health
Comedian Joanne McNally looks back: ‘In my 20s, my bulimia was spiralling out of control. My breakdown was the making of me’
The Irish standup and writer on three-day benders, her accidental comedy career, and her feral stage persona
TL;DR
- Joanne McNally, born in 1983 in County Roscommon, is an Irish standup comedian and writer.
- She initially worked in PR and later for a mental health charity, but struggled with bulimia.
- A mental breakdown in her early 30s led her to quit her job and move in with her mother, which she describes as 'the making of me'.
- Her comedy career began after a friend asked her to be in a play, which led to a newspaper column and encouragement to try standup.
- She co-hosts the podcast 'My Therapist Ghosted Me' with Vogue Williams and her standup show 'Pinotphile' is currently touring.
- McNally notes a connection between being adopted and the drive to prove oneself, a trait she sees in many comedians.
- She believes the little girl version of herself, who was obsessed with 'Annie the orphan', would not be surprised by her career as a performer.