Rose Matafeo
Matafeo in June 2021
Born
Rose Catherine Lettitia Matafeo

(1992-02-25) 25 February 1992[1]
Auckland, New Zealand[2]
NationalityNew Zealander
Occupations
  • Comedian
  • actress
  • writer
  • television presenter
Years active2007–present
AwardsBilly T Award (2013)
Fred Award (2017)
Edinburgh Comedy Award, Best Show (2018)

Rose Catherine Lettitia Matafeo[3] (/ˌmætəˈfeɪoʊ/; born 25 February 1992)[1] is a New Zealand comedian, actress and TV presenter. She was a writer and performer on the New Zealand late-night comedy sketch show Funny Girls.[4] In 2018, she won the Edinburgh Comedy Award for Best Show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe for her show Horndog.

Early life

Matafeo grew up in Ponsonby, Auckland, and attended Auckland Girls' Grammar School, where she was head girl. She has two older brothers.[5] Her father is Samoan and her mother is of Scottish and Croatian heritage.[4][6] Her parents are Rastafarians and belong to the Twelve Tribes of Israel denomination.[7] Matafeo has described her upbringing as "quite relaxed".[8][9]

At the age of 15, Matafeo started doing stand-up comedy through the platform of the "Class Comedians" programme put on by the New Zealand Comedy Trust, and went on to win the "Nailed It on the Night" award at the New Zealand International Comedy Festival in 2007. She has been a regular at the festival since.[10]

Career

Since graduating from the "Class Comedians" programme, Matafeo went on to win best newcomer at the 2010 New Zealand International Comedy Festival.[10] She became a host of the popular comedy festival show "Fanfiction Comedy"[11] in 2012. She has had success with her solo stand-up comedy shows at the festival: Life Lessons I've Learnt from the 60s Based on Things I've Seen on Television (2011), Scout's Honour (2012) and The Rose Matafeo Variety Hour (2013).

Matafeo won the Billy T Award, which recognises the potential of up-and-coming New Zealand comedians, for The Rose Matafeo Variety Hour in 2013, having previously been nominated for her show Scout's Honour in 2012.[6][12][13] Her 2014 show at the festival was titled Pizza Party.[14] In 2015, she performed a duo show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with Guy Montgomery titled Rose Matafeo and Guy Montgomery Are Friends.[15] On 25 August 2018, Matafeo won the Edinburgh Comedy Award for Best Show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, for her show Horndog,[16] collecting a £10,000 prize.[17][18] She was the first person of colour to win the prestigious award for a solo show,[19] and the first New Zealander.[18][20] Only four other female solo stand-up comedians had won the award before her.[19]

She was a TV presenter and host of U Live, which ran on the TVNZ U channel from 13 March 2011 until 31 August 2013, when the channel came to an end. Upon TVNZ U finishing, she took on a new role as a writer for Jono and Ben at Ten, a satirical news and comedy sketch show.[21] Matafeo co-created and starred in the New Zealand sketch comedy show Funny Girls for three seasons from 2015 until 2018.[22] She has been playing the role of Talia in the ABC comedy Squinters since 2018.[23]

Matafeo appeared on Jon Richardson: Ultimate Worrier as an investigator into worrisome topics, and also appeared with Richardson in 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown (S19, Ep1), for Channel 4 TV in January 2020.[24] She was a contestant on series three of Richard Osman's House of Games and the ninth series of Taskmaster.

Having toured as a stand-up comedian for ten years, Matafeo said in 2018 that she wanted to "take a break from hour long comedy" and instead act more, write more, and also direct.[25] Matafeo went on to serve as director on five episodes of the 2019 New Zealand TV comedy Golden Boy.[26]

Matafeo had her US television debut as a comedian on Conan O'Brien's talk show Conan on TBS on 9 May 2019.[27]

In 2019, Matafeo appeared on Josh Widdicombe's show Hypothetical on Dave.[28]

She currently hosts the podcast Boners of the Heart with comedian and writer Alice Snedden on the Little Empire Podcast Network.[29] She was a guest on Deborah Frances-White's The Guilty Feminist podcast[30] and on the RHLSTP podcast with Richard Herring.[31]

In 2019, Matafeo directed five episodes in the first season of Golden Boy, a New Zealand sitcom for TV3.[32] In 2020, she returned to the set of Golden Boy in the second season as one of the supporting cast.[33]

In July 2020, Matafeo joined Guy Montgomery on the comedy show Tiny Tour of Aotearoa travelling across New Zealand.[34]

On 20 August 2020, Matafeo's comedy special Horndog was released on HBO Max.[35]

In March 2019, it was announced that Matafeo had been cast as the lead in her first feature film, Baby Done,[36] alongside co-star Matthew Lewis, known for his role as Neville Longbottom in the Harry Potter film series. The comedy film was executive-produced by Thor: Ragnarok and Hunt for the Wilderpeople director Taika Waititi[37] and was released in 2020.[36]

In April 2021, Starstruck, a six-part rom-com created by and starring Matefeo aired on the BBC (UK), HBO (USA), TVNZ (New Zealand), and ABC (Australia).[38][39][40] Co-written by Matafeo and Alice Snedden, the cast included actor Nikesh Patel, as leading man and love interest Tom. Filming for the first series was delayed due to the COVID pandemic, however a second series of the show was commissioned before the first series had even begun filming.[41] A third series was released in September 2023.[42]

In 2023, Matafeo guest presented the British quiz show Pointless.[43]

Personal life

Matafeo previously dated the New Zealand comedian Guy Williams.[44][45] In 2015, she moved to London, where her then-boyfriend James Acaster lived; she shared a flat with comedian Nish Kumar.[4][46][47][48] Matafeo and Acaster broke up in 2017.[49]

One of Matafeo's interests is mukbang videos (in which the host eats large amounts of food while interacting with the audience), so in July 2018 she decided to make her own mukbang video using takeaways purchased from Double Happy Takeaways in Auckland. It was featured on The Spinoff.[50]

Matafeo is a supporter of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand and was scheduled to host their campaign launch for the 2020 general election, but was later asked to step down from the role. The Green Party said this was due to a miscommunication within the party.[44]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2018 The Breaker Upperers Checkout chick
2020 Baby Done Zoe Lead role

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2010–2018 7 Days Self - Team member 11 episodes
2012 Pocket Protectors Sam (voice) Animated series
2013 Best Bits Self - Co-host 4 episodes
Crumbs Detective Tickleberry / Joan Cornfield (voices) Animated series
2013–2014 Auckland Daze Rose 2 episodes
2015–2018 Funny Girls Rose Main cast (15 episodes). Writer (1 episode)
2017 Climaxed Hannah 1 episode: "When He Can't Take the Hint"
W1A Chloe 2 episodes
The Barefoot Bandits Gelatina (voice) Animated series. 1 episode: "Too Much Tumeke"
2018 Temp Rose Mini-series. Also writer
Jon Richardson: Ultimate Worrier Self - Guest 4 episodes
2018–2019 Squinters Talia Main cast (12 episodes)
2019 Hypothetical Self - Guest Series 1, episode 2
Taskmaster Self - Contestant Series 9, 10 episodes
2020 Horndog Self Comedy special
Golden Boy Ruth 7 episodes. Also Director (5 episodes)
Richard Osman's House of Games Self - Contestant Series 3, 5 episodes
2021 Dead Pixels Daisy 3 episodes: "Raid Boss", "Mission" and "Flanks/Yams"
Landscape Artist of the Year Self - Contestant Series 7, episode 9
2021–Present Starstruck Jessie Lead role, creator, writer, 3 series (18 episodes)
2022 Big Fat Quiz of the Year Self - Panelist With Jonathan Ross[51]
2023 QI / QI XL Self - Panellist Series 19, episode 5
Pointless Self – co-host
The Great Stand Up to Cancer Bake Off Self - Contestant Series 6, episode 1[52]
2023–Present Junior Taskmaster Self - Host/Taskmaster Upcoming[53]

References

  1. 1 2 Rose Matafeo - My World on Fresh. Fresh TV. 31 March 2013. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
  2. ↑ Salter, Caitlin (20 May 2015). "Enter Stage Left: Rose Matafeo". The Southland Times. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  3. ↑ "Current details". Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  4. 1 2 3 Logan, Brian (3 August 2017). "Comic Rose Matafeo: 'I definitely probably have a moderate amount of talent'". The Guardian.
  5. ↑ "A day in the life of Rose Matafeo". Stuff. 18 January 2018. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  6. 1 2 Robinson, Michelle (13 April 2014). "Rose Matafeo - the thorn within". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  7. ↑ "'Starstruck' Creator Rose Matafeo on Being a Nerdy Teenage Rastafarian". www.vice.com. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  8. ↑ "Rose Matafeo". Private Parts Podcast. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  9. ↑ Bruce, Greg (14 May 2016). "Rose Matafeo on the highs and lows of stand-up comedy". The New Zealand Herald. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  10. 1 2 "Biography at Johnson&Laird" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 October 2013. Retrieved 3 October 2013.
  11. ↑ Barry Hill, Rebecca (16 April 2012). "Why making it as a comedian goes beyond a joke". The New Zealand Herald.
  12. ↑ "The Billy T Award Nominees announced for 2013". 18 October 2012.
  13. ↑ Beresford, Jessica (20 May 2013). "Rose Matafeo takes out Billy T award". TVNZ One News.
  14. ↑ "Rose Matafeo - Pizza Party". Archived from the original on 2 November 2014. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
  15. ↑ "Rose Matafeo and Guy Montgomery Are Friends". Edinburgh Festival. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  16. ↑ Premier. "2018 Winners - Edinburgh Comedy Awards". Edinburgh Comedy Awards. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  17. ↑ Thorpe, Vanessa; Veronica Lee (25 August 2018). "Rose Matafeo wins Edinburgh best comedy show award". The Guardian.
  18. 1 2 Horan, Paul; Philip, Matthews (2019). Funny As: The Story of New Zealand Comedy. Auckland: Auckland University Press. ISBN 9781776710447.
  19. 1 2 Logan, Brian (25 August 2018). "Edinburgh award champ Rose Matafeo's Horndog is a comedy smash". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  20. ↑ "Rose Matafeo wins Best Comedy Show at Edinburgh comedy festival". Stuff. 25 August 2018. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  21. ↑ "Comedian leaves TVNZ U for Jono and Ben at 10". The New Zealand Herald. 13 July 2013.
  22. ↑ "Funny Girls, Television Series, 2015-2018". www.nzonscreen.com. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
  23. ↑ Knox, David (7 February 2018). "Squinters". TV Tonight.
  24. ↑ "8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown - All 4". www.channel4.com. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  25. ↑ "Why Rose Matafeo won't be doing NZ stand-up comedy any time soon". Stuff. December 2018. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  26. ↑ "Edinburgh Festival: How Rose Matafeo went from teen star to awards". inews.co.uk. 21 July 2019. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
  27. ↑ Rose Matafeo: It's A Tough Year To Be A Straight Woman - CONAN on TBS, 9 May 2019, retrieved 19 October 2019
  28. ↑ "Who's on James Acaster and Josh Widdicombe's new panel show Hypothetical". Chortle. 15 January 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  29. ↑ "Boners Of The Heart". Little Empire Podcast Network.
  30. ↑ "The Guilty Feminist: 112. Instincts with Rose Matafeo". guiltyfeminist.libsyn.com. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  31. ↑ Rose Matafeo - Richard Herring's Leicester Square Theatre Podcast #191, retrieved 20 October 2019
  32. ↑ Golden Boy (Comedy), Kimberley Crossman, James Rolleston, Alison Bruce, Three, 16 July 2019, retrieved 16 October 2023{{citation}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  33. ↑ Benge, Alie (3 November 2020). "Review: Golden Boy is a sparkling light of New Zealand comedy". The Spinoff. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  34. ↑ "Rose Matafeo and Guy Montgomery". event finda. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  35. ↑ "Woman Crush Wednesday: We're Falling Hard for Rose Matafeo". Decider. 19 August 2020. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  36. 1 2 "Kiwi comedian Rose Matafeo to star in first feature film". Stuff. 4 March 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  37. ↑ Tartaglione, Nancy (4 March 2019). "Taika Waititi Exec Producing 'Baby, Done'; Comedy Stars Rose Matafeo, Matthew Lewis". Deadline. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  38. ↑ Clarke, Annaleigh Rose (14 April 2021). "Starstruck cast and first look at new BBC comedy". TellyMix. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  39. ↑ "Starstruck: Rose Matafeo's new sitcom hits New Zealand screens". The New Zealand Herald. 28 April 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  40. ↑ Aroesti, Rachel (28 August 2023). "Starstruck series three review – Rose Matafeo's romcom ditches the love story (and is better than ever)". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  41. ↑ "Rose Matafeo gets a second series of her BBC sitcom Starstruck". British Comedy Guide. 24 July 2020. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  42. ↑ Tinubu, Aramide (27 September 2023). "'Starstruck' Season 3 Moves on From Romance to Celebrate Friendship and Life's Transitions: TV Review". Variety. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  43. ↑ Waiwiri-Smith, Lyric (18 April 2023). "Rose Matafeo takes up hosting duties for UK gameshow Pointless". Stuff.
  44. 1 2 MacManus, Joel (29 June 2020). "Comedian Rose Matafeo asked to step down from hosting Greens campaign launch". Stuff. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  45. ↑ Robinson, Michelle (12 April 2014). "Rose Matafeo - the thorn within". Stuff. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  46. ↑ "Rose Matafeo's life changing move for love". The New Zealand Herald. 16 November 2015. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  47. ↑ "Rose Matefeo's ex boyfriend opens up about being dumped for Mr Bean". stuff.co.nz. 5 March 2019. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  48. ↑ "Spy: Rose Matafeo leaving NZ to join British boyfriend".
  49. ↑ Hunt, Elle (23 January 2021). "Rose Matafeo: 'Having a kid is the death of a certain kind of life'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 16 April 2023. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  50. ↑ "Let me watch you eat: Rose Matafeo makes mukbang". The Spinoff. 3 July 2018. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  51. ↑ "Big Fat Quiz: Big Fat Quiz of the Year 2022". 26 December 2022.
  52. ↑ "The Great Stand Up to Cancer Bake Off". The Great Stand Up to Cancer Bake Off. 7 February 2023. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
  53. ↑ "Rose Matafeo and Mike Wozniak confirmed as the Junior Taskmaster and Assistant in Channel 4's brand new Junior Taskmaster". channel4.com/press. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
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