Emily Taheny

Early life and education

Emily Taheny grew up in Warooka, Yorke Peninsula, South Australia, one of seven children. Comedian Fiona O'Loughlin is her elder sister.

She graduated from the Centre for Performing Arts in Adelaide. In 2003, she graduated from the College of Country Music in Tamworth, New South Wales.

Career

Stage

Taheny began doing stand-up comedy in 1989.

In 2001 she collaborated with her sister Fiona O'Loughlin on the stage show Fiona, Her Sister and Some Guy, which they performed first at Warooka, then in Alice Springs, then at the Melbourne Comedy Festival, They went on to perform the show at Edinburgh Fringe.

Taheny has also performed at the Adelaide Fringe Melbourne Festival, and further shows at the Melbourne Comedy Festival.

In February 2025 Taheny played chief-of-staff to MP Ruth Mandour (played by Susie Youssef) in the State Theatre Company South Australia political satire Housework, written by Emily Steel and directed by Shannon Rush. InDaily reviewer Murray Bramwell wrote "Taheny is excellent as Anna, the most closely detailed character in the play". Catherine Campbell, writing in The Conversation, called the play "a future Australian classic – a Housework is a future Australian classic – a Don's Party for our time", and wrote "Taheny effortlessly makes the whip-smart staffer Anna multifaceted, with internal conflict alongside high-energy pragmatism and expertly timed comedy".

Screen

Taheny made her television debut on Comedy Inc. in 2003, playing various characters on the show until its cancellation in 2007. In 2005, she made a guest appearance on Spicks and Specks. In 2006, she appeared on The Chaser's War on Everything, singing a song alongside Andrew Hansen's Crazy Warehouse character. She appeared as "Kat" in the 2009 television series The Jesters, and has appeared in the series Sleuth 101.

From 2012 to 2022, she was a regular cast member on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's satirical news program Shaun Micallef's Mad as Hell, playing numerous recurring and one-off characters, and she competed in a special Mad As Hell does Hard Quiz in 2022.

In 2017, she appeared in the first episode of True Story with Hamish & Andy. In 2018 she starred in the comedy film The Flip Side. In 2019, Taheny appeared in Channel 7 series Secret Bridesmaids Business.

Awards and nominations

• 2001: Winner, Best Newcomer Award at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival
• 2002: Winner, Fringe Cabaret Award at the Melbourne Festival for her performance in Cliff Hanger

Filmography

Film

Television

Self appearances

References

References

1. Taheny, Emily. (12 February 2015). "Emily Taheny's colourful characters light up Mad As Hell". [[The Sydney Morning Herald]].
2. Rod McGuirk, Rod. (6 July 2001). "Alice Springs comic gets govt support for Edinburgh festival". [[Australian Associated Press]].
3. "Emily Taheny plays "Kat"".
4. Carbone, Suzanne. (2 April 2002). "Therapy of laughter springs from a life very ordinary". [[The Age]].
5. Scott-Norman, Fiona. (30 December 2002). "TV and radio comedy's new centre-stage". [[The Age]].
6. Bramwell, Murray. (12 February 2025). "Theatre review: Housework pierces the Canberra bubble in bleakly funny political satire".
7. Campbell, Catherine. (13 February 2025). "New playme".
8. Bramwell, Murray. (12 February 2025). "Theatre review: Housework pierces the Canberra bubble in bleakly funny political satire".
9. "Sleuth 101". Australian Television Information Archive.
10. Tuckett, Graeme. (6 September 2018). "The Flip Side: A bland, pointless tale that boasts sub-soap opera plotting".
11. Knox, David. (2019-09-26). "Secret business for hometown girl {{!}} TV Tonight".
12. staff. (24 December 2002). "The reinvention of cabaret". [[The Age]].
13. McEvoy, Marc. (1 June 2005). "Comedy Inc – The Late Shift". [[The Sydney Morning Herald]].
14. Knox, David. (2016-09-03). "Women behaving badly on Little Acorns {{!}} TV Tonight".
15. Knox, David. (2022-08-12). "More cast join Bay of Fires for ABC {{!}} TV Tonight".
16. Knox, David. (2024-01-31). "Airdate: Population 11 {{!}} TV Tonight".
17. Knox, David. (2024-09-09). "Airdate: Thou Shalt Not Steal {{!}} TV Tonight".