Lisbeth Joanne "Libbi" Gorr (born 24 March 1965) is an Australian broadcaster working in both TV and radio. Gorr is also an author, voice artist, writer and performer. She first came to prominence with the satirical television character that she created called " Elle McFeast".

Early life

Gorr was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

into a Jewish Australian famil

grew up in Murrumbeena and was educated at the Methodist Ladies' College. She began working in comedy while she was an arts and law student at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

. Gorr graduated with a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws in 1988. After graduation she became an

articled clerk Articled clerk is a title used in Commonwealth countries for one who is studying to be an accountant or a lawyer. In doing so, they are put under the supervision of someone already in the profession, now usually for two years, but previously three ...

with the Melbourne law firm Phillips Fox. Gorr had her first regular media job as the voice of the Sportsgirl fashion chain when she was asked to "sound" like a photo of supermodel

Elle Macpherson Eleanor Nancy Macpherson ( ; ; born ) is an Australian model, businesswoman, television host, and actress. She is known for her record five cover appearances for the ''Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue'' beginning in the 1980s, leading to her ...

. She also performed with the Hot Bagels, an all-women cabaret group.

Television

As the character Elle McFeast, Gorr performed in a number of award-winning television shows, including Andrew Denton's '' Live and Sweaty''. She hosted ''Live and Sweaty'' for another two years after Denton's retirement from the show in 1993, becoming the first woman to host a sports/comedy show in Australia. In 1995, Libbi Gorr created ''McFeast: Live from the Bowels of Parliament House''. This was a 30 minute weekly political satire/comedy show. The final credits featured Gorr dancing on the desks of Australian parliamentarians to "She's So Fine", by

the Easybeats The Easybeats were an Australian Rock music, rock band which formed in Sydney in late 1964. They are best known for their 1966 hit single "Friday on My Mind", which is regarded as the first Australian rock song to achieve international success ...

. It ran for two seasons. As McFeast, Gorr also created 14 TV specials, including ''Breasts'', ''Sex, Guys and Videotape'', ''Portrait of a Power Pussy'' and the television show ''Elle McFeast Live''. Gorr made the transition to appearing as herself on camera hosting the ''

Marie Claire ''Marie Claire'' (stylized in all lowercase; ) is a French international monthly magazine first published in France in 1937. Since then various editions are published in many countries and languages. The feature editions focus on women aro ...

'' "What Women Want" forums, and the televised ''IF'' awards for film in Australia. In 2001 a portrait of her, entitled "Excelle – Libbi Gorr", by painter Margarita Georgiadis, was entered in the

Archibald Prize The Archibald Prize is an Australian portraiture art prize for painting, generally seen as the most prestigious portrait prize in Australia. It was first awarded in 1921 after the receipt of a bequest from J. F. Archibald, J. F. Archib ...

for portraiture. The painting was hung as a finalist. A photographic portrait by Petrea Hicks was also hung the following year. In 2003 she performed a live show "''Dirty Sweet Cherry on Top''!" at the Sydney Opera House In 2007 Gorr hosted the short-lived Channel Nine show '' The Catch Up''. The program, a revised version of the American program ''

The View ''The View'' is an American talk show created by broadcast journalist Barbara Walters. , in its 28th season, the show has aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC as part of the network's ABC Daytime, daytime programming block since August ...

'', ran for only four months before being cancelled due to poor ratings. Gorr, however, received positive reviews. Gorr has contributed to '' Studio 10'' on

Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as the 10 Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paramount Global's Paramount Networks UK & Australia, UK & Australia division and is o ...

as a studio panellist and Melbourne correspondent. In 2016, Gorr began presenting stories as a guest reporter for the ABC flagship current affairs program '' 7.30''.

Radio and journalism

In January 2012, Gorr joined

ABC Radio Melbourne ABC Radio Melbourne (official List of radio station callsigns in Victoria, callsign: 3LO) is an ABC Local Radio station in Melbourne, Australia. It began transmission on 13 October 1924 and was Melbourne's second licensed radio station after Radi ...

as host of the Sunday morning program. She also regularly hosted ''Breakfast'' when Red Symons was the main presenter and on leave. In December 2021, Gorr announced her resignation from

to pursue her creative interests. Her last show on

was on 19 December 2021.

Books

Gorr has authored two books for Harper Collins, ''The A–Z of Mummy Manners: An Etiquette Guide for Managing Other Children's Mothers and Assorted Mummy Dilemmas'' (2011) and ''The Bedtime Poem For Edible Children'' illustrated by Bradley Trevor Greive (2012).

Personal life

Gorr's partner is freelance producer and director Stewart Burchmore (brother of actor

Rhonda Burchmore Rhonda Suzanne Burchmore Medal of the Order of Australia, OAM (born 15 May 1960) is an Australian entertainer, most notable as an actress, recording artist and singer in musical theatre, she has appeared in numerous television shows and briefly ...

). They have two children and live in Melbourne.

References

External links

*
774 ABC Melbourne: Libbi Gorr profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gorr, Libbi 1965 births Australian women comedians Australian television actresses Australian television personalities Australian women television personalities Journalists from Melbourne Actresses from Melbourne Jewish Australian writers Jewish Australian actresses Jewish Australian comedians People educated at Methodist Ladies' College, Melbourne University of Melbourne alumni People from Murrumbeena, Victoria Australian women radio presenters Radio personalities from Melbourne Living people Comedians from Melbourne Jewish women comedians