Shazia Mirza


Shazia Mirza is an English stand-up comedian, actress, and writer. She is best known for her stand up comedy The Kardashians Made Me Do It, together with her articles in British newspapers The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph.

Early life

Mirza was born in Birmingham, England - the eldest daughter of Muslim Pakistani parents who moved Birmingham, England in the 1960s.
Mirza read Biochemistry at the University of Manchester and then achieved a Postgraduate Certificate in Education at Goldsmiths, University of London. Before beginning her career in comedy, Mirza was a science teacher in Langdon Park School, where she taught Dylan Mills, now known as the grime pioneer Dizzee Rascal. She later attended Rose Bruford College, where she studied acting part time while working as a supply teacher, taking the final year of the course full time.

Career

Stand-up

About a year into her comedy career, after the September 11, 2001 attacks, Mirza performed a routine which began "My name is Shazia Mirza. At least, that's what it says on my pilot's licence". The routine was widely commented upon, and she was profiled as a ground breaking comedian on CBS's 60 Minutes and interviewed by Ed Bradley.
In April 2007, she presented a documentary on BBC Three called F*** Off, I'm a Hairy Woman. She has since performed at the Winnipeg Comedy Festival and Halifax Comedy Festival in Canada, Lund and Malmö Comedy Festivals in Sweden, and the Glastonbury Festival, Hay Festival and The Edinburgh Festival in the United Kingdom.
Her show 'The Kardashians Made Me Do It' premiered at Kilburn's Tricycle Theatre and went on to sell out runs at London's Soho Theatre. The show was a satire on offence and political correctness and was critically well received. It also toured for 103 performances in Europe. Her comedy is said to push barriers and as a comedian she is often referred to as 'brave'.

Writing

Mirza has been a columnist for The Guardian since 2008. In 2006, she also began writing a fortnightly column in the New Statesman magazine. She has had a regular column in Dawn newspaper, published on a Saturday and has also written articles for FT Magazine, The Daily Telegraph, and the Chicago Tribune.

Television and radio

Mirza has made guest appearances on several shows, including The Jonathan Ross Show, Loose Women and The Late Late Show in Ireland. She was a regular panelist on the Channel 5 topical discussion series The Wright Stuff. In 2016 she appeared as a panelist on The Dog Ate My Homework and Have I Got News for You. In March 2017 she appeared on BBC's Top Gear as the "star in the reasonably fast car". She also played a role in Episode 2 of the web-based sitcom The Vessel playing an inconsiderate doctor.
Her radio appearances include 'Pause for Thought' on BBC Radio 2, Graham Norton's Radio 2 show, Midweek presented by Libby Purves, and the Vanessa Feltz show.
Mirza has also appeared in reality game shows Celebrity The Island with Bear Grylls on Channel 4, and in 2018, the Channel 5 show Celebs in Solitary, where she attempted to spend 5 days in solitary confinement.

Awards and recognition