Michelle Brasier (born ) is a Melbourne-based comedian, writer and actor. She is known for her work with the comedy group

Aunty Donna Aunty Donna is an Australian surrealist comedy group formed in Melbourne in 2011. The group currently consists of performers and writers Mark Bonanno, Broden Kelly and Zachary Ruane, alongside writer and director Sam Lingham, director Max Mill ...

, her live shows, performing in comedy duo Double Denim with Laura Frew, and for performing with her partner Tim Lancaster.

Early life and education

Brasier was born in and grew up in

Wagga Wagga Wagga Wagga (; informally called Wagga) is a major regional city in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Murrumbidgee River, with an urban population of more than 57,003 as of 2021, it is an important agricultural, m ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

. She was the youngest child, and her family was very sporty. In 2007, she moved to

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 ...

to study musical theatre at the

Victorian College of the Arts The Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) is the arts school at the University of Melbourne in Australia. It is part of the university's Faculty of Fine Arts and Music (FFAM). It is located near the Melbourne city centre on the Southbank campus ...

. After one year there she enrolled in a three-year degree of Music Theatre at the Arts Academy, Federation University in

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) () is a city in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 census, Ballarat had a population of 111,973, making it the third-largest urban inland city in Australia and the third-largest city in Victoria. Within mo ...

, graduating in 2010.

Career

In 2014, Brasier appeared on stage with Frew as part of comedy troupe Backwards Anorak in a ''

Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American Fantasy television, fantasy Drama (film and television), drama television series created by David Benioff and for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of high fantasy novels by ...

'' spoof named ''Winter Is Coming'', performed at the

Edinburgh Fringe Festival 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 ...

. Brasier's first solo comedy show, ''Space Tortoise'', came to stage in 2016. She first performed in the comedy duo Double Denim with Frew in a self-titled show in 2017. The show was nominated for a Golden Gibbo 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 ...

(MICF). The two continued in 2018 in the ''Double Denim Adventure Show'', about a failed cruise ship voyage, which won Best Newcomers at the

Sydney Comedy Festival The Sydney Comedy Festival is held annually in Sydney, Australia. Launched in 2005 as The Cracker Sydney Comedy Festival at a number of inner city venues, the Festival has grown quickly and now attracts 111,000 patrons every year at venues all ...

and Director's Choice at the

. She appeared on Aunty Donna's comedy album ''The Album'', and joined the group on their Australian tour. Double Denim's third show, ''A Very Fancy Dinner Party'', premiered 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 ...

in March 2019. In 2020, Brasier appeared in ''

Aunty Donna's Big Ol' House of Fun ''Aunty Donna's Big Ol' House of Fun'' is a sketch comedy television series on Netflix, created by and starring members of the Australian comedy group Aunty Donna. It premiered on 11 November 2020. The series' music was composed almost entirely ...

'' as a sports doctor. As part of Double Denim, she won the 2020 MICF Moosehead Award. In 2021, Brasier debuted ''Average Bear'', a personal show on the impact of cancer on her family, which she performs with her partner Tim Lancaster. The show won

's Director's Choice award, was performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2022, was nominated for the MICF award for Most Outstanding Show, and aired as a special on

Paramount+ Paramount+ (formerly known as CBS All Access in the United States and 10 All Access in Australia) is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, stream ...

as part of the Malthouse Stand Up Specials. Her show ''Reform'' debuted in 2022 to critical acclaim, about her experience with an online

scam A scam, or a confidence trick, is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their Trust (emotion), trust. Confidence tricks exploit victims using a combination of the victim's credulity, naivety, compassion, vanity, confidence ...

, in which she befriended the scammer and got most of her money back. In 2023, she appeared in '' Aunty Donna's Coffee Cafe''. Her next solo show, ''Legacy'', began the same year and ran for the duration of the MICF. Brasier has also worked on and starred in ''

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 ...

'', ''

Utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or near-perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', which describes a fictiona ...

'', ''

Get Krack!n ''Get Krack!n'' is an Australian comedy series which was created by and stars comedians Kate McCartney and Kate McLennan. The series is a satire of breakfast television and features McCartney and McLennan playing versions of themselves hosting ' ...

'', ''

Drunk History Australia ''Drunk History Australia'' is an Australian educational comedy television series based on the American series of the same name, which is in-turn based on the web series from Funny or Die. Description In each episode, an inebriated celebrity ...

'', and ''

How to Stay Married ''How to Stay Married'' is an Australian television comedy series screening on Network 10. It premiered on 8 November 2018. The series is a spin-off of an episode of the 2013 anthology comedy series '' It's a Date'' on the ABC. The show is a ...

''. In August 2024 her story was presented on the

ABC Television ABC Television most commonly refers to: *ABC Television Network of the American Broadcasting Company, United States, or *ABC Television (Australian TV network), a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia ABC Television or ABC ...

show ''

Australian Story ''Australian Story'' is a national weekly current affairs and documentary style television series which is broadcast on ABC Television (Australian TV network), ABC Television. It is produced specifically by the ABC News and Current Affairs, AB ...

''. Her memoir, ''My Brother's Ashes are in a Sandwich Bag'', was published in September 2024. It was shortlisted for the inaugural John Clarke Prize for Humour Writing at the 2025

Victorian Premier's Literary Awards The Victorian Premier's Literary Awards were created by the Victorian Government with the aim of raising the profile of contemporary creative writing and Australia's publishing industry. As of 2013, it is reportedly Australia's richest literary ...

. It was also shortlisted for the 2025 Russell Prize for Humour Writing.

Personal life

Brasier met later comedic partner Laura Frew in 2013 at a murder mystery party. She deals with a high risk of developing bowel, stomach,

pancreatic The pancreas (plural pancreases, or pancreata) is an organ of the digestive system and endocrine system of vertebrates. In humans, it is located in the abdomen behind the stomach and functions as a gland. The pancreas is a mixed or heterocrine ...

, or

ovarian cancer Ovarian cancer is a cancerous tumor of an ovary. It may originate from the ovary itself or more commonly from communicating nearby structures such as fallopian tubes or the inner lining of the abdomen. The ovary is made up of three different ...

due to an hereditary illness, to which she lost both her father and brother in 2006. Her partner Tim Lancaster is a musician who performs in some of Brasier's shows, including ''Average Bear''. They met when both performing in a production of the stage show, ''

Legally Blonde ''Legally Blonde'' is a 2001 American comedy film directed by Robert Luketic and written by Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith, based on Amanda Brown's novel. It stars Reese Witherspoon, Luke Wilson, Selma Blair, Matthew Davis, Victo ...

'', when she was just beginning to look into her genetic history. In August 2023 Brasier made news after her luggage was lost on a

KLM KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, or simply KLM (an abbreviation for their official name Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V. , ),

flight despite her locating the luggage using an

AirTag AirTag is a tracking device developed by Apple. AirTag is designed to act as a key finder, which helps people find personal objects such as keys, bags, apparel, small electronic devices and vehicles. To locate lost or stolen items, AirTags use ...

Filmography

Film

Television / web series

Writing credits

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brasier, Michelle People from Wagga Wagga 21st-century Australian comedians Living people 1988 births Australian women comedians