Multi-award-winning South African-New Zealander, Urzila Carlson, has become one of the biggest names in comedy in Australia and New Zealand.
A touring powerhouse, she’s taken her trademark deadpan delivery and cheeky wit across the globe between the high-profile television appearances that have helped cement her enormous fanbase.
In 2019, Urzila became the highest-selling comedian in the 33-year history of The Melbourne International Comedy Festival, one of the three largest comedy festivals in the world and made her Netflix debut as part of the streaming service’s unprecedented world-wide comedy series, Comedians Around the World. Urzila was among just 47 comics handpicked to perform a half-hour special filmed at Just For Laughs in Montreal for the series.
That year also saw the re-release of Urzila’s fascinating 2016 autobiography Rolling With the Punchlines, which added best-selling author to her ever-growing list of achievements.
An undeniable tour de force of the comedy world, Urzila hasn’t stopped since first taking to the comedy stage in 2008. She has sold out seasons in London, Edinburgh, Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane, Auckland, Wellington, Queenstown and Christchurch.
A television favourite in both Australia and New Zealand Urzila is a much-loved series regular on both countries’ versions of the award-winning comedy panel show Have You Been Paying Attention? as well as the New Zealand’s version of the hit show, Taskmaster.
Urzila has earned an impressive array of awards, including the 2019, 2022 and 2023 Melbourne International Comedy Festival’s prestigious People's Choice Award for most tickets sold; 2019 Rielly Comedy Award by the Variety Artists Club of NZ; Best Female Comedian at the New Zealand Comedy Guild Awards (no less than six times); New Zealand International Comedy Festival’s coveted People’s Choice Award (2014 and 2015); Sydney Comedy Festival’s Director’s Choice Award (2017); and was a nominee for Australia’s Helpmann Award for Best Comedy Performer in 2018. Furthermore, Urzila was the 2019 Australasian Ambassador of South African Tourism for both Australia and New Zealand, a great honour for the South African native.
In 2020, Urzila joined the dynamic panel of The Masked Singer Australia on Network Ten. That year also saw the release of Urzila’s standalone one hour Netflix stand-up special Overqualified Loser, which was recorded live in December 2019 and released in 190 countries.
To add to her ever-growing credits, Urzila released her premiere podcast That’s Enough Already! in 2021. It now sits atop the Comedy charts in Australia and New Zealand, winning best new podcast at the NZ podcast awards on its launch.
In 2022, Urzila toured throughout Australia and New Zealand to sold out crowds with her show, It’s Personal and in 2023 she took the show to Montreal as part of the esteemed Just for Laughs festival and the UK, captivating sold-out audiences. Following this, she triumphantly returned to Australia with her new show, Just No! and added UK and Europe to round out the year.
In 2024, Urzila has made her mark in the realm of feature animation by lending her voice to the character Honkus in the animated film Ozi. This exciting project boasts a star-studded cast, including Donald Sutherland, Laura Dern, Ru Paul, and Amandla Stenberg.
Urzila was also cast in the Netflix and Happy Madison’s rom-com Kinda Pregnant, alongside Amy Schumer, scheduled for release in 2025 and toured her brand new show, Just Jokes, to sold out audiences across the UK, USA, Australia and New Zealand.
Effortlessly likeable… stream of
belly-laughs.
— The Age, Melbourne
Standout performance… side-splitting.
— Rip it up, Adelaide
Carlson’s a master of the form. Audiences across New Zealand have known it for years, and turned out in droves in recognition of that. Now, it’s the
world’s turn.
— The SpinOff NZ
There’s no doubt Carlson is a slick act - she debuted on the Netflix stand-up comedy event series Comedians of the World - but it’s her everyday-ness that makes her so good at her craft.
— Stuff NZ