Justine Smith
Born1967 or 1968 (age 55–56)[1]
Auckland, New Zealand
NationalityNew Zealand
Occupations
Known for
  • 7 Days
  • Taskmaster NZ
AwardsBilly T Award (2003)
NZ Comedy Guild, Best Female Comedian (2008, 2015, 2017)
Comedy career
Medium
  • Television
  • stand-up
Years active1997–present
Websitejustinesmith.co.nz

Justine Smith is a New Zealand comedian, writer, and actress.

Early life

Smith was born in Auckland and adopted by and raised in a self-described "conservative"[2] family in Wainoni in Christchurch, New Zealand.[3][4][5][1][6] Smith has an older sister.[2] Her grandfather, Bill Ramsay, had been a comedian.[2][5] She attended Avonside Girls' High School until she was sixteen, when she moved to Auckland to attend art school.[7][8]

Smith has a degree in film and photography.[2][5] After graduating, she worked in hospitality.[9]

Career

Smith started her career in comedy after doing a stand-up gig in 1997.[10] She went on to win the Billy T Award in 2003 for her show The Justine Smith Hour.[11][12][13] Smith briefly quit comedy in 2014.[5]

Smith is the first female head writer[5] and a regular panelist on 7 Days,[1] and she has appeared on The Project.[5] In 2022, Smith appeared on the third series of Taskmaster NZ.[5][14] She has also been on Pulp Comedy, Have You Been Paying Attention?, and hosted the New Zealand International Comedy Festival Comedy Gala in 2021.[2][15] Smith also appeared in an advertisement, produced by the New Zealand government for its "Keep It Real Online" campaign, that went viral.[16] In 2023, she appeared on the New Zealand version of The Traitors.[17]

She also won the NZ Comedy Guild's Best Female Comedian award three times, in 2008, 2015, and 2017.[13]

Shows performed by Smith include Actually I'm a Cat Person, The Justine Smith Hour (2003), Return of the Jussi (2008),[18] and Jussi Town (2010).[19] She and Irene Pink have performed two shows together, I'm Sorry I Said That and The Pitch.[20]

She has cited Bill Bailey as an inspiration,[1] as well as Lucille Ball, Carol Burnett, Bette Midler, and Betty White.[3]

Personal life

Smith lived in Japan for a year in her 20s.[8][4][21]

Smith married her husband Dan Crozier in 2015.[22][1] They live in Te Atatū Peninsula with their two cats.[23] She collects toys and enjoys decorating for Christmas.[14][9]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Nealon, Sarah (31 October 2017). "NZ comedian Justine Smith: 'I always thought I was pretty funny'". Stuff.co.nz.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Justine Smith - Funny As Interview". NZ on Screen. 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  3. 1 2 Papesch, Lynda (12 October 2021). "Justine Smith". Metropol. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  4. 1 2 "7 Days comedian Justine Smith loves Disneyland so much she got engaged there". Stuff.co.nz. 21 May 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Brooks, Sam (9 July 2022). "Justine Smith's long road to Taskmaster glory". The Spinoff.
  6. ↑ "Taskmaster NZ comedian Justine Smith's favourite holiday memories". NZ Herald. 28 June 2022.
  7. ↑ Anderson, Vicki (24 January 2014). "Female comedian: 'I scare most people off'". Stuff.co.nz.
  8. 1 2 Easther, Elisabeth (31 August 2020). "My Story: Justine Smith - 'Quite a lot of the hate towards women comes from other women'". NZ Herald.
  9. 1 2 Yates, Siena (May 2021). "How Kiwi comedy queen Justine Smith is shaking up the stand-up scene for women". Woman (11): 30–35. ISSN 2703-6421.
  10. ↑ Johnson, Verity (16 March 2017). "You do what for a living?! Justine Smith, comedian". Newshub.
  11. ↑ Horan, Paul; Matthews, Philip (2019). Funny As: The Story of New Zealand Comedy. Auckland: Auckland University Press. ISBN 9781776710447.
  12. ↑ "Comedians in Conversation: Alice Snedden and Justine Smith". The Spinoff. 16 March 2017. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  13. 1 2 "Billy T' Billy: Dai Henwood, Justine Smith and Irene Pink on NZ comedy in the 00s". NZ Herald. 15 May 2023.
  14. 1 2 Hebenton, Rebekah (9 December 2022). "Justine Smith loves everything about Christmas". Woman's Weekly. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  15. ↑ Nealon, Sarah (22 April 2021). "Justine Smith hosting this year's Comedy Gala". Stuff.co.nz.
  16. ↑ Graham-McLay, Charlotte (15 June 2020). "New Zealand government deploys nude 'porn actors' in web safety ad". The Guardian.
  17. ↑ Casey, Alex (8 August 2023). "The Traitors NZ power rankings, week one: Gather round, chickadees". The Spinoff.
  18. ↑ "Justine Smith: The Return of the Jussi". Theatreview. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  19. ↑ Walker, Zoe (2 May 2010). "Favourite things: Funny business". NZ Herald. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  20. ↑ "Justine Smith". The Sit Down Comedy Club. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  21. ↑ "Advice to my 22 year old self: Justine Smith". The Big Idea. 31 July 2018. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  22. ↑ Hebenton, Rebekah (14 April 2023). "Comedian Justine Smith's Disney proposal". New Zealand Women's Weekly.
  23. ↑ Mann, Britt (12 November 2017). "At home with Auckland comedian Justine Smith". Stuff.co.nz.
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