Amanda Bishop

Who is Amanda Bishop?

Amanda Diana Bishop is an Australian actress, singer and comedian, known for her comedy portrayals of Julia Gillard, the former Prime Minister of Australia, in the television comedy At Home with Julia. Bishop had previously portrayed Gillard in the series Double Take, when Gillard was Deputy Prime Minister of Australia.

Raised in Bunnan in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Bishop gained a degree in music from the University of New England, and then trained at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts.

Bishop has played a supporting role in the children's television series The Upside Down Show, and the title role in Penelope K, by the way.

Bishop first impersonated Julia Gillard as part of Waiting for Garnaut, the 2008 Wharf Revue by the Sydney Theatre Company's Jonathan Biggins, Phillip Scott and Drew Forsythe. She reprised the role for the short-lived sketch comedy Double Take. A clip filmed for Double Take of Bishop performing "9 to 9", a parody of "9 to 5" mocking Kevin Rudd's reputation for working his staff hard, was a hit on YouTube after Gillard became Prime Minister and the skit was mentioned on Q&A by Magda Szubanski. In 2011 Bishop co-wrote, and portrayed Gillard in, the four-part sitcom, At Home with Julia, on ABC1 lampooning the relationship between Gillard and her real partner Tim Mathieson. Bishop reprised the Gillard character once again, among other roles, in the comedy series Wednesday Night Fever.