Magda Szubanski

Magda Szubanski
Magda Szubanski at the premiere of Happy Feet (2006).
Born	12 April 1961 (1961-04-12) (age 50) Liverpool, England, UK

Magda Szubanski (born 12 April 1961) is a British-born Australian actress, comedian, television presenter, radio host and author.

Szubanski's career began while she was studying at university and she progressed to television sketch comedy, as both a writer and performer. She has performed in the comedy programs The D-Generation and Fast Forward; more recently, she stars as Sharon Strzelecki in the highly successful television comedy show Kath & Kim.

Szubanski portrayed Esme Hoggett in the film Babe and its sequel Babe: Pig in the City, and played the recurring character of Furlow on the television series Farscape.

Life and career

Early life

Szubanski was born Magdalene M. Szubanski^[1] in Liverpool, England; her father came from a well-off Polish family and her mother was Scottish, a native of Dunfermline.^[2] She immigrated to Australia in 1966 with her brother, sister, and parents. Her high school was Siena College, Melbourne. In 1976, as a year 10 student, she captained a team on the television quiz It's Academic.

Career

In 1985, whilst performing in a University of Melbourne revue of Too Cool for Sandals, with Michael Veitch and Tom Gleisner, Szubanski was talent-spotted by producers from the ABC network, who convinced her to join up with some other university friends in creating the television sketch comedy show, The D-Generation.

Szubanski was part of the team that created the television sketch comedy Fast Forward for the Seven Network, in which she played various characters, including Pixie-Anne Wheatley, Chenille, Sharon Strzelecki (Kath and Kim), Mary MacGregor, Joan Kirner and Lynne Postlethwaite, and other characters. In 1995, she wrote, produced, and starred in Big Girl's Blouse. She had a starring role in the 1995 international hit film Babe as Esme Hoggett. She reprised her role in the 1998 sequel Babe: Pig in the City.

Szubansky starred as Margaret O'Halloran in the Dogwoman series of telemovies in 2000. She began her role on Kath & Kim as Sharon in 2002 and she continued in the subsequent seasons, including the special Da Kath and Kim Code. In 2006, Szubanski hosted a five-part series on the Nine Network, called Magda's Funny Bits, which showed 'never-before-seen' footage of some of her most famous characters from the comedy show Fast Forward. Branded as 'no frills', it attracted insufficient ratings, and thus did not continue. She had a similar short-lived result as host of the Network Ten clip show The Spearman Experiment in 2009.

In 2007 she had a minor role as the house maid in The Golden Compass to Lyra Belacqua. She also voiced the character Miss Viola from the Academy Award-winning animated feature Happy Feet. In 2007, Szubanski played the part of William Barfee in the musical called The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. In 2008, she played the role of Big Jule in the major stage production Guys and Dolls. In 2010 she appeared in the film Bran Nue Dae as Roadhouse Betty.

Other projects

Szubanski became a spokesperson for the dieting company Jenny Craig in November 2008. Szubanski joined Jenny Craig weighing 120 kg, and had been diagnosed with sleep apnea.^[3] By July 2009 she had lost 36 kg to weigh 85 kg.^[4]

Credits

Television

• The D-Generation (1986–1987) – various characters
• The D-Generation Goes Commercial (1988) – various characters
• Fast Forward (1989–1992) – Pixie-Anne Wheatley, Chenille, Joan Kirner, Mary McGregor, Maggie T + Satan's Brides
• Bligh (1992) – Betsy Bligh
• A Royal Commission Into The Australian Economy (1993) – Mr. Cardigan, Mr. Trouser, Bill Kelty
• The Making Of Nothing (1993) – Judith Gates/Kim Borrodale
• Big Girl's Blouse (1994) – herself, Sharon Strzelecki, Lynne Postlethwaite
• Something Stupid (1998) – various characters
• Farscape (1999–2001) – Furlow
• Dogwoman (2000) – Margaret O'Halloran
• Cubix (2001) - Mrs. Tuteru
• Kath & Kim (2002–Current) – Sharon Strzelecki (the character's name is a play on Magda's Polish descent)
• Magda's Funny Bits (2006) – Mary McGregor, Chenille, Sharon Strzelecki, Lynne Postlethwaite (5 episodes made, but only 4 were shown)
• The Spearman Experiment (2009) – Host
• Who Do You Think You Are? (2010) – Herself

Film

• Babe (1995) – Esme Hoggett
• Babe: Pig in the City (1998) – Esme Hoggett
• The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course (2002) – Brozzie Drewitt
• Son of the Mask (2005) – Neighbour Betty
• Happy Feet (2006) – Miss Viola
• Happy Feet 2 (2011) – Miss Viola
• The Golden Compass (2007) – Mrs Lonsdale
• Dr Plonk (2007) – Mrs Plonk
• Bran Nue Dae (2010) – Roadhouse Betty

Stage

• Guys and Dolls – Big Jule
• The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee – William Barfee

Awards

• Won the 'Most Popular Comedy Personality' award at the 1991, 1992 and 1996 Logie awards
• Won the Australian Film Institute's award 'Best Actress in a Supporting or Guest Role in a Television Drama' award in 2002^[5]
• Nominated for the 'Most Popular Actress' award at the 2005 Logie Awards, for her role in Kath and Kim
• Nominated for 'Best Actress in a Supporting or Guest Role in a Television Drama or Comedy' award in 2003 at the AFI Awards
• Nominated for 'Best Actress in a Supporting or Guest Role in a Television Drama or Comedy' award in 2004 at the AFI Awards

References

1. ^ Ancestry.com. England & Wales, Birth Index: 1916–2005 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008. Original data: General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration Indexes. London, England: General Register Office.
2. ^ "There's something about Magda". The Age (Melbourne). 10 November 2007. http://www.theage.com.au/news/arts/bartsb-magda-szubanski-wants-to-play-lady-macbeth/2007/11/08/1194329411877.html?page=3. 
3. ^ "Magda Szubanski gets serious about slimming down". thewest.com.au (The West Australian). 2008-12-23. http://news.ninemsn.com.au/entertainment/703291/magda-szubanski-to-ditch-fat-lady-image. Retrieved 2009-01-16. 
4. ^ Magda achieves her goal – A Current Affair, 21 July 2009
5. ^ Australian Film Institute, Past Winners, Television 1986–2006

Further reading

• Quinn, Karl: The Magda carta, The Age, 14 September 2003.

External links

• Magda Szubanski at the Internet Movie Database
• Kath & Kim website

Persondata
Name	Szubanski, Magda
Alternative names
Short description	Australian actress
Date of birth	born 12 April 1961
Place of birth	Liverpool, England, UK
Date of death
Place of death