Andrew Patrick O'Keefe AM is an Australian former television presenter and lawyer. He co-hosted the weekend edition of breakfast program ''

Weekend Sunrise ''Weekend Sunrise'' is an Australian breakfast television program, broadcast on the Seven Network and currently hosted by Monique Wright and David Woiwod. History In 2005 the Seven Network replaced its struggling Sunday morning program ''Su ...

'' from 2005 until 2017 as well as the Australian versions of game shows ''

Deal or No Deal ''Deal or No Deal'' is the name of several closely related television game shows, the first of which (launching the format) was the Dutch '' Miljoenenjacht'' (''Hunt/Chase for Millions''). The centerpiece of this format is the final round (a ...

'', and '' The Chase Australia''. In 2024, he was convicted of drug and domestic violence offences.

Legal career

O'Keefe worked as an intellectual property lawyer with law firm Allens Arthur Robinson.

Media career

O'Keefe first started his television career in 2003 in Channel Seven's show ''

Big Bite ''Big Bite'' was an Australian sketch comedy television series which ran on the Seven Network from 8 May 2003 to 4 March 2004 in a prime time timeslot on Thursdays. Since the end of the series, episodes have been repeated on the Foxtel cable cha ...

''. Later the same year he began hosting ''

'', staying for 10 years. In 2005, O'Keefe co-hosted the tri-network tsunami appeal ''Reach Out'' for relief efforts around Asia, which aired on Seven, Nine and Ten. In the same year, he hosted the short-lived '' Dragons Den'' and co-hosted the 47th ''

TV Week Logie Awards The TV Week Logie Awards (known colloquially as The Logies) is an annual ceremony celebrating and honouring the best shows and stars in Television in Australia, Australian television, sponsored and organised by the magazine ''TV Week''. The eve ...

''. From 2005 to 2017, O'Keefe co-hosted ''

'' on Saturday and Sunday mornings. He was co-hosting with

Samantha Armytage Samantha Armytage (born 4 September 1976) is an Australian journalist and television presenter. She was previously co-host of the Seven Network's breakfast television program ''Sunrise (Australian TV program), Sunrise'' from 2013 to 2021 alon ...

from 2007, when

Lisa Wilkinson Lisa Clare Wilkinson (Born 19 December 1959) is an Australian television presenter, journalist, and magazine editor. Wilkinson has previously co-hosted the Nine Network's breakfast television program, '' Today,'' with Karl Stefanovic (2007� ...

moved to

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * The current day and calendar date ** Today is between and , subject to the local time zone * Now, the time that is perceived directly, present * The current, present era Arts, entertainment and m ...

, until 2013, when Armytage moved to the main

Sunrise Sunrise (or sunup) is the moment when the upper rim of the Sun appears on the horizon in the morning, at the start of the Sun path. The term can also refer to the entire process of the solar disk crossing the horizon. Terminology Although the S ...

program. Armytage was replaced with

Monique Wright Monique Wright (born 18 May 1973) is an Australian journalist and television presenter. Wright is currently co-host of ''Weekend Sunrise''.

on ''Weekend Sunrise'' as a result. He also regularly substituted for David Koch on ''

''. From 2007 to 2009, O'Keefe hosted the quiz show '' The Rich List''. On 31 May 2013, O'Keefe commenced playing the role of King Herod in the Australian tour of the ''

Jesus Christ Superstar ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Life of Jesus in the New Testament, Gospels' accounts of Passion of Jesus, the Passion, the work interprets ...

'' arena show. However, on 14 June 2013, he was admitted to hospital with a neck injury requiring surgery and was forced to relinquish the role for the rest of the tour. O'Keefe believed the injury was aggravated during a performance of the show. In 2015, O'Keefe began presenting Seven's new game show, '' The Chase Australia''. In December 2017, O'Keefe announced his resignation as co-host of ''Weekend Sunrise'' after 12 years with the show. O'Keefe's contract with the Seven Network expired at the end of 2020, and he was replaced by Larry Emdur for ''The Chase Australia''.

Honours

In January 2017, O'Keefe was appointed a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

(AM) for his television and charity work.

Personal life

O'Keefe is one of five children. His father is Barry O'Keefe, a judge of the

Supreme Court of New South Wales The Supreme Court of New South Wales is the highest state court of the Australian States and territories of Australia, State of New South Wales. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in civil law (common law), civil matters, and hears ...

. He is a nephew of the Australian

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

singer

Johnny O'Keefe John Michael O'Keefe (19 January 1935 – 6 October 1978) was an Australian rock and roll singer whose career began in the early 1950s. A pioneer of Rock music in Australia, his hits include " Wild One" (1958), " Shout!" and "She's My Baby". O ...

. In 2018 and 2019, Andrew performed some of his uncle's songs in a concert show entitled ''Andrew O'Keefe Shouts Johnny O'Keefe''. He attended Saint Ignatius' College, Riverview, and then studied arts and law at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

. O'Keefe was married and has three children. In 2017, the couple separated; in 2019, they divorced.

Community and charity work

O'Keefe is a former chairman of the White Ribbon Australia, an organisation dedicated to the prevention of violence against women. He was one of the founding members of the campaign in Australia and was an ambassador from 2004, prior to the organisation's dissolution in 2019. As a result of his work with the White Ribbon Australia, O'Keefe was appointed to the inaugural National Council for the Prevention of Violence Against Women in May 2008, which drafted the report ''Time for Action: Australia's National Plan for Reducing Violence Against Women and their Children'' on behalf of the federal government.

Arrests and criminal charges

In January 2021, O'Keefe was arrested and charged with

domestic violence Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes r ...

and

common assault Common assault is an offence in English law. It is committed by a person who causes another person to apprehend the immediate use of unlawful violence by the defendant. In England and Wales, the penalty and mode of trial for this offence is pro ...

against his partner. An interim apprehended violence order was sought against O'Keefe by

NSW Police The New South Wales Police Force is a law enforcement agency of the state of New South Wales, Australia, established in 1862. With more than 17,000 police officers, it is the largest police organisation in Australia, policing an area of 801,60 ...

on behalf of his partner. In June 2021, O'Keefe had the charges dismissed as the community magistrate found that he was in a hypomanic bipolar state when the offending occurred during the altercation. He was ordered to complete an intensive mental health treatment program. In September 2021, O'Keefe was arrested by police for domestic violence–related offences, including contravening an apprehended violence order and assault. Footage was later released during his court session in November 2023 showing O'Keefe hurling abuse at police. In January 2024, he was found guilty of the charges and sentenced to a 12-month community corrections order and three 18-month community corrections orders. On 27 January 2022, O'Keefe was arrested after he allegedly grabbed a woman by the throat, pushed her to the ground, and punched and kicked her at his sister's unit in Sydney. He was later refused bail after his arrest. On 11 February 2022, he pleaded guilty to possession of 1.5 grams of

marijuana Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...

. He has a long history of drug abuse, including

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

and

methamphetamine Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug use, recreational or Performance-enhancing substance, performance-enhancing drug and less commonly as a secon ...

abuse. On 4 May 2022, O'Keefe was denied bail and served five months in jail after failing a drug test. The magistrate said, "There will be a contempt citation unless he retracts and apologises for his behaviour". On 23 May, O'Keefe appeared in the

and was granted bail, with strict conditions that he be sent to a drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility in Swan Bay, north of Sydney, for up to a year. Justice Hulme said O'Keefe had long struggled with mental health issues and that rehabilitation was a "good opportunity" for him. He was scheduled to appear before the

Downing Centre The Downing Centre is a major heritage-listed former department store and now courthouse complex in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It features state government courts, including the Local Court, the District Court, and a law library known ...

Local Court in June 2022 for sentencing after earlier pleading guilty to one charge of possessing 1.6 grams of cannabis. On 24 November 2022, after months on bail, O'Keefe was arrested again at his Vaucluse home for allegedly breaching his bail conditions. On 4 April 2023, O'Keefe was arrested after failing a random breath test in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs. On 19 August 2023, O'Keefe was arrested for allegedly breaching an apprehended violence order. He was released from jail a few days later. On 5 December 2023, O'Keefe pleaded guilty after he was charged with drug driving at

Point Piper Point Piper is a small, harbourside eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, east of the Sydney CBD, in the local government area known as the Municipality of Woollahra. Location The suburb of Point Piper sits ...

. On 28 July 2024, O'Keefe tested positive at a roadside drug test at Bellevue Hill in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs. He was later charged with

driving under the influence Driving under the influence (DUI) is the crime of driving, operating, or being in control of a vehicle while one is impaired from doing so safely by the effect of either alcohol (drug), alcohol (see drunk driving) or some other drug, whether re ...

, and with contravening an apprehended violence order and stalking or intimidating. He was bailed to reappear on 14 August. On 14 September 2024, O'Keefe was revived by paramedics after overdosing on drugs at a party in

Vaucluse Vaucluse (; or ) is a department in the southeastern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It had a population of 561,469 as of 2019.

. On 16 September 2024, O’Keefe was arrested for breaching his bail conditions. In January 2025, O'Keefe was charged for drug driving for the second time. He was scheduled to appear in court on 20 January. He was issued a $440 fine and banned from driving for six months.

Filmography

References

External links

''Sunrise'' profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Okeefe, Andrew 1971 births Living people Australian game show hosts Members of the Order of Australia 20th-century Australian lawyers Television personalities from Sydney Sydney Law School alumni People educated at Saint Ignatius' College, Riverview