Suzanne Noreen Cato (born 20 June 1968) is a New Zealand children's entertainer. She is best known as the host of several New Zealand children's television programmes, most notably ''

Suzy's World ''Suzy's World'' is a New Zealand educational children's television programme presented by Suzy Cato which ran from September 1999 to September 2002 aimed at children aged 5–9. It provided scientific information (e.g. electrical circuits) in a ...

'' and '' You and Me''.

Career

Cato began her broadcasting career at the KCCFM radio station in Whangarei, before she moved to Auckland to begin her television career in 1990. Cato's first role on television was as a presenter of the New Zealand version of the popular children's television series ''

The Early Bird Show ''The Early Bird Show'' was an Australian children's television show that aired on Network Ten in Australia from 26 January 1985 until 10 June 1989. The show was so popular that a magazine about it was published in 1989. Format Produced by Di ...

'' with a puppet character named Russell Rooster. After The Early Bird Show, Cato moved on to hosting the children's television show ''

3pm ''3pm'' was a New Zealand children's show hosted by Suzy Cato. It screened on the independent station TV3 in 1992, and featured an oversized pumpkin, games, interviews, viewers' mail and cartoons. The show was produced by the television company ...

''. In 1993 Cato presented the successful ''You and Me'' television show, which aired over 2000 episodes. When this show finished in 1998, Cato created her own production company – Treehut. Cato went on to produce her immensely popular ''

'', which aired 263 episodes from 1999–2002. Since 2005, Cato has produced a television show in association with the New Zealand Police – ''Bryan and Bobby''. ''Bryan and Bobby'' is an educational show which was created to teach children safety messages through song and entertainment. Cato was a contestant on the seventh series of '' Dancing With The Stars New Zealand''. She is currently co-hosting a podcast series ''Double Strength Mama Power'' (regarding parenting in New Zealand) alongside Tui Fleming. She was part of a TV channel designed to educate New Zealand children stuck at home during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, on one of two channels announced on 8 April 2020. On 9 May 2021 Suzy appeared on

The Masked Singer NZ ''The Masked'' ''Singer NZ'' is a New Zealand reality singing competition television show based on the ''Masked Singer'' franchise which originated from the South Korean version of the show ''King of Mask Singer''. It premiered on Three on 9 May ...

as the " Tui", being the first one eliminated. In the 2025 King’s Birthday Honours, Cato was appointed an

Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have r ...

, for services to music, television and education.

Personal life

Born in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, Australia to New Zealand parents, Cato moved to her parents' homeland when she was a month old, living in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

Kaikohe Kaikohe is the seat of the Far North District of New Zealand, situated on State Highway 12 about from Auckland, and about from Whangārei. It is the largest inland town and highest community above sea level in the Northland Region. With a pop ...

and

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

before settling 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 ...

where she lives today. When ''Suzy's World'' was cancelled, Cato said that she was taking a break to focus on "her greatest production ever — growing a wee family" Cato and her husband Steve have two children.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cato, Suzy 1968 births Living people Entertainers from Brisbane Australian emigrants to New Zealand New Zealand television presenters New Zealand women television presenters People from Kaikohe Entertainers from Auckland Association of Community Access Broadcasters Rhema Media Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit

Career

Personal life

See also

References

External links