Justine Smith

Last updated
Justine Smith
Born1967or1968(age 55–56) [1]
Auckland, New Zealand
Occupations
Known for
  • 7 Days
  • Taskmaster NZ
Awards Billy T Award (2003)
NZ Comedy Guild, Best Female Comedian (2008, 2015, 2017)
Comedy career
Medium
  • Television
  • stand-up
Years active1997–present
Website justinesmith.co.nz

Justine Smith is a New Zealand comedian, writer, and actress.

Contents

Early life

Smith was born in Auckland and adopted by and raised in a self-described "conservative" [2] family in Wainoni in Christchurch, New Zealand. [3] [4] [5] [1] [6] Smith has an older sister. [2] Her grandfather, Bill Ramsay, had been a comedian. [2] [5] She attended Avonside Girls' High School until she was sixteen, when she moved to Auckland to attend art school. [7] [8]

Smith has a degree in film and photography. [2] [5] After graduating, she worked in hospitality. [9]

Career

Smith started her career in comedy after doing a stand-up gig in 1997. [10] She went on to win the Billy T Award in 2003 for her show The Justine Smith Hour. [11] [12] [13] Smith briefly quit comedy in 2014. [5]

Smith is the first female head writer [5] and a regular panelist on 7 Days , [1] and she has appeared on The Project. [5] In 2022, Smith appeared on the third series of Taskmaster NZ . [5] [14] She has also been on Pulp Comedy, Have You Been Paying Attention? , and hosted the New Zealand International Comedy Festival Comedy Gala in 2021. [2] [15] Smith also appeared in an advertisement, produced by the New Zealand government for its "Keep It Real Online" campaign, that went viral. [16] In 2023, she appeared on the New Zealand version of The Traitors. [17] Smith was a contestant on Guy Montgomery's Guy Mont-Spelling Bee in 2024. She hosted the Wellington Raw Comedy Quest final in August 2024. [18]

She also won the NZ Comedy Guild's Best Female Comedian award three times, in 2008, 2015, and 2017. [13]

Shows performed by Smith include Actually I'm a Cat Person, The Justine Smith Hour (2003), Return of the Jussi (2008), [19] and Jussi Town (2010). [20] She and Irene Pink have performed two shows together, I'm Sorry I Said That and The Pitch. [21]

She has cited Bill Bailey as an inspiration, [1] as well as Lucille Ball, Carol Burnett, Bette Midler, and Betty White. [3]

Personal life

Smith lived in Japan for a year in her 20s. [8] [4] [22]

Smith married her husband Dan Crozier in 2015. [23] [1] They live in Te Atatū Peninsula with their two cats. [24] She collects toys and enjoys decorating for Christmas. [14] [9] [18]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Nealon, Sarah (31 October 2017). "NZ comedian Justine Smith: 'I always thought I was pretty funny'". Stuff.co.nz.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Justine Smith - Funny As Interview". NZ on Screen. 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  3. 1 2 Papesch, Lynda (12 October 2021). "Justine Smith". Metropol. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  4. 1 2 "7 Days comedian Justine Smith loves Disneyland so much she got engaged there". Stuff.co.nz. 21 May 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Brooks, Sam (9 July 2022). "Justine Smith's long road to Taskmaster glory". The Spinoff.
  6. ↑ "Taskmaster NZ comedian Justine Smith's favourite holiday memories". NZ Herald. 28 June 2022.
  7. ↑ Anderson, Vicki (24 January 2014). "Female comedian: 'I scare most people off'". Stuff.co.nz.
  8. 1 2 Easther, Elisabeth (31 August 2020). "My Story: Justine Smith - 'Quite a lot of the hate towards women comes from other women'". NZ Herald.
  9. 1 2 Yates, Siena (May 2021). "How Kiwi comedy queen Justine Smith is shaking up the stand-up scene for women". Woman (11): 30–35. ISSN   2703-6421.
  10. ↑ Johnson, Verity (16 March 2017). "You do what for a living?! Justine Smith, comedian". Newshub.
  11. ↑ Horan, Paul; Matthews, Philip (2019). Funny As: The Story of New Zealand Comedy. Auckland: Auckland University Press. ISBN   9781776710447.
  12. ↑ "Comedians in Conversation: Alice Snedden and Justine Smith". The Spinoff. 16 March 2017. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  13. 1 2 "Billy T' Billy: Dai Henwood, Justine Smith and Irene Pink on NZ comedy in the 00s". NZ Herald. 15 May 2023.
  14. 1 2 Hebenton, Rebekah (9 December 2022). "Justine Smith loves everything about Christmas". Woman's Weekly. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  15. ↑ Nealon, Sarah (22 April 2021). "Justine Smith hosting this year's Comedy Gala". Stuff.co.nz.
  16. ↑ Graham-McLay, Charlotte (15 June 2020). "New Zealand government deploys nude 'porn actors' in web safety ad". The Guardian.
  17. ↑ Casey, Alex (8 August 2023). "The Traitors NZ power rankings, week one: Gather round, chickadees". The Spinoff.
  18. 1 2 Walker Ahwa, Zoe (17 August 2024). "Comedian Justine Smith's stylish must-haves". The Post. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  19. ↑ "Justine Smith: The Return of the Jussi". Theatreview. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  20. ↑ Walker, Zoe (2 May 2010). "Favourite things: Funny business". NZ Herald. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  21. ↑ "Justine Smith". The Sit Down Comedy Club. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  22. ↑ "Advice to my 22 year old self: Justine Smith". The Big Idea. 31 July 2018. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  23. ↑ Hebenton, Rebekah (14 April 2023). "Comedian Justine Smith's Disney proposal". New Zealand Women's Weekly.
  24. ↑ Mann, Britt (12 November 2017). "At home with Auckland comedian Justine Smith". Stuff.co.nz.
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