MAGDA SZUBANSKI is one of Australia's most loved and respected actors, best known for her role as the delightful Mrs. Hogget in the Academy Award® and Golden Globe winning film "Babe" and its sequel, "Babe: Pig In The City." Szubanski re-teamed with the "Babe" creators to voice the box office hit "Happy Feet."
Her other film credits include "Legend of The Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole"; "Santa's Apprentice"; "The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course," alongside the late Steve Irwin; "Son Of The Mask," with Jamie Kennedy and Alan Cumming; "The Golden Compass," with Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig; and the Australian films "Dr. Plonk," directed by Rolf de Heer, and "Bran Nu Dae," from Rachel Perkins. Szubanski also appeared on "Goddess.com," the musical comedy also starring musician Ronan Keating, and starred in comedy "The Kath & Kim Filum."
Szubanski's stage appearances have yielded larger-than-life performances, for example "Guys and Dolls" and Nora Ephron's "Love, Loss and What I Wore." Her other credits include The Melbourne Theatre Company production of "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee," the national tour of "Grease: The Arena Spectacular," alongside John Farnham, and The Melbourne Theatre Company's production of "The Mad Woman Of Chaillot."
After early training with the ABC-TV cult show "D-Generation," Szubanski shot to fame in 1989 in response to the huge variety of comic characters she created for the sketch comedy "Fast Forward," which played for several seasons and became one of Australia's highest-rated comedies. Her other television credits include the "Dogwoman" tele-features, "Big Girl's Blouse" and "Something Stupid," all of which she co-wrote, co-produced and starred in.
Her most iconic character is Sharon Strzelecki from the blockbuster sitcom "Kath & Kim," which is widely acknowledged as the most successful comedy in Australian television history. The show made the cultural leap to U.S. and UK television and was re-made for U.S. audiences. A feature length film will bring "Kath and Kim" to the big screen, with "The Kath & Kim Filum" slated to commence shooting in late 2011.
Szubanski has received many accolades in the course of her career, including a Mo Award, seven Logie Awards, three Awgie Awards, two People's Choice Awards and an AFI Award for Best Actress.
© 2011 Warner Bros. Pictures
