Celia Pacquola (born 12 February 1983) is an Australian comedian, writer, presenter and actor who performs predominantly in Australia and the United Kingdom.

Early life

Pacquola is a third child, and her parents separated when she was eighteen. She is a descendant of John Rae.

Career

She began doing stand-up comedy in 2006.

Radio

Pacquola has written and appeared on Australian and British radio, presenting ''Red Hot Go'' and ''Fox Summer Breakfast'' on Fox FM and ''The Comedy Hour'' on ABC Radio. She has written for and appeared on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

shows, including ''Shappi Talk'', ''What's So Funny?'', '' It's Your Round'', ''The Headset'', '' The Unbelievable Truth'', and ''Britain Versus the World''.

Television

Pacquola has written for and performed in '' Good News Week'' and '' Laid''. She appeared in and co-wrote the first episode of the second season of '' It's a Date''. She has made acting appearances in ABC TV series ''

Utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or near-perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', which describes a fictiona ...

'' as well as '' The Beautiful Lie'', winning an AACTA Award for "best guest or supporting actress in a television drama". In 2016, she and

Luke McGregor Luke William McGregor is an Australian comedian, writer and actor, who has performed at various national and international comedy festivals, as himself in many TV shows, and is known for his roles in the ABC TV series ''Utopia'' and '' Rosehav ...

wrote and performed in '' Rosehaven''. ''Rosehaven'' won the 2017 AWGIE Award for Best Comedy script. In 2020, Pacquola won the seventeenth season of '' Dancing with the Stars Australia'' and received A$50,000 for her charity, the Safe Steps Family Violence and Support Centre. Other shows she has performed in, both in Australia and the UK, include '' Rove'', '' The Project'', '' Sleuth 101'', '' Celebrity Name Game'', ''

Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation ''Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation'' is an Australian game show produced by Granada Productions. The first four seasons aired on Network 10 from 2009-12, before moving to the Nine Network in 2018 for two seasons. The show was originally hosted b ...

'', ''

The Hundred with Andy Lee ''The Hundred with Andy Lee'' is an Australian comedy panel television game show hosted by Andy Lee and starring Mike Goldstein and Sophie Monk. It is a production of Endemol Shine Australia for the Nine Network, airing since 2021. Format An ...

'', '' Would I Lie to You? Australia'', '' Spicks and Specks'', ''

The Weekly with Charlie Pickering ''The Weekly with Charlie Pickering'' is an Australian news satire series on the ABC. The series premiered on Wednesday, 22 April 2015, featuring Charlie Pickering as host with Tom Gleeson, Adam Briggs and Judith Lucy in the cast who joined ...

'', '' Have You Been Paying Attention?'', '' Hughesy, We Have a Problem'', '' The Rob Brydon Show'', ''

Russell Howard's Good News ''Russell Howard's Good News'' is a British comedy and topical news television show which was broadcast on BBC Three between 2009 and 2014, and on BBC Two between 2014 and 2015. Hosted by comedian Russell Howard, it offered his commentary on th ...

'', '' Live At The Apollo'', and ''

Never Mind the Buzzcocks ''Never Mind the Buzzcocks'' is a British comedy panel game show with a pop music theme. It has aired on Sky Max since September 2021, having originally aired between November 1996 and January 2015 on BBC Two. The original series was first host ...

''. In 2021, Pacquola was the subject of the first episode of the twelfth season of the SBS documentary series '' Who Do You Think You Are?'', which explored her family's ancestral history. From 2023, Pacquola will host a second revival of '' Thank God You're Here'' on Network 10, replacing

Shane Bourne Shane Jerome Bourne (born 24 November 1949) is an Australian stand-up comedian, actor, musician, and television host. Early life and education Shane Jerome Bourne was born on 24 November 1949 in Melbourne, Victoria. He was raised by his mot ...

. On 16 September 2024, Pacquola was announced as part of the cast for the

Paramount+ Paramount+ (formerly known as CBS All Access in the United States and 10 All Access in Australia) is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, stream ...

series ''Playing Gracie Darling''.

Live performances

Pacquola has written and performed live shows since 2007. Her 2009 show ''Am I Strange?'' was performed at the

Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...

and the

Melbourne International Comedy Festival The Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF) is the largest stand-alone comedy festival and the largest international comedy festival in the world. First held in 1987, it takes place annually in Melbourne over four weeks, typically starti ...

, where it won Best Comedy and Critics Award for Best Australian Act. She performed in 2009 at the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue Performing arts center, performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive b ...

with ''This Was The Year That Was''. The following year, she showcased ''Flying Solos'' at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and in 2012, returned with ''Delayed''. She has been nominated for and won a number of awards, including best first-time entrant (Raw Recruit Prize) at the Raw Comedy Awards in 2006. In 2016, Pacquola hosted the Oxfam Gala for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. In 2018, she won the

Helpmann Award The Helpmann Awards are accolades for live entertainment and performing arts in Australia, presented by industry group Live Performance Australia (LPA) since 2001. The annual awards recognise achievements in the disciplines of musical theatre ...

for Best Comedy Performer for her stand-up comedy show ''All Talk''. In 2019, Pacquola appeared as J. G. (Jenny) Milford in the

Sydney Theatre Company Sydney Theatre Company (STC) is an Australian theatre company based in Sydney, New South Wales. The company performs in the Wharf Theatre at Dawes Point in The Rocks area of Sydney as well as the Roslyn Packer Theatre (formerly Sydney Theatre ...

's production of

Oriel Gray Oriel Holland Bennett (26 March 1920 – 30 June 2003) known by pen name Oriel Gray, was an Australian dramatist, playwright and screenwriter who wrote from the 1940s to 1990s. The major themes of her work were gender equality and "social and po ...

's '' The Torrents''. At the 2020 ARIA Music Awards, she was nominated for Best Comedy Release for her album ''All Talk''.

Film

Pacquola's first movie role was in the 2018 New Zealand romantic comedy '' The Breaker Upperers'' alongside Madeleine Sami and Jackie van Beek, both of whom wrote and directed the film.

Personal life

Pacquola openly talks about her

anxiety Anxiety is an emotion characterised by an unpleasant state of inner wikt:turmoil, turmoil and includes feelings of dread over Anticipation, anticipated events. Anxiety is different from fear in that fear is defined as the emotional response ...

and depression. She gave birth to her first child, with partner Dara Munnis, in 2022.

Selected filmography

Acting

Production/writing

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pacquola, Celia 1983 births Living people AACTA Award winners Australian film actresses Australian stage actresses Australian television actresses Australian women comedians Helpmann Award winners 21st-century Australian actresses 21st-century Australian comedians Australian people of Italian descent