Emily Taheny is an Australian comedian, actress, and singer. She is known for her multiple appearances on the

sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches" or, "skits", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. While the form developed and became popular in ...

television series '' Comedy Inc.'' from 2003 through 2007, her role as "Kat" on the 2009 series '' The Jesters'', and as a regular cast member on long-running satirical news program ''

Shaun Micallef's Mad as Hell ''Shaun Micallef's Mad as Hell'' is an Australian comedy news television program hosted by Shaun Micallef. The show first aired on ABC at 8:00pm on Friday 25 May 2012. The show was named as Most Outstanding Comedy Program at the Logie Award ...

''.

Early life and education

Emily Taheny grew up in Warooka,

Yorke Peninsula The Yorke Peninsula, known as Guuranda by the original inhabitants, the Narungga people, is a peninsula located northwest and west of Adelaide in South Australia, between Spencer Gulf on the west and Gulf St Vincent on the east. The peninsula ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

, one of seven children. Comedian Fiona O'Loughlin is her elder sister. She graduated from the Centre for Performing Arts in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

. In 2003, she graduated from the College of Country Music in

Tamworth, New South Wales Tamworth is a city and administrative centre of the north-eastern region of New South Wales, Australia. Situated on the Peel River (New South Wales), Peel River within the local government area of the Tamworth Regional Council, it is the largest ...

Career

Stage

Taheny began doing

stand-up comedy Stand-up comedy is a performance directed to a live audience, where the performer stands on a stage (theatre), stage and delivers humour, humorous and satire, satirical monologues sometimes incorporating physical comedy, physical acts. These ...

in 1989. In 2001 she collaborated with her sister Fiona O'Loughlin on the stage show ''Fiona, Her Sister and Some Guy'', which they performed first at Warooka, then in

Alice Springs Alice Springs () is a town in the Northern Territory, Australia; it is the third-largest settlement after Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin and Palmerston, Northern Territory, Palmerston. The name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William ...

, then at the Melbourne Comedy Festival, where it received the Best Newcomer Award at the

Melbourne International Comedy Festival The Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF) is the largest stand-alone comedy festival and the largest international comedy festival in the world. First held in 1987, it takes place annually in Melbourne over four weeks, typically starti ...

. They went on to perform the show at

Edinburgh 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 ...

. Taheny has also performed at the

Adelaide Fringe Adelaide Fringe, formerly Adelaide Fringe Festival, is Australia’s biggest arts festival and is the world's second-largest annual arts festival (after the Edinburgh Festival Fringe), held in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Between ...

Note: Incorrectly refers to Edinburgh Festival.

Melbourne Festival Melbourne International Arts Festival, formerly Spoleto Festival Melbourne – Festival of the Three Worlds, then Melbourne International Festival of the Arts, becoming commonly known as Melbourne Festival, was a major international arts festi ...

, and further shows at the Melbourne Comedy Festival. In February 2025 Taheny played chief-of-staff to MP Ruth Mandour (played by Susie Youssef) in the State Theatre Company South Australia political satire ''Housework'', written by Emily Steel and directed by Shannon Rush. ''

InDaily Solstice Media is an Australian publisher based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 2004, it was known for publishing the weekly tabloid newspaper ''The Independent Weekly''. Solstice publishes ''InDaily'', which was initially the onli ...

'' reviewer Murray Bramwell wrote "Taheny is excellent as Anna, the most closely detailed character in the play". Catherine Campbell, writing in

The Conversation ''The Conversation'' is a 1974 American neo-noir mystery thriller film written, produced, and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. It stars Gene Hackman as a surveillance expert who faces a moral dilemma when his recordings reveal a potential ...

, called the play "a future Australian classic – a Housework is a future Australian classic – a ''

Don's Party ''Don's Party'' is a 1971 play by David Williamson set during the 1969 Australian federal election. The play opened on 11 August 1971 at The Pram Factory theatre in Carlton (Victoria), Carlton. Plot Don Henderson is a schoolteacher living with ...

'' for our time", and wrote "Taheny effortlessly makes the whip-smart staffer Anna multifaceted, with internal conflict alongside high-energy pragmatism and expertly timed comedy".

Screen

Taheny made her television debut on '' Comedy Inc.'' in 2003, playing various characters on the show until its cancellation in 2007. In 2005, she made a guest appearance on '' Spicks and Specks''. In 2006, she appeared on ''

The Chaser's War on Everything ''The Chaser's War on Everything'' is an Australian television satire, satirical comedy series broadcast on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) television station ABC1. It has won an Australian Film Institute Awards, Australian Film In ...

'', singing a song alongside

Andrew Hansen Andrew John Hansen (born 18 September 1974) is an Australian comedian, musician and author, best known for being a member of satirical team The Chaser. As a member of The Chaser, Hansen's television work includes co-writing and starring in A ...

's Crazy Warehouse character. She appeared as "Kat" in the 2009 television series '' The Jesters'', and has appeared in the series '' Sleuth 101''. From 2012 to 2022, she was a regular cast member on the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

's satirical news program ''

'', playing numerous recurring and one-off characters, and she competed in a special '' Mad As Hell does Hard Quiz'' in 2022. In 2017, she appeared in the first episode of '' True Story with Hamish & Andy''. In 2018 she starred in the comedy film '' The Flip Side''. In 2019, Taheny appeared in Channel 7 series ''Secret Bridesmaids Business''.

Awards and nominations

*2001: Winner, Best Newcomer Award at the

*2002: Winner, Fringe Cabaret Award at the

,for her performance in ''Cliff Hanger''

Filmography

Film

Television

Self appearances

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Taheny, Emily Australian television actresses Australian women comedians Australian people of Irish descent Living people Year of birth missing (living people)