South African comedian and actress Urzila Carlson was BOTD in 1976. Born in Johannesburg, she grew up on a nature reserve near Kruger National Park. She began working as a production manager for a newspaper, and trained as a graphic designer. In 2006, she emigrated to New Zealand with her then-partner. In 2008, she quit her job to pursue a career in comedy, turning heads in the Comedy Festival’s Raw Talent Comedy Quest. A self defined “Lesbytarian”, her raucous, take-no-prisoners comedy style refers frequently to her South African upbringing, the idiocy of the patriarchy, her sexuality, body image, parenthood and cultural differences between South Africa and New Zealand. In 2010, she won New Zealand’s Best Female Comedian Award, and in 2011, the Billy T James Award, New Zealand’s highest comedy honour. She has toured frequently through Australia and New Zealand, appeared as a judge in reality TV series RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under and co-starred with Amy Schumer in the comedy film Kinda Pregnant. Her memoir, Rolling With the Punchlines, was published in 2016. She married her partner Julie in 2014, with whom she has two children, announcing their divorce in 2024.