Julia Anastasopoulos (born 14 June 1983) is a South African artist, illustrator, designer and actress. Anastasopoulos became a local internet phenomenon in May 2014, with her do-it-yourself web series known as SuzelleDIY. Before she became a YouTube personality, Anastasopoulos created hand-drawn illustrations on the walls and windows of a few MyCiTi bus stations. Julia recently started her own show "Ridiculousness with Suzelle DIY" on Comedy Central where she features with many guests including Amore and Francois van Coke.

Early life

Born in Johannesburg in 1983, according to Anastasopoulos, "My mom is an art teacher and always encouraged me and my sisters to make things and express ourselves creatively. I was always inspired by picture books and illustrators like Quentin Blake, Saul Steinberg and Raymond Peynet". She studied Theatre and Performance at the University of Cape Town.

Education

From 2001 to 2004, she obtained her BA in Theatre and Performance majoring in Acting at the University of Cape Town.

Career

Anastasopoulos took part in stage productions at the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) (, ) is a public university, public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university status in 1918, making it the oldest univer ...

. In 2004, she took part in ''The Blue Room'', a theatre production directed by Jacqui Singer and written by David Hare at the Arena Theatre. Two years later, in 2006, she played Ophelia in a ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

'' theatre production directed by Roy Sargaent in the Artscape Theatre In 2008, Anastasopoulos designed a Peg Light and received an award for Eskom's Energy Efficient Lighting Design Competition under Category B: Residential luminaire design for professionals. Anastasopolous designs sets for theatre productions, in 2008 she designed Magnet Theatre's ''Every Year, Every Day, I Am Walking'' production. In 2010 she appeared in ''Interrupting Henry'', a play directed by Matthew Wild at The Artscape Arena, Anastasopoulos played the part of an Afrikaans teacher named Elsa Brown. She took part in the theatre production of ''Done London'' which was written by Nicholas Spagnoletti at the Kalk Bay Theatre in Cape Town. A short video clip of the play can be viewed on YouTube. In 2011 she played as Helena in a production of ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', directed by Guy Delancey. Anastasopoulos uses several mediums to create illustrations. Such mediums include murals, children's books, shopping bags and an editorial cover for a magazine. Her illustrations have been captured on her professional website. She was commissioned to design a mural for display in The Book Lounge in Cape Town for the children's book section. It displays a city landscape which was drawn on the wall and then painted with acrylic paints. She illustrated a children's book with Emily Child
''Jeff and George and the Totem Pole''
In March 2013, she took part in the design of Fugard Studio's theatre production of
Master Harold ... and the Boys
'' produced by Eric Abraham and directed by Kim Kerfoot. She later created illustrations for ''TREE/BOOM/UMTHI'', a 30-minute narrative played in the Magnet Theatre in 2013 for children between ages 3 and 7. During th
Grahamstown National Arts Festival
in 2013, she designed the set for ''Vigil'', written by Canadian playwright

Morris Panych Morris Stephen Panych (born 30 June 1952) is a Canadian playwright, director and actor. Early life Panych was born in Calgary, Alberta and grew up in Edmonton, Alberta. He studied at Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, and the Universit ...

. Anastasopoulos started her SuzelleDIY YouTube channel in May 2014, with a "bite-size, do-it-yourself web series". She plays an Afrikaans woman, along with animator and filmmaker Ari Kruger. In 2014 she received an award for South Africa's favourite Online Celebrities from Channel24. Suzelle collaborated with Takealot, an online retailer and created four videos for the Takealot brand. In 2015, Suzelle took first place in the Superbalist 100 campaign.

References

External links

* https://briefly.co.za/38287-suzelle-diy-biography-age-real-baby-husband-parents-diy-videos-books-tv-shows-awards-instagram.html * https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3450792 {{DEFAULTSORT:Anastasopoulos, Julia Living people 1983 births 21st-century South African women artists South African illustrators South African designers People from Johannesburg University of Cape Town alumni South African people of Greek descent South African women illustrators Greek actresses YouTube artists