Melanie Bracewell

Last updated

Melanie Bracewell
Born (1995-07-19) 19 July 1995 (age 28)
Beach Haven, Auckland, New Zealand
Employer MediaWorks New Zealand
Awards Billy T Award (2018)
Comedy career
Medium
  • Stand-up
  • Television
  • Radio
  • Impressions
Years active2014–present
Relative(s)
Notable works and roles The Cheap Seats
Website melaniebracewell.com

Melanie Rita Bracewell [1] (born 19 July 1995) is a New Zealand comedian, actress and scriptwriter. [2] [3] In 2018, Bracewell won New Zealand's Billy T Award. [4] She currently co-hosts The Cheap Seats and was a contestant on the fourth series of Taskmaster NZ .

Contents

Life and career

Melanie Bracewell was born on 19 July 1995. [5] She grew up in Beach Haven in Auckland's North Shore, and is a niece of Test cricketers John Bracewell and Brendon Bracewell. [6] Bracewell attended Birkenhead College, [7] serving as Deputy Head Girl, [8] then studied Communication and Media Studies at the University of Auckland. [9] [ self-published source? ] Bracewell became interested in comedy as a child and, as a teenager, wrote a comedic blog, later moving into stand-up comedy. [4] [10] Bracewell also worked as producer of the breakfast show on Radio Hauraki and appeared as a contestant on the Australian TV quiz show Have You Been Paying Attention? . [10] [11] She co-hosts the Australian comedy television show The Cheap Seats alongside Tim McDonald.

In 2019, Bracewell began writing for the TV show The Project in New Zealand. [10] She has also written for the series Wellington Paranormal . [12]

In 2020, Bracewell received international coverage when videos and photos of her impersonating Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern went viral. Ardern responded with: "You do my makeup better than I do." [13] Bracewell and Ardern later met and posted a TikTok video while Bracewell was dressed as Ardern. [14] [15]

Bracewell appeared on the panel show Patriot Brains in 2021.

In 2023, Bracewell and Ray O'Leary hosted one episode of the podcast Bananapod before it went into hiatus. [16] O'Leary later revealed that the podcast was a task for Taskmaster NZ, which is why no further podcasts were released. [17]

Recognition

In 2014, Bracewell won 7 Days Comedy Apprentice; the following year she won the Raw Comedy Quest and in 2016 won Best Auckland Newcomer at the New Zealand International Comedy Festival. [3]

In 2018, Bracewell received the Billy T Award for the country's best emerging comedian. [18] The same year she won Breakthrough Comedian of the Year at the NZ Comedy Guild Awards. [19] In 2019, she was short-listed for the Kevin Smith Memorial Cup for Outstanding Artist Achievement, Best Female Comedian and Bizarre Moment of the Year at the New Zealand Comedy Guild Awards. [2]

Acting

In 2020, Bracewell starred as Karen in The Eggplant, [20] [21] a New Zealand teen drama crime-comedy series released to TVNZ OnDemand and YouTube. [22] [23]

Controversy

In 2019, Bracewell shared a screenshot on her Twitter account of a sexually explicit message which she said had come unprompted from someone in the Reddit cricketing community. A Reddit user later found a post from Bracewell in a subreddit soliciting sexual messages. A moderator from the Reddit cricketing community then contacted Bracewell asking her for details of who sent her the private message. She subsequently apologised and admitted her post was a joke. After her apology, she received criticism on social media with some accusing her of lying about sexual harassment and stereotyping Indians. [24] [25]

Related Research Articles

The Billy T Award is a New Zealand comedy award recognising up-and-coming New Zealand comedians with outstanding potential. It has been presented annually since its inception in 1997 when Cal Wilson and Ewen Gilmour shared the award. The Billy T was shared between two comedians until 2001 when it became a solo award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacinda Ardern</span> Prime Minister of New Zealand from 2017 to 2023

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Michael Gordon Bracewell is a New Zealand cricketer who plays for Wellington. He is the nephew of former Test players Brendon and John Bracewell, and the cousin of current international player Doug Bracewell and comedian Melanie Bracewell. He attended Kavanagh College in Dunedin. He made his international debut for the New Zealand cricket team in March 2022.

The Project is a New Zealand current affairs show hosted by Jesse Mulligan, Kanoa Lloyd, and Jeremy Corbett with rotating guest panelists. It aired at 7 pm weeknights on Three.

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<i>Taskmaster</i> (New Zealand TV series) New Zealand comedy panel game show

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Paul Anthony Williams is a New Zealand comedian and musician. Williams plays the role of Taskmaster's assistant on the New Zealand version of the international television series Taskmaster, and is one of the show's principal writers. He was nominated for the 2017 Billy T Award for up-and-coming New Zealand comedians for his stand-up comedy.

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References

  1. ↑ "ABN Lookup". abr.business.gov.au. 1 November 2014. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  2. 1 2 "2019 NZ Comedy Guild Awards handed out | Scoop News". www.scoop.co.nz. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  3. 1 2 "Comedian Melanie Bracewell produces uncanny impression of Jacinda Ardern". NZ Herald. 31 March 2020. ISSN   1170-0777 . Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  4. 1 2 "Melanie Bracewell named New Zealand's top comedian with Billy T Award for 2018". Stuff. 21 May 2018. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  5. ↑ Bracewell, Melanie [@meladoodle] (19 July 2022). "I am 27 years old today and my dog doesn't even know" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 19 July 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2023– via Twitter.
  6. ↑ Poor Uncle John, Melanie Bracewell, Twitter, 7 April 2020
  7. ↑ "Coming-of-age comedy show from North Shore's Melanie Bracewell". Stuff. 28 April 2017.
  8. ↑ "Melanie's a crack-up". www.northsidelive.co.nz.
  9. ↑ "Melanie Bracewell". LinkedIn.
  10. 1 2 3 Dann, Jennifer (28 January 2019). "Melanie Bracewell on comedy: 'You keep dying over and over again'". NZ Herald. ISSN   1170-0777 . Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  11. ↑ "Melanie Bracewell – Melodrama". Theatrepeople. 8 April 2019. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  12. ↑ "Melanie Bracewell on cracking the Aussies and getting paranormal". Stuff. 10 July 2018. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  13. ↑ "New Zealand comedian spends lockdown impersonating Jacinda Ardern". the Guardian. 15 April 2020.
  14. ↑ "Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern meets her impersonator". Stuff. 17 July 2020.
  15. ↑ Rizzo-Smith, Julian (20 July 2020). "TikTok's Jacinda Ardern Impersonator Just Met Her Biggest Fan".
  16. ↑ shows.acast.com/bananapod
  17. ↑ O'Leary, Ray (5 September 2023). "Ray O'Leary on X: "Apologise to your followers for asking them to listen to a banana themed podcast so you could win points on a comedy show. Best apology wins. Your time starts now #taskmasternz"". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  18. ↑ "Billy T Award". NZ Comedy Festival. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  19. ↑ "2018 Guild Awards". New Zealand Comedy Guild. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  20. ↑ "A comedic investigation highlights online harms in web series The Eggplant". www.flicks.co.nz.
  21. ↑ "The Eggplant – A Kiwi teen-drama comedy series". Unite.
  22. ↑ "The Eggplant – A drama-crime-comedy online web series". www.dia.govt.nz. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  23. ↑ "The Eggplant : Keep It Real Online". www.keepitrealonline.govt.nz.
  24. ↑ Palmer, Scott (13 July 2019). "Comedian Melanie Bracewell's fake erotica admission outrages cricket fans". Newshub. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  25. ↑ Howie, Cherie (13 July 2019). "Comedian Melanie Bracewell angers Reddit over erotic cricket tale". The New Zealand Herald . Retrieved 22 February 2021.
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