Cal Wilson
Cal Wilson came across the Tasman in 2003 and went on to become one of our most popular comedians, presenting 14 solo shows at the Melbourne Comedy Festival and appearing on countless galas and debates.
She was a perennial favourite on television shows such as ABC’s Spicks and Specks and Good News Week and the iconic QI with Stephen Fry, as well as Thank God You’re Here, Hughesy, We Have A Problem, Have You Been Paying Attention? and Would I Lie To You? Australia, all on Network Ten.
Amongst taking our screens and stages by storm, Cal landed a dream job of hers – an ensemble cast member in Whose Line Is It Anyway? Australia alongside some of the country’s brightest improvisers.
In 2018, she was invited by Netflix to the Just for Laughs comedy festival in Montreal to record a Netflix Original Comedy Special which was released globally in early 2019. That same year Cal become a very serious children’s author, penning two books called “George and the Great Bum Stampede,” and “George and the Great Brain Swappery.”
A gifted storyteller & writer, Cal was invited to join the writing team for the 2022 BAFTA Awards ceremony, as well as having previously written on the series Mean Mums and The Weekly with Charlie Pickering.
She was the Melbourne live show host of the worldwide smash-hit storytelling podcast The Moth and joined comedy phenomenon podcast The Guilty Feminist on tour around her native country, New Zealand.
Despite an aversion to the great outdoors, Cal bravely joined the cast of I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! in 2022 which saw her take on all the usual hair-raising challenges and biblical amount of bugs the series has to offer.
Taking a swift move away from creepy crawlies and into all things cake Cal was the co-host of The Great Australian Bake Off which premiered on Foxtel in 2023. Cal’s last television appearance will be on “Bake Off”, in episodes recorded in October 2023.
In lockdown Cal made elaborate and ridiculous headdresses that she shared with her online community and a painting of Cal wearing a headdress made of doll parts and Christmas baubles featured in the 2023 Archibald Prize, taking out the Packing Room Prize.
Cal died on October 11, 2023 after a short illness. She was a much loved member of the comedy community. Her good friend’s Justin Hamilton and Damian Callinan shared words and her husband Chris shared a final post on her Instagram page one month after her death.
