Michèle A'Court
Michèle A'Court ONZM | |
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Born | 1961 (age 62–63) |
Education | Victoria University of Wellington |
Occupations |
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Spouse | Jeremy Elwood |
Children | 1 |
Awards |
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Michèle Edith A'Court
Biography
A'Court trained in journalism, and has a degree in English literature and drama from Victoria University of Wellington.[2] In the mid-1980s she worked as a TVNZ publicist.[3] She then got a job as a host on children's television show What Now starting in 1987.[4] She saw comedy as a vehicle for social activism as a feminist as well as making people feel 'better about life'. When she was young was inspired by the comedy of Danny Kaye and Carol Burnett.[5] When she started doing stand-up comedy in the 1990s there were very few women. A'Court acknowledged in 2022 the fight for women to get a fairer representation as performers was continuing and also recognised that now comedy billing that used to be often one women per show are now often a 50:50 ratio.[5] In stand-up A'Court has toured New Zealand and performed around the world including Las Vegas, Edinburgh, and Vancouver.[6] A'Court supported the comedy industry of New Zealand by establishing the New Zealand Comedy Guild and she was the chairperson from 1999 to 2006.[5]
Since 2009 A'Court regularly appears on the comedy TV show 7Days and since 2018 has been a regular host on the current affairs programme The Project (both on the New Zealand Three TV channel).[7] Some recent stand-up comedy performances include headlining Mt Eden Comedy with Michele A'Court in 2015,[8] and Friday Laughs in 2022 alongside her husband, comedian Jeremy Elwood.[6]
A'Court has written two books. Her first book, Stuff I Forgot To Tell My Daughter (2015), was based on her stand-up comedy show of the same name.[9] A'Court has written guest columns for Stuff and is a guest writer for The Spinoff.[10][11][12]
Books
- Stuff I Forgot To Tell My Daughter (2015)[9]
- How We Met (2018)[13]
- Foreword – Funny As: The Story of New Zealand Comedy[14]
Selected screenography
- L&P Top Town (1986) Final[7]
- What Now? (1987–1988), Presenter, Writer – Television[7]
- Choice Not Chance (1992), Presenter – Short Film[7]
- Pulp Comedy (1995–2003), Subject – Television[7]
- Comedy Central (1995–1997), As: Various roles – Television[7]
- Newsflash (1998), Writer – Television[7]
- A Kiwi Christmas (1998), Narrator – Television[7]
- Teen Sex (2005), Narrator – Television[7]
- Breakfast (2006–2008), Presenter – Television[7]
- Shortland Street (2008–2009), Writer, As: Helen Carson – Television[7]
- 7 Days (2009) – ongoing, Subject – Television[7]
- Staines Down Drains – Fool's Gold (2011), Writer, As: Mary–Jane Staines, Herk and Beanz – Television[7]
- A Night at the Classic (2012), As: Michele – Television[7]
- Go Girls (2013), As: Miriam Hirsch – Television[7]
- Funny As: The Story of New Zealand Comedy (2019), Subject – Television[7]
- The Project (2018) – ongoing, Presenter – Television[7]
- On the Rag (2019–2022), Presenter – Web[7]
Awards and nominations
- Special Recognition Award for Excellence in Presentation (1991): Choice Not Chance ITVA Awards (New Zealand arm of the International Television Association)[7]
- Female Comedian of the Decade (2010) New Zealand Comedy Awards (NZ Comedy Guild)[7]
- VAC Reilly Award for Excellence in Comedy (2015)[15]
- Nominated – Best Presenter: Entertainment (2020) (with Leonie Hayden and Alex Casey): On the Rag New Zealand Television Awards[7]
- Appointed Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2023 New Year Honours, for services to the entertainment and comedy industries[16]
Personal life
A'Court lives in Auckland and is married to comedian Jeremy Elwood.[4]
References
- ^ "A'Court, Michele, 1961-". National Library of New Zealand. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
- ^ "Michele A'Court –'Stuff I Forgot To Tell My Daughter'". Scoop Independent News. Arts on Tour New Zealand. 4 February 2016. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
- ^ "Michèle A'Court | Overview". NZ On Screen - Iwi Whitiāhua. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
- ^ a b Smithies, As told to Grant (7 May 2022). "I wish: Michèle A'Court wishes she'd known about the stock markets earlier". Stuff. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
- ^ a b c "New Year Honours: Michele A'Court says stand-up comedy a terrific vehicle for flying feminism flag". RNZ. 31 December 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
- ^ a b "Friday Laughs with Michele A'Court and Jeremy Elwood". The Big Idea. 22 March 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u "Michèle A'Court | Awards". NZ On Screen - Iwi Whitiāhua. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
- ^ "Mt Eden Comedy with Michele A'Court – De Post Belgian Beer Cafe, Auckland". UnderTheRadarNZ. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
- ^ a b "Michèle A'Court". Verb Wellington. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
- ^ PRO3, SPONSORED CONTENT BY ANMUM PEDIA (8 September 2019). "Michele A'Court on grandparenting and grief". Stuff. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Elwood, Michele A'Court and Jeremy (9 March 2018). "Jeremy Elwood and Michele A'Court: the real reasons women don't speak up". Stuff. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
- ^ A'Court, Michele. "Michele A'Court". The Spinoff. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
- ^ "How we met: The ways great love begins by Michele A'Court". my.christchurchcitylibraries.com. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
- ^ "Writer: Michele A'Court – Writers • Auckland Writers Festival". www.writersfestival.co.nz. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
- ^ "Hire Michele A'Court for your next event". Celebrity Speakers NZ. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
- ^ "New Year Honours 2023 – the full list". 1 News. Retrieved 30 December 2022.