on the ''Dunera'' incident.Ed. Scott Murray, ''Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995'', Oxford Uni Press, 1996 p190 Cast * Bob Hoskins - Morrie Mendellsohn * Joseph Spano - Alexander ...

'', '' All the Rivers Run II'', '' Celia'', '' Lucky Break'' and ''

SeaChange ''SeaChange'' is an Australian television program that ran from 1998 to 2000 on the ABC and in 2019 on the Nine Network. It was created by Andrew Knight and Deborah Cox and starred Sigrid Thornton, David Wenham, William McInnes, John Howard, ...

''. She has also received roles in theatre including ''Mary Lives''. She is most famous for her work on Channel Ten's ''The Comedy Company'' especially for her school girl character, Kylie Mole, and three-year-old "Jophesine", the ''Play School Sketches'' with

Glenn Robbins Glenn Maxwell Robbins (born 30 December 1957) is an Australian comedian, writer, actor, television and radio presenter. Robbins has appeared on '' The Panel'', ''Thank God You're Here'' and ''Have You Been Paying Attention?''. He is best known ...

and the ''Bedscene'' sketches with her then real-life husband

Ian McFadyen Ian McFadyen (born 8 July 1948) is an Australian television writer, actor, director and producer. He is best known as the creator and producer of the Australian television series ''The Comedy Company'', which he also directed and wrote episodes ...

. In the 1980s she appeared in an advert for David Reid electronics which was promoting the Commodore

Amiga 500 The Amiga 500, also known as the A500, is the first low-end version of the Amiga home computer. It contains the same Motorola 68000 as the Amiga 1000, as well as the same graphics and sound coprocessors, but is in a smaller case similar to that ...

Kylie Mole

Fahey's Kylie Mole character—a scowling schoolgirl—was so popular she published the best-selling novel ''My Diary by Kylie Mole'' and also released the Double A-Side single with tracks "

So Excellent "So Excellent / I Go I Go" is a double-A sided single released by Kylie Mole, a character portrayed by Mary-Anne Fahey in the TV series The Comedy Company. The single was released in October 1988 as the lead single from the TV series' debut studio ...

"/"I Go, I Go", which hit #8 on the Australian

ARIA chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

in November 1988. A music video for "So Excellent" was filmed. The Kylie Mole character was one of several iconic characters that appeared in the show, and her characterisation resonated especially with Australian youth. The Australian adoption of the word "

bogan Bogan ( ) is Australian slang for a person whose speech, clothing, attitude and behaviour are considered unrefined or unsophisticated. Depending on the context, the term can be pejorative or self-deprecating. The prevalence of the term bogan ...

" was first popularised in the media by Kylie Mole, and other phrases she used also gained a wider currency.

Later career

Fahey is currently living in Melbourne and is now concentrating on writing and children's theatre. On 7 May 2007, she published her first children's novel, ''I, Nigel Dorking: An Autobiography about a Boy with an Unusual Vocabulary, a Suit of Armour and an Unshakeable Dream, Written by That Very Boy (Nigel Dorking), Grade Six'' ( and ).

Awards

Fahey won a 1989

Logie Award 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 "Most Popular Light Entertainment/Comedy Personality" for her work on ''The Comedy Company''. She has also won an

AWGIE Award The AWGIE Awards is an annual awards ceremony conducted by the Australian Writers' Guild, for excellence in screen, television, stage and radio writing. The awards began in 1967. The awards are judged by over 50 writers, most of whom are previo ...

Melbourne Writers' Festival 24Aug-2Sep 2007
Mary-Anne Fahey Information page
and an Irish-dancing trophy where she came second in a competition of two.

Personal life

Fahey has two sons Thomas Fahey (from her first marriage) and James McFadyen (born 12 July 1990). Fahey and

split up in 1992. From 1994 until 2011 her partner was children's writer

Morris Gleitzman Morris Gleitzman (born 9 January 1953) is an English-born Australian author of children's and young adult fiction.The Norman Gunston Show Norman Gunston was a satirical TV character performed by Australian actor and comedian Garry McDonald. Norman Gunston was primarily well known in his native Australia, and to a lesser extent, the United States during the mid to late 1970s. He ...

'' and satirical columnist for ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'' and ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

''). By 2014 Fahey had started a relationship with Paul Jennings, another children's book writer who had previously collaborated with Morris Gleitzman on two books series, ''Wicked'' and ''Deadly''.

References

External links

* * Number 8 on the ARIA chart, 1988.
Interview of Mary-Anne Fahey and
Mark Mitchell, by

George Negus George Edward Negus AM (born 13 March 1942) is an Australian journalist, author, television and radio presenter specialising in international affairs. He was a pioneer of Australian TV journalism, first appearing on the ABC’s groundbreaking T ...

. broadcast by the

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 ...

at 6.30 pm on 26 September 2002.
Book Review of ''I, Nigel Dorking'' by Sue Bursztynski
(januarymagazine.com)
Humorous author's bio for Mary-Anne Fahey
( Penguin Books (Australia) website)
Ask an Author: Mary-Anne Fahey
(Fahey responds to questions from readers about her new book.

newspaper online, 7 May 2007. Accessed 11 August 2007. Includes current picture of Fahey. {{DEFAULTSORT:Fahey, Mary-Anne 1955 births Actresses from Melbourne Australian television actresses Australian women comedians Australian comedy writers Comedians from Melbourne Living people Logie Award winners