Urzila Carlson

Urzila Carlson (born 15 February 1976) is a South African-New Zealand comedian and actor, known for her stand-up performances as well as her appearances on television programs in both New Zealand and Australia. Carlson is a regular panellist on 7 Days.[1][2][3] Her memoir is called Rolling With The Punchlines.[4][5] She refers to herself as a "lesbytarian," a portmanteau of lesbian and Presbyterian.[6][3] Carlson is a regular panelist on the New Zealand version of Have You Been Paying Attention? and is a panelist on the second season of The Masked Singer Australia.[7]

Urzila Carlson
Born (1976-02-15) 15 February 1976
Johannesburg, South Africa
Medium
  • Stand-up
  • Panel shows
NationalityNew Zealander
Years active2008–present
Subject(s)
  • Parenting
  • Emigration
Spouse
Julie
​
(m. 2014)​
Children2
Websiteurzilacarlson.com
Known for

Biography

Carlson was born in 1976 at the Queen Victoria Hospital in Johannesburg.[8] She grew up on the Ingwelala nature reserve, next to Kruger National Park[9] and has a brother and a sister.[4][10] Her parents separated when she was 6 or 7 years old.[4][10][3] Carlson is a lesbian and came out to her mother when she was 24.[1]

She emigrated to New Zealand from South Africa in 2006 after being subjected to a series of thefts including her car being stolen, an armed robbery at work, and a break-in at her home, in which she and her neighbours confronted the intruder with cricket bats. She became a New Zealand citizen in 2012.[8] As of 2019 she lives in Auckland.[10][11][12] She married her partner Julie in 2014, and they have two children together, a boy and a girl.[13][11]

Carlson speaks English and Afrikaans.[8] In 2018, she was named Australasian Ambassador of South African Tourism, representing the country as part of an ongoing campaign to encourage Australians, New Zealanders and South African expats to visit.[9]

Career

Carlson's first job was as a typesetter for a newspaper, which she did for 12 years.[1] By the age of 24 she was production manager for the largest newspaper in Africa,[10] and won awards for graphic design and photo re-touching.[8]

Carlson moved into comedy in 2008, when she was 32.[1] She has appeared on the Australian shows The Project, Studio 10, Spicks and Specks, Orange Is the New Brown, Have You Been Paying Attention?, Hughesy, We Have a Problem[14] and two international versions of The masked singer The Masked Singer and the upcoming masked singer New Zealand.[7] She has also appeared on New Zealand shows 7 Days, Have You Been Paying Attention? and Super City.[3][1][14] Stand-up routines include The Long Flight To Freedom.[8]

Carlson performed at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival Gala from 2016 to 2018 and received ‘Best Female Comedian’ at the New Zealand Comedy Guild Awards.[4] She was nominated for the Helpmann Award for Best Comedy Performer in 2018.

In 2019, she appeared in Netflix's Comedians of the World.[12][6][14]

In October 2019 she was presented with the Rielly Comedy Award from the Variety Artists Club of New Zealand for her contribution to New Zealand entertainment.

References
  1. Du Chateau, Carroll (24 July 2012) Urzila Carlson: The comedian standing up for herself, The New Zealand Herald, New Zealand Media and Entertainment. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  2. Kanowski, Sarah (23 March 2018) Urzila Carlson: a life without regrets, Conversations, Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Accessed 27 April 2018.
  3. Quinn, Karl (8 March 2018). "Urzila Carlson treats stand-up 'like I'm at a barbecue with mates talking s---'". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  4. "'Rolling With The Punchlines' Is Urzila Carlson's Fascinating Memoir". www.lotl.com. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  5. Urzila., Carlson (2016). Rolling with the punchlines. Sydney: A & U New Zealand. ISBN 9781877505638. OCLC 1057621440.
  6. Steve Bennett (2 January 2019). "Comedians Of The World – Urzila Carlson". Chortle. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  7. "The first unmasking. Urzila Carlson is ready to play detective". ViacomCBS ANZ. Network Ten. 16 July 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  8. "URZILA CARLSON: THE LONG FLIGHT TO FREEDOM". Theatre Review. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  9. COMEDIAN URZILA CARLSON IS NEW SOUTH AFRICAN TOURISM AMBASSADOR Travel Monitor. 2 October 2018
  10. Dann, Jennifer (29 November 2016). "Twelve questions with Urzila Carlson". ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  11. Weaser, Laura. "Urzila's Kiwi love story". Now To Love. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  12. "Urzila Carlson goes global with Netflix comedy special Comedians Of The World". Newshub. 12 April 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  13. "7 Days comedian Urzila Carlson welcomes baby boy". Stuff. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  14. "Who Is Urzila Carlson? New Details On The Comic From 'Comedians Of The World' On Netflix". YourTango. 7 January 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
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