Gretel Killeen

A best-selling author, award-winning comedy writer, and host of acclaimed television, with a career spanning every corner of the media and arts industries (excluding ballet and opera—though she hasn’t ruled them out). Her journey began unexpectedly, when she dropped out of law school and accidentally launched a comedy career while reading a serious poem aloud.

Since then, Gretel has sung as The Octopus on The Masked Singer, poisoned dinner guests on Come Dine With Me, advocated for refugees on Go Back to Where You Came From, raced around the world with her daughter on The Amazing Race: Celebrity Edition, and appeared as a regular social and political commentator on The Project and Sunrise. She is perhaps most widely known as the iconic host of Big Brother Australia from 2001 to 2007.

Gretel has written for many of Australia’s major publications and appeared on hundreds of TV and radio programs. As a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, she directed a documentary on AIDS orphans in Zambia and filmed public service announcements in Bangladesh and Laos to raise awareness of poverty and unexploded ordinance. In 2022, she wrote and directed the five-part television documentary series The Best 30 Years, focusing on redefining and enriching life’s later decades.

With Forces Entertainment, Gretel has performed for Australian troops around the world—in Afghanistan, Iraq, Egypt, the Solomon Islands, and East Timor. As a travel writer, she’s explored places as varied as Antarctica, Turkey, and Namibia. On stage, she has performed in Berlin, the Adelaide Fringe Festival, Perth Comedy Festival, and Sydney Fringe, and has produced shows everywhere from outback pubs to the Sydney Opera House.

A tireless humanitarian, Gretel has worked across the globe as a writer, director, and spokesperson for international aid organisations. From advocating for the LGBTQI+ community to co-directing a mini-doc for Vets Without Borders in India, to writing about the Fred Hollows Foundation’s work in Pakistan, her voice has long championed inclusion, empathy, and equity.

An incisive communicator across all mediums, Gretel is also in high demand as a media trainer and communications specialist, trusted by a range of high-level (and occasionally top-secret) clients. Her blend of wit, insight, and authenticity make her a standout in both the corporate and creative sectors.

Now, while continuing to write, act, and perform live as a humorist, Gretel is preparing to launch her next major creative venture: a visual art exhibition. Bold, personal, and laced with the satirical humour she’s known for, the exhibition marks yet another evolution in a career built on fearless reinvention and a relentless curiosity about the world.