Wendy Harmer (born 10 October 1955) is an Australian author and children’s writer. She is best known for her voice on Sydney radio station 2Day FM’s top-rating Breakfast Show for 11 years. She also co-hosted morning/breakfast shows on ABC Radio Sydney from 2016 to 2021.
The versatile entertainer has performed at many comedy festivals across the globe. She appeared in the popular Australian TV sketch comedy series The Big Gig on ABC TV.
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| Quick Facts | |
| Name: | Wendy Harmer |
| Born: | 10 October 1955 (age 68 years old), Yarram, Victoria, Australia |
| Nationality: | Australian |
| Education: | Journalism |
| Occupation: | Writer, comedian, journalist |
| Spouse: | Brendan Donohoe |
| Children: | Marley, Maeve |
| Siblings: | Phillip, Noel, Helen |
| Parents: | Graham (father), Margaret (mother) |
Early Life
Wendy Harmer was born Wendy Brown on 10 October 1955 in Yarram, Victoria, Australia. She grew up with her brothers, Phillip and Noel, and her sister, Helen, in small country towns in Victoria.
Her father, Graham, worked as a primary school teacher. Her mother, Margaret, left them when she was ten, and she became a surrogate mother to her siblings.
Wendy had a severe facial deformity at birth – a cleft lip and palate. She had reconstructive facial surgery in her teens. She often appeared in the wrong color school uniform.
Education
The comedian studied journalism at the Gordon Institute of TAFE and Deakin University.
Career
Harmer worked as a journalist for The Sun News-Pictorial, based in Melbourne, on rounds of transport, urban affairs, and politics. She crossed paths with a comedy group performing at the Flying Trapeze comedy venue.
Wendy joined Melbourne Times after leaving The Sun News-Pictorial. On her days off, she did stand-up comedy. She is the first Australian woman to enter the stand-up comedy in a 2015 series, Stop Laughing…This Is Serious. She has worked at the Geelong Advertiser.
The stand-up comedian headlined her shows at the John Pinder-owned Last Laugh theatre restaurant. She served on boards of the Belvoir Theatre, Malthouse Theatre, and Melbourne International Comedy Festival in 1987.
As an entertainer, Wendy made her debut television appearance in Trap, Winkle, and Box, an ABC children’s show. She later joined The Gillies Report, a satirical political television series, and hosted The Big Gig on ABC TV.
Hammer hosted her series In Harmer’s Way on ABC TV alongside other comedians. She first took to the stage in a troupe that included Jane Turner, Ian McFadyen, and Mary-Anne Fahey.
Wendy has had over for performances at the Edinburgh Festival. She co-starred in the World Series Debate alongside Andrew Denton (1993-1994). She performed two one-woman shows with musicians – Love Gone Wrong and Please Send More Money.
In 2001, she performed her one-woman stand-up show Up Late and Loving It at Wharf Theatre in Sydney. In 2005, Wendy appeared in the Australian Story Operation Wendy in 2005.
Harmer has landed many radio gigs and began at 3AK with a night shift on Saturdays in the 1980s. She went on to host a drive program – Kaboom – on Ratio National in 1992. She co-hosted the breakfast radio show The Morning Crew on 2Day FM.
Wendy worked on the radio station Vega FM in September 2005. Alongside Robbie Buck, she presented a morning program on ABC Radio Sydney from 2016 to 2021.
Harmer was the host of the 2002 Logie Awards. In 2008, she wrote, produced, and presented a four-part television documentary series, Stuff, on ABC TV.
As a writer, Wendy Harmer has written many books for adults. Her bestselling novels include Farewell My Ovaries, Love and Punishment, and Nagging for Beginners.
The author has also written books for children, such as Pearlie the Park Fairy. She wrote her first novel for teenagers, I Lost My Mobile at the Mall (2009), and later published I Made Lattes for a Love God (2012).
The versatile writer has also written plays, including Backstage Pass and What Is the Matter With Mary Jane? She has been a contributing columnist for many Australian magazines, including Sunday Telegraph. She contributed to the French international monthly magazine Marie Claire.
National treasure Wendy Harmer’s memoir, Lies My Mirror Told Me, is available in physical and online bookstores. She ran a news and opinion website, The Hoopla, from 2011 to 2015. She wrote for the animated series Pearlie.
Wendy was among the 28 members of the National People with Disabilities and Careers Council and an ambassador for Interplast.
Personal Life
Wendy Harmer got married to Michael Harmer at 19. She did not mean to get married but needed somewhere to live after leaving home because of their housekeeper, Alison. She moved in with Michael, who convinced her to marry him.
After many years, Wendy married an environmental activist, Brendan Donohoe. The duo met at an election night party in 1993. She has two children, Marley and Maeve.
Reference:
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- “Meet the Author – Wendy Harmer“. Australian National University.
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- Samantha Trenoweth (12 October 2023). “EXCLUSIVE: How Wendy Harmer turned an unhappy childhood into a lifetime of laughter“. The Australian Women’s Weekly. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
