Down under, it’s safe to say we’re absolutely spoiled for choice when it comes to Aussie women working in the comedy scene.
From sold-out live shows to Netflix specials and more, our female comedians are some of the best in the biz.
So we thought we’d take a look at a few of the local ladies who routinely make us laugh out loud.
Without further ado, here are some of our favourite Aussie women killing it in comedy:
Becky Lucas
It’s fair to say Becky Lucas is a jack of all trades. Not only has her stand up comedy led to her becoming the first Australia woman to perform on the late-night talk show Conan, but she has also written for some of our favourite Aussie comedies like Please Like Me and The Other Guy. On top of that, back in 2020 she competed in Amazon Prime’s Last One Laughing. Lucas is showing no signs of stopping, having recently entered into a national partnership with Fox Footy, and is starring in a new campaign for McCain.
Geraldine Hickey
Geraldine Hickey is a stalwart of the Aussie comedy scene, and she has the accolades to prove it. Not only did she receive a nomination for Most Outstanding Show at the Melbourne Comedy Festival in 2019, but she won the coveted comedians’ choice Piece of Wood award in the same year. As well as having appeared on shows like Have You Been Paying Attention? and Hughesy, We Have a Problem, she also tried her hand at acting on the Channel Nine comedy series Metro Sexual. Hickey is also an accomplished radio host, having hosted both the Breakfasters show on Melbourne community radio station 3RRR.
Alex Ward
It seems wit must run in Alex Ward’s family since her brother Tom Ward of Please Like Me fame is also a comedian. As for Alex, she has been steadily rising up the ranks of comedy with appearances on the likes of Tonightly with Tom Ballard and performances at Splendour In The Grass. On top of that, she is also a writer on Network Ten’s The Project and is undoubtedly instrumental in making the news all the funnier.
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Nikki Britton
Nikki Britton’s warm and personable comedy stylings have led to her performing across the globe including at The Hollywood Improv and The Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Her 2021 show One Small Step was also nominated for Most Outstanding Show at the 2021 Melbourne International Comedy Festival
Along with her stand up comedy, Britton has also made a name for herself with one woman plays including 51 Shades of Maggie Muff, which she toured for two years. As if that wasn’t enough, she has also acted in the likes of How to Stay Married and The Other Guy.
Hannah Gadsby
Of course, we would be remiss not to include homegrown superstar Hannah Gadsby on this list. After being a mainstay in Australia comedy for several years, Gadsby exploded onto the international scene when her 2017 show Nanette was turned into a Netflix special. It’s not an overstatement to say that the searing Nanette rewrote the rules of comedy and had a significant impact on millions of viewers. Since then, Gadsby released another show on Netflix to critical acclaim, 2019’s Douglas.
And, apparently it’s not just us who are huge fans of Gadsby – just this week the comedian revealed that Jennifer Aniston requested to meet her at a red carpet event.
“I got a tap on the shoulder by a very small woman,” she recalled in a Vanity Fair interview.
“‘Are you Hannah Gadsby?'” I nodded, praying she would introduce herself, because I had no idea who she was, but she simply nodded back and then announced, “Jennifer Aniston would like to meet you,” she added. Before explaining that she taken over to the Friends star, where they chatted for a while.
Zoë Coombs Marr
Zoë Coombs Marr is as known for appearing as one of her quirky characters on stage as she is as herself. Her best-known character is Dave, a decidedly backwards male comedian with a neckbeard. Along with Dave, Coombs Marr appeared as herself in her show Bossy Bottom, which saw her nominated for Best Comedy Performer at the Helpmann Awards and won her a Herald Angel Award in Edinburgh. On top of that, Bossy Bottom was released on Amazon Prime in 2020. Marr has recently joined a comedy panel show hosted by Chrissie Swan called Would I Lie To You? that premiered on Feb 28th.
