Maisie Adam | |
---|---|
Born | Maisie Elizabeth Adam 24 January 1994 Pannal, North Yorkshire, England |
Education | East 15 Acting School (BA) |
Occupation | Comedian |
Years active | 2016–present |
Spouse |
Mike Dobinson (m. 2023) |
Website | maisieadam |
Maisie Elizabeth Adam (born 24 January 1994) is an English stand-up comedian, writer, and actress.
Maisie Adam was born on 24 January 1994.[1] She grew up in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, with her parents Phillip and Jill Adam, and her younger brother Daniel.[2][3] Adam's mother used to work for Leeds Beckett University[4][5] and is the founder and executive director of the Louder Than Words Festival[6] in Manchester.[7][8][4] In 1999, Adam's parents were charged with felony abuse for leaving their two children unattended in a Florida hotel room for 45 minutes; they spent the night in jail before returning to England.[9] The charges were widely criticized for being unreasonable.[3]
Adam's maternal grandfather, Sir Lawrence Byford, led an inquiry into the failings of the hunt for the "Yorkshire Ripper".[10] Her uncle, Mark Byford, was Deputy Director General of the British Broadcasting Corporation and head of BBC Journalism from 2004 to 2011.[3][11] At 14, Adam was diagnosed with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy.[12][13][14]
Adam attended St Aidan's Church of England High School in Harrogate,[15][16] where she was Head Girl.[17] She trained with the National Youth Theatre in 2010 and 2012[18] and went on to study acting at the East 15 Acting School in Southend on Sea.[19] She won a Laurence Marks sitcom-writing mentorship in 2015,[20] and graduated with a BA in Acting & Community Theatre in 2016.[21]
A trained actress, Adam initially planned on acting and writing professionally.[20][22][23]
After graduating, Adam did not have an agent and had difficulty finding acting jobs.[24] She moved back in with her parents in Yorkshire and worked various temp jobs.[7][24] This led her to try stand-up,[25] with her first gig at the Ilkley Literature Festival fringe on 13 October 2016[26][7][4] with a one-hour show called Living on the Edge.[27] In 2017, Adam won the national contest So You Think You're Funny for new stand-up acts at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.[28] Winning the contest led to her getting signed with an agent.[20]
Adam's first full-length Edinburgh solo show, Vague, was nominated for the Best Newcomer Award at the 2018 Edinburgh Comedy Awards.[29] In that year, she won the Amused Moose National New Comic Award.[30] Adam returned to the Edinburgh Fringe in 2019 with her show Hang Fire, which she took on a UK and European tour in 2019/2020.[20]
Adam first appeared as a contestant on The Chase while she was a university student in April 2016.[4] There, she was eliminated by Paul Sinha in her head-to-head round with him.[31]
Following her television appearance as a comedian on ITV2's The Stand-Up Sketch Show in February 2019,[32] Adam has appeared on episodes of 8 Out of 10 Cats, Mock the Week, QI, Have I Got News for You, Would I Lie To You?, Richard Osman's House of Games, Roast Battle, and The Last Leg.[4][33][34][35] She portrayed punk singer Siouxsie Sioux in a 2018 episode of Urban Myths, titled "The Sex Pistols Vs. Bill Grundy".[7]
She has written for Never Mind the Buzzcocks, and in 2019 she was a writer on two episodes of Rob Beckett's Savage Socials on Channel 4.[33]
She narrated the reality show The Cabins, which first aired on 4 January 2021 on ITV2.[34][36][37] A second series was renewed and aired on 3 January 2022. In June 2022, ITV announced that The Cabins would not return for a third series.[citation needed]
In November 2022, Adam appeared in the new series of Outsiders on Dave. In December 2022, she was on The Big Fat Quiz of the Year as a panellist with Katherine Ryan.[38]
In June 2023, Adam appeared as a contestant in New Tipping Point for Soccer Aid[39] with Brian McFadden and Sam Matterface, which Brian McFadden won.
In February 2024, Adam appeared as a contestant in Celebrity Mastermind alongside Michelle Heaton, Nihal Arthanayake and Aaron Evans.
In March 2024, Adam announced her biggest tour so far, entitled Appraisal. It began at Reading Concert Hall on 17 September.
Since December 2019, Adam has hosted a podcast, That's a First!, with fellow comedian Tom Lucy.[4][40]
In 2023, Adam became the co-host of Big Kick Energy, with fellow comedian Suzi Ruffell.[41] Having launched the podcast for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, Big Kick Energy now primarily focuses on the Women's Super League Season (WSL). Big Kick Energy has been nominated for a Sports Broadcast Award.
Adam has been nominated for or won several awards, including:[35]
As of 2021[update] Adam lives in Brighton.[7][4] She plays for a football team in Brighton and is also a Leeds United fan.[42] She also took part in Soccer Aid 2023.
While in lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, she cut her hair to a Chelsea style, which has since become her signature look.[43][44][34][45][46]
In December 2021 she became engaged to Mike Dobinson.[47] They married on 10 June 2023.
The inaugural Festival will take place over the weekend: 15th – 17th November 2013, at The Palace Hotel, Manchester.
169. FRINGE: Maisie Adam – Live Stand-Up Thu 13th Oct at 9:30 pm - Ilkley Playhouse - Wharfeside
Capturing many of the faces in the scene was photographer Derek Ridgers. Armed with a camera, in the 70s and 80s Ridgers found himself on the front lines of the subcultures that emerged during that time, compiling a definitive record of the kids defining the aesthetics of a movement.