Kura Forrester | |
|---|---|
 Forrester in 2018 | |
| Born | 1985 (age 39–40) |
| Occupation(s) | comedian, actor and writer |
| Awards | Billy T Award (2019) |
Kura Leigh Forrester (born 1985) is a New Zealand comedian, actor and writer. In 2019, she won theBilly T Award for best emerging comedian, for her showKura Woulda Shoulda. She formerly appeared as core cast member Desdemona Schmidt on prime-time soap operaShortland Street.
Forrester was born inLower Hutt, Wellington to parents Amos (Ngāti Porou) and Robyn, who isPākehā. Her early years were divided betweenWellington andDunedin. She attended high school atWellington Girls' College, where she was involved in drama productions and thekapa hakaroopu. Following that, Forrester studied performing arts atAuckland'sUnitec Institute of Technology – graduating in 2005.She also trained for eight weeks atPhilippe Gaulier's prestigious theatre school in Paris. Among her inspirations, Forrester citesRachel House,Nancy Brunning,Miriama McDowell,Madeleine Sami,Billy T. James,Kristen Wiig,Tina Fey,Hannah Gadsby,Jackie van Beek and her family – particularly on her Māori side inTokomaru Bay, a small community nearGisborne on New Zealand's East Coast.[1][2]
In 2013, Forrester moved to London for two years as part of herOE, where she met fellow New Zealand comedianJarred Christmas, who invited Forrester to perform at a comedy gig he was running.[2] She returned to New Zealand in 2015 and performed her first solo comedy show,Tiki Tour, as part of the 2015New Zealand International Comedy Festival.
Forrester has appeared in numerous productions across television, film, and theatre. She had a small role inTaika Waititi andJemaine Clement'smockumentary filmWhat We Do in the Shadows, as a victim of Viago – the vampire played by Waititi. Other feature film credits includeThe Breaker Upperers,Belief: The Possession of Janet Moses andFantail.
On television, Forrester has had leading roles inAuckland Daze,Super City,Find Me A Māori Bride,The Barefoot Bandits,The Adventures of Suzy Boon,Jandal Burn,Golden Boy andEducators. In 2019, she joined the core cast ofShortland Street, New Zealand's longest-running drama and soap opera. She plays Desdemona Schmidt, the larger-than-life socialite mother ofAngel Schmidt.[3]
Theatre credits includePerplex,Camping,Ngā Pou Wahine,The Wholehearted,Amadeus andWhen Sun and Moon Collide.[4]
In 2019, Forrester was nominated for the Billy T Award, an award named after iconic New Zealand comedianBilly T. James and awarded to the country's best up-and-coming stand-up comedian. As part of the 2019 New Zealand International Comedy Festival, Forrester performed her showKura Shoulda Woulda at Auckland'sBasement Theatre and Wellington'sBATS Theatre. The award ceremony was held on 26 May 2019, and Forrester was awarded the Billy T. In doing so, she became the first woman of Māori descent to win the award, and the first Māori to win it since 2004.[2] She has since toured the show across New Zealand.
Forrester appeared on the panel showPatriot Brains in 2021.
In 2022, Forrester was a contestant on series 3 ofTaskmaster NZ.[5]
In 2023, she appeared onGuy Montgomery's Guy Mont-Spelling Bee.
2025 released The SpinOff series on YouTube,Bryn & Ku's Singles Club, withBrynley Stent[6]
