Alice Snedden is a New Zealand stand-up comedian, television writer and actress. First working as a writer on New Zealand comedy shows such as '' Funny Girls'', ''

Jono and Ben ''Jono and Ben'', previously titled ''Jono and Ben at Ten'', was a satire, satirical news and entertainment show hosted by Jono Pryor and Ben Boyce in New Zealand. The show aired on Three (New Zealand), Three on Thursday nights at 7:30pm, and ...

'' and '' 7 Days'', Snedden created the series ''Alice Snedden's Bad News'', a documentary-comedy series written by and starring herself. In 2021, she co-wrote the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

comedy series '' Starstruck'' alongside Rose Matafeo, who co-wrote and starred in the production.

Early life

Snedden grew up in Auckland, the youngest of five children in a Catholic family. Her father Patrick Snedden ran a publishing company, and since has had positions including the chairman of The Big Idea, Housing New Zealand Corporation, Auckland District Health Board and director of the Ports of Auckland. Snedden comes from an extended family of professional cricket players, including Warwick Snedden, Nessie Snedden, Colin Snedden, Martin Snedden and Michael Snedden. Snedden attended the

University of Otago The University of Otago () is a public university, public research university, research collegiate university based in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Founded in 1869, Otago is New Zealand's oldest university and one of the oldest universities in ...

, first studying physical education and politics before deciding to study law. Snedden graduated and was admitted to the bar, however has never practiced law. The night before she was admitted to the bar, Snedden performed her first stand-up comedy set.

Career

To save money for a trip to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, Snedden got a job at The Basement Theatre in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

. Comedian Eli Matthewson encouraged her to try out for the comedy improv show SNORT (which included a cast of Rose Matafeo and

Laura Daniel Laura Daniel (born 25 November 1990) is an actress and comedian from New Zealand. Career She currently reports on television show '' Seven Sharp''. Previously, she has starred in the television series '' Funny Girls'' and '' Jono and Ben''. S ...

), which developed Snedden's love of comedy and improvisation. When Snedden travelled to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, she enrolled at the

Upright Citizens Brigade The Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB) is an improvisational and sketch comedy group that emerged from Chicago's ImprovOlympic in 1990. The original incarnation of the group consisted of Amy Poehler, Matthew Walsh, Matt Besser, Ian Roberts, ...

. After returning to New Zealand, Snedden met with producer Bronwynn Bakker in order to write for season two of the Rose Matafeo comedy show '' Funny Girls''. Bakker was impressed by Snedden's pitches, and employed her for both ''Funny Girls'' and Bakker's other comedy programme ''

''. In 2016, Snedden became a columnist for

Stuff Stuff, stuffed, and stuffing may refer to: *Physical matter *General, unspecific things, or entities Arts, media, and entertainment Books *''Stuff'' (1997), a novel by Joseph Connolly *''Stuff'' (2005), a book by Jeremy Strong Fictional c ...

and the ''

Sunday Star-Times The ''Sunday Star-Times'' is a New Zealand newspaper published each weekend in Auckland. It covers both national and international news, and is a member of the New Zealand Press Association and Newspaper Publishers Association of New Zealand. ...

''. During the same period, Snedden began to work for the panel show '' 7 Days'', first as a writer and later as a recurring panelist. Snedden was the head writer for episodes of ''Funny Girls'' and ''Jono and Ben'', and became the head writer for '' Golden Boy'' (2019). Snedden performed her first stand-up show, ''Alice Snedden: Self-Titled'', at the New Zealand International Comedy Festival in 2017, later bringing the show to the

Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...

in 2018. Snedden was nominated for the 2018

Billy T Award The Billy T Award is a New Zealand comedy award recognising up-and-coming New Zealand comedians with outstanding potential. It has been presented annually since its inception in 1997 when Cal Wilson and Ewen Gilmour shared the award. The Billy T ...

. In 2018, she became the host and writer of ''Alice Snedden's Bad News'', a documentary comedy series focusing on New Zealand political and social issues. Snedden co-wrote the

series '' Starstruck'' alongside Rose Matafeo, who she had hosted the podcast ''Boners of the Heart'' together with since 2016.

Personal life

During her 2019 show ''Absolute Monster'', Snedden discussed coming to terms with her bisexuality.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Snedden, Alice 1980s births Living people 21st-century New Zealand comedians Bisexual comedians Bisexual screenwriters Bisexual women writers New Zealand LGBTQ comedians New Zealand LGBTQ screenwriters New Zealand columnists New Zealand podcasters New Zealand stand-up comedians New Zealand television writers New Zealand women comedians New Zealand women podcasters New Zealand bisexual women New Zealand bisexual actresses Entertainers from Auckland Writers from Auckland LGBTQ podcasters University of Otago alumni Upright Citizens Brigade Theater performers New Zealand women television writers Snedden family Comedians from Auckland