Lisbeth Joanne "Libbi" Gorr (born 24 March 1965) is an Australian broadcaster working in both TV and radio. Gorr is also an author, voice artist, writer and performer. She first came to prominence with the satirical television character that she created called "

Elle McFeast Elle McFeast is an Australian television character created by comedian Libbi Gorr. The character appeared in several shows during the 1990s, beginning with the ABC series ''Live and Sweaty'' in 1991. The character became the host of the show in ...

Early life

Gorr was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

into a Jewish Australian famil

grew up in Murrumbeena and was educated at the Methodist Ladies' College. She began working in comedy while she was an arts and law student at the

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 ...

. Gorr graduated with a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws in 1988. After graduation she became an

articled clerk Articled clerk is a title used in Commonwealth countries for one who is studying to be an accountant or a lawyer. In doing so, they are put under the supervision of someone already in the profession, now usually for two years, but previously three ...

with the Melbourne law firm Phillips Fox. Gorr had her first regular media job as the voice of the Sportsgirl fashion chain when she was asked to "sound" like a photo of supermodel

Elle Macpherson Eleanor Nancy Macpherson (; née Gow; born ) is an Australian model, businesswoman, television host, and actress. She is known for her record five cover appearances for the ''Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue'' beginning in the 1980s, leading ...

. She also performed with the Hot Bagels, an all-women cabaret group.

Television

As the character Elle McFeast, Gorr performed in a number of award-winning television shows, including Andrew Denton's ''

Live and Sweaty ''Live and Sweaty'' was an Australian sports television program, broadcast on the ABC from 1991 until 1994. Hosted by Andrew Denton (and later Elle McFeast), the show was part panel-based, part talk show and part comedy, and predated '' The Foo ...

''. She hosted ''Live and Sweaty'' for another two years after his retirement from the show in 1993, becoming the first woman to host a Sports /comedy Tonight show in Australia. in 1995 Libbi Gorr created McFeast: Live from the Bowels of Parliament House. This was a weekly 30 minute political satire / comedy show. The final credits featured Gorr dancing on the desks of Australian parliamentarians to “She’s so fine”, by the Easybeats. It ran for two seasons. As McFeast she also created 14 TV specials, including ''Breasts'', ''Sex, Guys and Videotape'', ''Portrait of a Power Pussy'' and the television show ''Elle McFeast Live''. Gorr made the transition to appearing as herself on camera hosting the ''Marie Clare'' "What Women Want" forums, and the televised ''IF'' awards for film in Australia. In 2001 a portrait of her, called "Excelle – Libbi Gorr", by painter Margarita Georgiadis, was entered in the

Archibald Prize The Archibald Prize is an Australian portraiture art prize for painting, generally seen as the most prestigious portrait prize in Australia. It was first awarded in 1921 after the receipt of a bequest from J. F. Archibald, the editor ...

for portraiture. The painting was hung as a finalist. A photographic portrait by Petrea Hicks was also hung the following year. In 2003 she performed a live show "''Dirty Sweet Cherry on Top''!" at the Sydney Opera House In 2007 Gorr hosted the short-lived Channel Nine show '' The Catch Up''. The program, a revised version of the American program '' The View'', ran for only four months before being cancelled due to poor ratings. Gorr, however, received positive reviews. Gorr has contributed to ''

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 ...

'' on Network Ten as a studio panellist and Melbourne correspondent. In 2016, Gorr began presenting stories as a guest reporter for the ABC flagship current affairs program '' 7.30''.

Radio and journalism

In January 2012, Gorr joined

ABC Radio Melbourne ABC Radio Melbourne (official callsign: 3LO) is an ABC Local Radio station in Melbourne, Australia. It began transmission on 13 October 1924, and was Melbourne's second licensed radio station after 3AR. Most Local Radio stations in Victoria sim ...

as host of the Sunday morning program. She also regularly hosted ''Breakfast'' when Red Symons was the main presenter and on leave. In December 2021, Gorr announced her resignation from

to pursue her creative interests. Her last show on

was on 19 December 2021.

Books

Gorr has authored two books for Harper Collins, ''The A–Z of Mummy Manners: An Etiquette Guide for Managing Other Children's Mothers and Assorted Mummy Dilemmas'' (2011) and ''The Bedtime Poem For Edible Children'' illustrated by Bradley Trevor Greive (2012).

Personal life

Gorr's partner is freelance producer and director Stewart Burchmore (brother of actor

Rhonda Burchmore Rhonda Suzanne Burchmore OAM (born 15 May 1960) is an Australian entertainer. Career Burchmore appeared as Kate in the 1982 film, ''The Pirate Movie''. Burchmore gave her first Australian theatre performance in the 1988 production of '' Sugar ...

). They have two children and live in Melbourne.

References

External links

*
774 ABC Melbourne: Libbi Gorr profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gorr, Libbi 1965 births Australian women comedians Australian Jews Australian television actresses Australian television personalities Women television personalities Journalists from Melbourne Actresses from Melbourne Jewish Australian writers Jewish Australian actresses Jewish Australian comedians People educated at Methodist Ladies' College, Melbourne University of Melbourne women People from Murrumbeena, Victoria Australian women radio presenters Radio personalities from Melbourne Living people