Urzila Carlson

Urzila Carlson is a South African-born New Zealand comedian and actress, known for her stand-up performances as well as her appearances on television programs in both New Zealand and Australia. Carlson is a regular panellist on 7 Days and both the Australian and New Zealand version of Have You Been Paying Attention? She was also a panellist on The Masked Singer Australia for the show's second and third seasons and a contestant on both the second season of Taskmaster New Zealand and sixth season of Taskmaster Australia. the youngest of three siblings. She spent her early years in mining towns around the country. Her father was a violent alcoholic, who one night hunted his family with a handgun, until they were rescued by a neighbour. The children were then raised by her mother, who worked 12 hours a day, 6 days a week. They lived in Benoni, near Johannesburg. Studio 10, Spicks and Specks, Have You Been Paying Attention?, and two seasons of The Masked Singer. In 2022, she was a guest judge on Drag Race Down Under, and in 2024 appeared on the Australian season of Guy Montgomery's Guy Mont-Spelling Bee.

Carlson's TV sketch show titled Urzila is being broadcast on ABC Television in Australia from 29 April 2026, and there is a sitcom with Nazeem Hussain in development during the year.

Recognition and awards Carlson was nominated for the Helpmann Award for Best Comedy Performer in 2018.

In 2019, she appeared in Netflix's Comedians of the World. The same year, she was presented with the Rielly Comedy Award from the Variety Artists Club of New Zealand for her contribution to New Zealand entertainment.

She won Best Female Comedian at the New Zealand Comedy Guild Awards six times (2010–2014 and 2016).

Personal life Carlson speaks English, Zulu, and Afrikaans. She married her partner, Julie, in 2014, and they have a son and a daughter together. In 2024, Carlson revealed that she and her wife had divorced.

She released a memoir in 2016 called Rolling with the Punchlines.

In 2018, Carlson was named Australasian ambassador of South African Tourism, representing the country as part of an ongoing campaign to encourage Australians, New Zealanders, and South African expatriates to visit the country.

As of April 2026, she lives in West Auckland.