Shazia Mirza ( ur, ) is an English comedian, actress, and writer. She is best known for her stand-up comedy, and her articles in British newspapers ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' and ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

''.

Early life and education

Mirza was born in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

, England, the eldest daughter of Muslim Pakistani parents who moved to Birmingham, England in the 1960s. Mirza read Biochemistry at the

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univ ...

and then achieved a

Postgraduate Certificate in Education The Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE/PGCertEd) is a one- or two-year higher education course in England, Wales and Northern Ireland which provides training in order to allow graduates to become teachers within maintained schools. In ...

Goldsmiths, University of London Goldsmiths, University of London, officially the Goldsmiths' College, is a constituent research university of the University of London in England. It was originally founded in 1891 as The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by the Wo ...

. Before beginning her career in comedy, Mirza was a science teacher at

Langdon Park School Langdon Park School is a mixed secondary school and sixth form, located in the Poplar area of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, England. It is a community school administered by Tower Hamlets London Borough Council, and also has specialis ...

, where she taught Dylan Mills, now known as the

grime Grime may refer to: * Dirt, in the form of black, ingrained dust * Grime (music genre), a genre of music * ''Grime'' (album), a 2001 album by Iniquity * ''Grime'' (video game), a 2021 Metroidvania video game * "Grime", a 2022 song by Dallas Woo ...

pioneer

Dizzee Rascal Dylan Kwabena Mills (born 18 September 1984), better known by his stage name Dizzee Rascal, is a British MC and rapper. A pioneer of grime music, his work has also incorporated elements of UK garage, bassline, British hip hop, and R&B. D ...

.Time Out London: Shazia Mirza: interview
17 June 2008 She later attended

Rose Bruford College Rose Bruford College (formerly Rose Bruford College of Theatre & Performance) is a drama school in the south London suburb of Sidcup. The college has degree programmes in acting, actor musicianship, directing, theatre arts and various discipl ...

, where she studied acting part time while working as a supply teacher, taking the final year of the course full time.

Career

Stand-up

Her comedy is said to push barriers and as a comedian, she is often referred to as 'brave'.

Writing

Mirza was a columnist for ''

'' between 2008 and 2010. In the past she has written columns for ''

The New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...

'' and ''

Dawn Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the appearance of indirect sunlight being scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc has reached 18° below the observer's hori ...

'' newspaper.

Television and radio

She was a regular panelist on the Channel 5 topical discussion series ''

The Wright Stuff ''The Wright Stuff'' is a British television chat show which was hosted by former tabloid journalist Matthew Wright from 2000 until 2018. It aired on Channel 5 on weekday mornings from 9:15 to 11:15am. The series characterised itself as "Br ...

'', as well as appearing on other TV shows In April 2007, she presented a documentary on BBC Three called ''F*** Off, I'm a Hairy Woman''. Mirza has also appeared in reality game shows ''Celebrity The Island'' with Bear Grylls on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

(2017), and in 2018, the Channel 5 show ''Celebs in Solitary''.

Recognition

She was recognized as one of the BBC's 100 women of 2013.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mirza, Shazia Living people English people of Pakistani descent Schoolteachers from the West Midlands English stand-up comedians Comedians from Birmingham, West Midlands English women comedians British comedians of Pakistani descent English columnists The Guardian journalists BBC 100 Women British women columnists Alumni of the University of Manchester Alumni of Rose Bruford College 21st-century English comedians Year of birth missing (living people) 1970s births