She shot into the spotlight in 1979 — a whirlwind of sharp comedy, striking beauty, and bold stage presence. For a moment, she was the glamorous blonde who could steal a sketch simply by raising an eyebrow. Soon after, she was in Hollywood, starring in Superman III, before pivoting into a new incarnation altogether: psychologist, author, broadcaster, and outspoken commentator on sex and relationships.
Today, she lives in Florida — deep in a region known for its strong conservative leanings — still working, still writing, still carrying the same relentless energy that has defined her for decades.
But behind the laughter and the reinventions lies a story shaped by trauma, estrangement, grit, and extraordinary resilience.
A Violent Turning Point
She was born in Takapuna, Auckland, in 1949, the eldest daughter of two brilliant but emotionally distant scientists. Her parents moved the family to Australia when she was just four, starting the first of many chapters marked by ambition, pressure, and strict expectations.
But at 16, her life took a devastating turn.
According to her autobiography, she was raped by a 35-year-old heroin addict and contracted a sexually transmitted infection. She kept the assault buried, but when her parents discovered the infection, their response was brutal. They didn’t console her. They didn’t ask what happened. Instead, they threw her out.
“I remember the feeling well,” she wrote. “I still experience it every time someone rejects me, even in some relatively small way.”
Her father, a strict zoologist with unyielding standards, had always pushed her toward achievement. She read at age three, excelled in IQ tests, and advanced a grade early — only to be bullied and isolated. But even then, she kept striving, because failure simply wasn’t allowed.
Emotionally, though, she felt starved.
“I really crave hugs and touch, but when I get into that position, I feel anxious… it reminds me of what I missed.”
When she became gravely ill with glandular fever and gonorrhea, her father stood over her bedside and said:
“You were supposed to keep yourself clean until marriage. You are no longer my daughter.”
It could have ended her. Instead, she rose.
Breaking the Mold — and Breaking Out
In 1971, she auditioned for the National Institute for Dramatic Art in Sydney. The path upward was slow, uneven, and often underpaid. She battled typecasting, clashed with directors, and occasionally made headlines for her fiery temperament.
Eventually, she looked abroad.
In 1976, she moved to the United Kingdom, where she took on roles in film and television — but it was comedy that made her unstoppable. Soon, she was hailed as “one of the cheekiest exports from the colonies.”
Her fame erupted on Not the Nine O’Clock News in the late ’70s and early ’80s, performing alongside Rowan Atkinson, Mel Smith, and Griff Rhys Jones. She didn’t just participate — she redefined what women could do in sketch comedy.
At a time when female characters were often played by men in wigs, she played the sexy, audacious woman herself — with perfect comedic precision.
She later admitted:
“I should have known I was a comic. Straight acting bores me to death.”
The Sketch That Shocked the Country
One of her most iconic moments came when she portrayed a car-rental receptionist responding to a customer asking about using an American Express card:
“That will do nicely, sir — and would you like to rub my tits, too?”
The sketch was sharp satire, and decades later, it remains one of the show’s most referenced moments.
Her success led her to Hollywood, where she played Lorelei Ambrosia in Superman III, the seductive, sharp girlfriend of the villain Ross Webster. Many praised her performance — though one critic suggested she was “wasted” in a role “too dumb for Goldie Hawn.”
Still, she kept going.
By the mid-’80s she joined the cast of Saturday Night Live, becoming the show’s second — and only — female cast member born outside North America. Rolling Stone later described her as “a bright spot in a weak season.”
For years, she was widely considered one of the funniest women in the world.
A New Life, a New Purpose
In 1989, after a decade-long relationship, she married Scottish comedian Billy Connolly in Fiji. Three years later, they moved to Los Angeles, where they raised three children and built a life woven with creativity and chaos.
Then came yet another reinvention.
After years of introspection and professional success, she stepped back from comedy and pursued psychology. She studied at Antioch University and became a clinical psychologist specializing in sex and relationships. She went on to publish several books, including a bestselling psycho-biography of her husband titled Billy.
Today, the woman behind the jokes lives mostly out of the spotlight in Florida with Connolly, who has Parkinson’s disease.
In 2023, she wrote:
“As my 80-year-old husband’s main caregiver, I try to reduce his stress.”
She explained that their move south wasn’t political but practical — warm weather reduces Billy’s fall risks, unlike icy winters in New York or Glasgow.
“So for now,” she wrote, “our hazards are hurricanes, aggressive grackles, and iguana poop.”
Still funny. Still fearless.
