Tegan Marie Higginbotham (born 25 March 1988) is an Australian comedian, writer and actress.
Higginbotham contributes regularly as a sports columnist for ''
The Age
''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...
'' and writes a blog.
Personal life
Higginbotham was born in
Dandenong
Dandenong is a southeastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, about from the Melbourne CBD. It is the council seat of the City of Greater Dandenong local government area, with a recorded population of 30,127 at the . Situated mainly ...
, a suburb of
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
. She attended Dandenong Primary School and recently wowed audiences at the Class of 2018 Primary School Graduation. She has a penchant for sports and sci-fi,
[ and describes herself as "a big nerd at heart, whose favourite things ever are '']Star Wars
''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...
'' and ''Harry Potter
''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...
''."[ Higginbotham currently lives in Melbourne.
She married ]Paul Verhoeven
Paul Verhoeven (; born 18 July 1938) is a Dutch director, producer and screenwriter, active in the Netherlands, France and the United States. His blending of graphic violence and sexual content with social satire is a trademark of both his dram ...
in a civil ceremony in Paris in July 2019.
Career
Higginbotham's first love was acting, until she discovered comedy in her late teens, and performed her first comedy gig at the age of 17. Higginbotham has performed at every Melbourne International Comedy Festival
The Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF) is the largest stand-alone comedy festival and the second-largest international comedy festival in the world. Established in 1987, it takes place annually in Melbourne over four weeks, typicall ...
since becoming a National Finalist at the festival's Class Clowns comedy competition in 2005. She began her comedy career performing wild fast-paced sketch shows with fellow comedians Rob Lloyd and Adam McKenzie as the trio 'The Hounds', which later morphed into 'Watson', without Lloyd.[ At the age of 21, Higginbotham began performing solo][ with her debut comedy show 'Million Dollar Tegan' nominated for the Best Newcomer Award at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival in 2012.] In 2016, Higginbotham was a regular cast member for the Australian version of '' Whose Line Is It Anyway?''.
Higginbotham co-hosted the controversial ABC2 pre-game, half-time and post-game coverages of the Liverpool F.C
Liverpool Football Club is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Liverpool, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founded in ...
versus Sydney FC
Sydney Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The club was fo ...
match with Julian Schiller and Steen Raskopoulos
Steen Raskopoulos (born 3 July 1987) is an Australian comedian, actor and improviser. He is best known for his live character solo sketch shows, playing Dr. Evan in '' The Duchess'' (Netflix), Pete Lewis in '' Feel Good'' (Netflix), John Mahogan ...
on 24 May 2017.
Higginbotham joined Nicole Livingstone and Amberley Lobo as co-host and regular panellist on the one-hour live entertainment and sports comedy panel show called '' Sideliners'' which premiered on ABC TV on 30 June 2017.
Live comedy shows
Solo comedy shows
*2012: ''Million Dollar Tegan''
*2013: ''Touched By Fev''
*2014: ''Game Changer''
*2016: ''The City of Love''
Collaborative comedy shows
*2006–2007: ''The Hound of the Baskervilles''
*2007: ''Every Film Ever Made''
*2008–2009: ''The Last Bucket of Water''
*2010: ''Robot V's World''
*2010: ''Jabba's Comedy Hutt''
*2011: ''The Terminativity''
*2011: ''Super Secret Awesome Show''
*2012: ''Shakespeare Fight Club''
*2014: ''The Wrestling''
*2015: ''Who's Afraid of the Dark?''
*2016: ''The Life Education Van for Adults!''
*2017: ''Go to Hell''
*2018: Watson World Tour
Filmography
Community and charity work
Higginbotham performed at the Heart of St Kilda concert in 2014 with comedians Julia Morris
Julia Carolyn Margaret Morris (born 20 April 1968) is an Australian comedian, television presenter and actress who has worked extensively in Australian television and radio, touring the country with her solo comedy shows. She relocated to the Un ...
, Charlie Pickering, musical comedy trio Tripod, ventriloquist Dean Atkinson, Greg Champion
Greg Champion is an Australian songwriter, guitarist, radio personality and athlete.
Biography
Born in Benalla, Victoria, Champion is most recognised for his work as part of the Coodabeen Champions as a songwriter and guitarist. Greg often app ...
of the Coodabeens and comedy character Elliot Goblet
Elliot Goblet is a comedy character created by the Australian comedian Jack Levi. The character is known for the deadpan delivery of one-line jokes. The style compares with the American comedian Steven Wright but developed independently. At first ...
, to raise funds for Sacred Heart Mission
Sacred Heart Mission in St Kilda, an inner suburb of Melbourne, is a medium-sized not-for-profit organisation that grew from the Catholic parish of The Sacred Heart in Grey Street, West St Kilda. It addresses homelessness, social exclusion an ...
which assists hundreds of people who are homeless or living in poverty to find shelter, food, care and support every day of the year.
Awards
Higginbotham has garnered a variety of award nominations for her diverse work as a comedian and writer, including Best Newcomer nominee for her debut solo show ''Million Dollar Tegan'' at the 2012 Melbourne International Comedy Festival, a Golden Gibbo Award nomination for ''Shakespeare Fight Club'' with Adam McKenzie as the duo 'Watson' in 2012,[ and an AWGIE (]Australian Writers' Guild
The Australian Writers' Guild (AWG) is the professional association for Australian performance writers for film, television, radio, theatre, video and new media. The AWG was established in 1962. The AWG is a member of the Australian Council of ...
) award nomination shared with an ensemble of writers for the television show ''This is Littleton
This is Littleton is a 4-part sketch comedy series produced by High Wire Films which premiered in Australia on ABC2.
Overview
The series is set in and around Littleton City Council. Its staff and ratepayers navigate busking licence auditions, ...
'' in the Best Comedy: Sketch or Light Entertainment category in 2014. In 2014, Higginbotham, McKenzie and guest co-star comedian Liam Ryan as the ensemble group 'Watson', won the Best Comedy Award at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival for their comedy show ''Who's Afraid of the Dark?'' . In 2015, 'Watson' returned for another season of ''Who's Afraid of the Dark?'' at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and was nominated for a Golden Gibbo Award.
References
External links
Tegan Higginbotham's official blog
*
Tegan Higginbotham's entertainer biography at Creative Representation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Higginbotham, Tegan
Australian women comedians
Living people
Comedians from Melbourne
1988 births