Katy Brand
Katy Brand | |
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![]() Brand hosts the 2017 Freedom of Expression Awards | |
Born | Katherine Frances Brand 1979 (age 44–45) Buckinghamshire, England |
Alma mater | Keble College, Oxford |
Occupation(s) | Actress, comedian, television writer |
Years active | 2001–present |
Television | Big Ass Show Mongrels |
Katherine Frances Brand (born 13 January 1979), known as Katy Brand, is an English actress, comedian and writer, known for her ITV2 series Katy Brand's Big Ass Show[1][2] and for Comedy Lab Slap on Channel 4.
Early life and education
[edit]Brand was born in Buckinghamshire, England, in 1979, and enjoyed making people laugh with her impressions as a young child.[3]
Brand attended St Clement Danes School in Chorleywood, Hertfordshire. Following a summer holiday at 13 with friends who were evangelical Christians she embraced their faith and attended church five times a week.[4]
Motivated to read theology at Keble College, Oxford,[5][6] she then lost her religious beliefs while a student.[7][3] Interviewed for the Evening Standard in 2007, she commented: "After about a year, I realised it was mostly rubbish and that things are never as simple as they seem when you are 13".[4]
While at Oxford, she started to write and perform comedy, musicals and serious plays, joining the Oxford Revue and the university's dramatic society.[3]
Brand won Celebrity Mastermind in an edition broadcast in May 2021.
Career
[edit]After graduation, Brand did not work as a performer, gaining employment in television production for five years instead,[3] but her social encounters with university contemporaries ultimately convinced her to try working as a comedian.[8] In 2004 she wrote a comedy monologue, performing it in a few pubs in London before joining Ealing Live, a weekly live spot.[3]
Brand established her name with her solo stand-up act at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2005.[3]
In 2008, she collaborated with Katherine Parkinson, one of her friends from university,[9] on a BBC Radio 4 series called Mouth Trap.[10]
Brand performed in Katy Brand's Big Ass Tour 2010.[11] She also competed on Let's Dance for Sport Relief in 2010, in which she danced to Beyoncé's "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)".[12] Also in 2010, she made a guest appearance on the song "Stop Giving Me Verses" by The Hoosiers, which was an attempt to break the world record for the longest single ever released.[13]
In 2011, Brand took part in the BBC Learning project "Off By Heart Shakespeare", where she played the role of Titania from A Midsummer Night's Dream and delivered a performance of the speech "Out of this wood do not desire to go".[14]
In 2011 she guest-hosted a Children in Need special episode of Never Mind the Buzzcocks,[15] and has participated in several other episodes of the show.[16][17] In December 2012 she participated in the 2012 Christmas Special of the dance show, Strictly Come Dancing. Her partner was Anton du Beke; they came second to last.[18]
Brand presented the Penguin Podcast for Penguin Books until February 2021,[19] which included interviews with authors such as Michael Morpurgo (War Horse), Markus Zusak (The Book Thief) and Gabourey Sidibe.[20]
She published her debut novel, Brenda Monk is Funny, in 2014, a story about a woman trying to establish a career as a comedian.[3] Her debut play, 3Women, starring Anita Dobson opened at Trafalgar Studios 2 in May 2018 and is published by Samuel French.[20] Her latest book, I Carried a Watermelon, was published by HarperCollins Publishers in October 2019.[21]
In March 2020, she took the role of Miss Hedge in the West End musical Everybody's Talking About Jamie.[22]
As of February 2021[update], the comedy feature film Good Luck to You, Leo Grande, scripted by Brand, starring Emma Thompson and directed by Sophie Hyde, is in the pre-production stage.[23][24][25][26] It has since been completed and aired on Hulu.
Awards
[edit]In 2008 she won "Best Female Newcomer" in the 2008 British Comedy Awards.[27] and was also nominated for a Royal Television Society Award the same year.
For Good Luck to You, Leo Grande, Brand was nominated for two British Independent Film Awards: Best Independent Film and Best Screenplay.[28]
Filmography
[edit]Year | Project | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2006 | Comedy Lab: Slap (TV) | Channel 4 | |
Tittybangbang (TV) | Various | BBC Three | |
Hyperdrive (TV) | Alien 2 | BBC Two | |
Casualty (TV) | Jill Grainger | BBC One | |
Comedy Cuts (TV) | Various | ITV2 | |
Under One Roof (TV) | Various | Writer, alongside James Bachman | |
Touch Me, I'm Karen Taylor | Various | BBC Three | |
2007 | Peep Show (TV) | Lucy | Channel 4 |
Katy Brand's Big Ass Show (TV) | Various | ITV2 | |
Rob Brydon's Annually Retentive | Debbie | BBC Three | |
2008 | Headcases (TV) | Various | ITV |
Placebo (TV) | BBC Three | ||
2009 | Good Arrows | Big Sheila | |
2010 | Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang | Miss Turvey | |
Let's Dance for Sport Relief (TV) | Herself | Danced to "Single Ladies" by Beyoncé | |
Argumental (TV) | Herself | Dave (TV Channel) | |
The Bubble (TV) | Herself | BBC Two | |
Mongrels (TV) | Kali (voice) | BBC Three | |
Katy Brand vs...[29] | Herself | ITV2 | |
Never Mind the Buzzcocks (TV) | Herself | BBC Two | |
Ask Rhod Gilbert (TV) | Herself | BBC One | |
2011 | Alexander Armstrong's Big Ask | Herself | Dave |
2014 | Walking on Sunshine[30] | Lil | Vertigo Films |
2015 | Mapp & Lucia (TV) | Hermione Pillson | BBC One |
2016 | Hank Zipzer (TV) | Kathleen Murray | CBBC, one episode "Zipzers and Aliens" |
2019 | Pilgrimage: Road to Rome | Herself | BBC Two |
2019 | Midsomer Murders (TV) | Jemima Starling | ITV, one episode "The Miniature Murders " |
2020 | Paintball Massacre |
References
[edit]- ^ TVGuide. "Katy Brand's Big Ass Show at ITV". Tvguide.co.uk. Archived from the original on 24 December 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2011.
- ^ Shelley, Jim (September 2008). "Mirror article". Mirror article. Retrieved 8 July 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g Christie, Janet (9 June 2014). "Katy Brand on her debut novel and romcom musicals". The Scotsman. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
- ^ a b Dessau, Bruce (19 October 2007). "Is Katy Brand the new Catherine Tate?". Evening Standard. Evening Standard. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
- ^ Sherwin, Adam (22 August 2008). "People: Katy Brand; Anne Hathaway; Madonna". The Times. Retrieved 4 August 2009.
- ^ "Bright Lights at St James'" (PDF). The Brick. 2002. p. 8.
- ^ "Stage: What Katy did", Oxford Mail, 20 May 2010
- ^ "Comedy: Katy Brand at The Cresset", Peterborough Telegraph, 9 April 2010
- ^ Harries, Rhiannon (20 December 2009). "How We Met: Katherine Parkinson & Katy Brand". The Independent. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
- ^ Chisholm, Kate (31 May 2008). "Space odyssey; ARTS - Radio". The Spectator. p. 54.
- ^ "Katy Brand's official website". Katybrandlaughs.com. Retrieved 8 July 2011.
- ^ The Final - Katy Brand - Let's Dance for Sport Relief on YouTube (14 March 2010, BBC One)
- ^ Porter, Alice (28 July 2010). "The Hoosiers ready 'longest pop song ever to be released in the UK'". MusicRadar. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
- ^ "Schools - Teachers - Off By Heart Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night's Dream "Out of this wood do not desire to go"". BBC. 22 March 2011. Retrieved 8 July 2011.
- ^ Never Mind the Buzzcocks: Children in Need Special at IMDb
- ^ "Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Series 22, Episode 9". BBC Two. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
- ^ "Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Series 24, Episode 3". BBC Two. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
- ^ "Christmas Special 2012: Strictly Come Dancing". Series 10: Episode 26 of 26. Series 10. 25 December 2012. Retrieved 25 December 2012.
- ^ "The Penguin Podcast on Acast". acast. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
- ^ a b "Curtis Brown". www.curtisbrown.co.uk. Retrieved 14 June 2019.
- ^ "I Carried a Watermelon by Katy Brand | Waterstones". www.waterstones.com. Retrieved 14 June 2019.
- ^ "Katy Brand". Everybody's Talking About Jamie. Archived from the original on 19 March 2020. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
- ^ "Good Luck To You, Leo Grande". Cornerstone Films. 29 October 2012. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
- ^ "Sophie Hyde to direct Emma Thompson in UK sex comedy". IF Magazine. 27 October 2020. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
- ^ "Emma Thompson to Star in Sophie Hyde's 'Good Luck to You, Leo Grande'". Variety. 27 October 2020. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
- ^ "Emma Thompson set to star in Sophie Hyde's new feature, Good Luck to You Leo Grande". Closer Productions. 27 October 2020. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
- ^ "British Comedy Awards". www.britishcomedyawards.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2010.
- ^ Ntim, Zac (4 November 2022). "British Independent Film Awards: 'Aftersun,' 'Blue Jean' & 'The Wonder' Lead Nominations". Deadline. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
- ^ "Katy Brand vs". Itv.com. Retrieved 8 July 2011.
- ^ "WALKING ON SUNSHINE (12A)". Vertigo Films. British Board of Film Classification. 14 April 2014. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
External links
[edit]- 1979 births
- Living people
- Alumni of Keble College, Oxford
- English film actresses
- English impressionists (entertainers)
- English radio actresses
- English television actresses
- English television writers
- English voice actresses
- English women comedians
- People educated at St. Clement Danes School
- British women screenwriters
- British women television writers
- Actresses from Buckinghamshire
- Comedians from Buckinghamshire