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Melanie Bracewell

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Melanie Bracewell
Born (1995-07-19) July 19, 1995 (age 29)
Beach Haven, Auckland, New Zealand
EmployerMediaWorks New Zealand
Comedy career
Medium
  • Stand-up
  • Television
  • Radio
  • Impressions
Years active2014–present
Websitemelaniebracewell.com

Melanie Bracewell (born July 19, 1995)[citation needed] is a New Zealand comedian, actress[1] and scriptwriter.[2][3] In 2018, Bracewell won New Zealand's Billy T Award.[4]

Life and career

Bracewell grew up in Beach Haven in Auckland's North Shore, and is a niece of Test cricketers John Bracewell and Brendon Bracewell.[5] Bracewell attended Birkenhead College,[6] serving as Deputy Head Girl,[7] then studied Communication and Media Studies at the University of Auckland.[8][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][9] 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?.[9][10] 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.[9] She has also written for the series Wellington Paranormal.[11]

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."[12] Bracewell and Ardern later met and posted a TikTok video while Bracewell was dressed as Ardern.[13][14]

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.[15] The same year she won Breakthrough Comedian of the Year at the NZ Comedy Guild Awards.[16] 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,[17][18] a New Zealand teen drama crime-comedy series released to TVNZ OnDemand and YouTube.[19][20]

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.[21][22]

References

  1. ^ "Melanie Bracewell". IMDb.
  2. ^ a b "2019 NZ Comedy Guild Awards handed out | Scoop News". www.scoop.co.nz. Retrieved 7 April 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. ^ a b "Comedian Melanie Bracewell produces uncanny impression of Jacinda Ardern". NZ Herald. 31 March 2020. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Melanie Bracewell named New Zealand's top comedian with Billy T Award for 2018". Stuff. 21 May 2018. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  5. ^ Poor Uncle John, Melanie Bracewell, Twitter, 7 April 2020
  6. ^ "Coming-of-age comedy show from North Shore's Melanie Bracewell". Stuff. 28 April 2017.
  7. ^ "Melanie's a crack-up". www.northsidelive.co.nz.
  8. ^ "Melanie Bracewell". LinkedIn.
  9. ^ a b c 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.
  10. ^ "Melanie Bracewell – Melodrama". Theatrepeople. 8 April 2019. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  11. ^ "Melanie Bracewell on cracking the Aussies and getting paranormal". Stuff. 10 July 2018. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  12. ^ "New Zealand comedian spends lockdown impersonating Jacinda Ardern". the Guardian. 15 April 2020.
  13. ^ "Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern meets her impersonator". Stuff. 17 July 2020.
  14. ^ Rizzo-Smith, Julian (20 July 2020). "TikTok's Jacinda Ardern Impersonator Just Met Her Biggest Fan".
  15. ^ "Billy T Award". NZ Comedy Festival. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  16. ^ "2018 Guild Awards". New Zealand Comedy Guild. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  17. ^ "A comedic investigation highlights online harms in web series The Eggplant". www.flicks.co.nz.
  18. ^ "The Eggplant – A Kiwi teen-drama comedy series". Unite.
  19. ^ "The Eggplant – A drama-crime-comedy online web series". www.dia.govt.nz. Retrieved 20 January 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  20. ^ "The Eggplant : Keep It Real Online". www.keepitrealonline.govt.nz.
  21. ^ Palmer, Scott (13 July 2019). "Comedian Melanie Bracewell's fake erotica admission outrages cricket fans". Newshub. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  22. ^ Howie, Cherie (13 July 2019). "Comedian Melanie Bracewell angers Reddit over erotic cricket tale". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 22 February 2021.