Melanie Bracewell
Born (1995-07-19) 19 July 1995
Beach Haven, Auckland, New Zealand
EmployerMediaWorks New Zealand
AwardsBilly T Award (2018)
Comedy career
Medium
  • Stand-up
  • Television
  • Radio
  • Impressions
Years active2014–present
Relative(s)
Notable works and rolesThe Cheap Seats
Websitemelaniebracewell.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.

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] 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]

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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