Shoes

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Gender

Female

Birthday

1961-04-12

Place of Birth

Liverpool, England, UK

Magda Szubanski

Biography

Magda Szubanski AO (born Magdalene Mary Therese Szubanski 12 April 1961) is an Australian television and film actress, comedian, writer and LGBT rights activist. Szubanski's career started as a writer and performer of sketch comedy and has since progressed to production of TV, film acting, and musical theatre. In 1985, while performing in a University of Melbourne revue of Too Cool for Sandals, Szubanski, Michael Veitch, Tom Gleisner and others were talent-spotted by Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) producers, which led to The D-Generation television sketch comedy show. Szubanski was one of the creators and performers of the Fast Forward television sketch comedy for the Seven Network, in which she played various characters, including Pixie-Anne Wheatley, Chenille from the Institute de Beauté, Wee Mary MacGregor, Joan Kirner and Michelle Grogan. Szubanski famously played Sharon Strzelecki on Australian comedy show Kath & Kim which ran for four seasons. In 2015, Szubanski released her first book; a memoir titled Reckoning which had themes of familial trauma and accepting her sexual identity as a lesbian. It won the Douglas Stewart Prize for Non fiction, as well as "Book of the Year" and "Biography of the Year" at the Australian Book Industry Awards. Szubanski released a follow-up memoir, I Can't Tell You But I Will, in September 2026. The book chronicles her complicated relationship with—and the demise of—her mother, as well as her cancer diagnosis and recovery.

Known for

Farscape

Farscape

A freak accident during an experimental space mission catapults Astronaut John Crichton across a thousand galaxies to an alien battlefield.

Q&A

Q&A

Hosted by Hamish Macdonald, Q&A puts punters, pollies and pundits together in the studio to thrash out the hot issues of the week. It's about democracy in action - the audience gets to ask the questions.

My Life Is Murder

My Life Is Murder

Investigator Alexa Crowe, cannot help fighting the good fight – whether it is solving murders or combatting the small frustrations of everyday life. Fearless and unapologetic, Alexa's unique skills and insights into the darker quirks of human nature, allows her to provoke, comfort and push the right buttons as she unravels the truth behind the most baffling of crimes.

Good News Week

Good News Week

Good News Week was an Australian satirical panel game show hosted by Paul McDermott that aired from 19 April 1996 to 27 May 2000, and 11 February 2008 to 28 April 2012. The show's initial run aired on ABC until being bought by Network Ten in 1999. The show was revived for its second run when the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike caused many of Network Ten's imported US programmes to cease production. Good News Week drew its comedy and satire from recent news stories, political figures, media organisations, and often, aspects of the show itself. The show opened with a monologue by McDermott relating to recent headlines, after which two teams of three panellists competed in recurring segments to gain points. The show has spawned three short-lived spin-off series, the ABC's Good News Weekend, Ten's GNW Night Lite and Ten's skit-based Good News World.

Thank God You're Here

Thank God You're Here

Each episode involves performers walking through a door into an unknown situation, greeted by the line "Thank God you're here!". They then had to improvise their way through the scene. At the end of each episode a winner was announced.

Kath & Kim

Kath & Kim

Kath and Kim, a dysfunctional mother-daughter duo, navigate through relationship troubles, personal issues and life while trying to stay sane.

Full Frontal

Full Frontal

Full Frontal was an Australian sketch comedy series which debuted in 1993. The show first aired on the Seven Network on 13 May 1993, and finished on 18 September 1997. In 1998 a spin-off of the show moved to Network Ten under the name Totally Full Frontal, losing most of the original cast in the process and finished in 1999. Since 2008, re-runs have begun screening on The Comedy Channel as part of the channel's "Aussie Gold" block of locally made, classic comedy programming.

The Golden Compass

The Golden Compass

In a parallel universe, after overhearing a shocking secret, precocious orphan Lyra Belacqua trades her carefree existence roaming the halls of Jordan College for an otherworldly adventure in the far North, unaware that it's part of her destiny.

Happy Feet

Happy Feet

Into the world of the Emperor Penguins, who find their soul mates through song, a penguin is born who cannot sing. But he can tap dance something fierce!

Memoir of a Snail

Memoir of a Snail

Forcibly separated from her twin brother when they are orphaned, a melancholic misfit learns how to find confidence within herself amid the clutter of misfortunes and everyday life.

Happy Feet Two

Happy Feet Two

Mumble the penguin has a problem: his son Erik, who is reluctant to dance, encounters the Mighty Sven — a penguin who can fly! Things get worse for Mumble when the world is shaken by powerful forces, causing him to bring together the penguin nations and their allies to set things right.

Fast Forward

Fast Forward

Fast Forward was Australia’s highest rating, longest running and most critically awarded commercial television sketch comedy show, broadcast for 90 one hour episodes from 12 April 1989 to 26 November 1992. The show was produced by Steve Vizard, who was also the Executive Producer, writer and performer, and starred Jane Turner, Gina Riley, Magda Szubanski, Marg Downey, Michael Veitch, Peter Moon, Alan Pentland, Steve Blackburn, Geoff Brookes, Ernie Dingo, the Rubbery Figures satirical puppets, and numerous guests and supporting stars, such as Gerry Connolly and Brian Dawe. Fast Forward was succeeded by the related series Full Frontal, and subsequently Totally Full Frontal, which were broadcast from 1993 to 1999 and which starred many of the original Fast Forward cast as well as many iconic performers including Eric Bana, Stephen Curry, Glenn Robbins, Shaun Micallef, Kitty Flanagan and Julia Morris. Fast Forward was directed by Ted Emery. In its second and subsequent series, Andrew Knight joined Steve Vizard and Ted Emery as Executive Producers of the show. They went on to establish the leading Australian Production house, Artist Services, which produced 1400 hours of prime time television including SeaChange, Big Girls Blouse, Tonight Live with Steve Vizard, the Eric Bana show, the Shaun Micallef Pogram.

Son of the Mask

Son of the Mask

Tim Avery, an aspiring cartoonist, finds himself in a predicament when his dog stumbles upon the mask of Loki. Then after conceiving an infant son "born of the mask", he discovers just how looney child raising can be.

Who Do You Think You Are?

Who Do You Think You Are?

Australian celebrities play detective as they go in search of their family history, revealing secrets from the past. Along the way there will be scandal, adultery, pioneers, bushrangers, artists and royalty. Join the trail of discovery to uncover where these celebrities came from as they find out just who they think they are.

Babe

Babe

Babe is a little pig who doesn't quite know his place in the world. With a bunch of odd friends, like Ferdinand the duck who thinks he is a rooster and Fly the dog he calls mum, Babe realises that he has the makings to become the greatest sheep pig of all time, and Farmer Hoggett knows it. With the help of the sheep dogs, Babe learns that a pig can be anything that he wants to be.