Suzanne Paul | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 1956 (age 67–68) |
Suzanne Paul (born Susan Barnes in November 1956) is an English-born New Zealand television personality, famous for marketing Natural Glow makeup and for being an infomercial presenter and reality television contestant and presenter. She has been described as "New Zealand's undisputed infomercial queen".
Career
[edit]Paul grew up in the working class area of Whitmore Reans, Wolverhampton,[1] and worked as a sales demonstrator for almost two decades in the United Kingdom.[2] She came to New Zealand in 1991, later selling products such as Natural Glow makeup (known for the catchphrase "thousands of luminous spheres"), the Massage Pillow and the Suzanne Clip.[3]
In April 2004, she opened Rawaka Māori Village, a tourist centre in Auckland, which she described as "cabaret meets kapa haka".[4] The Rotorua Daily Post said the venture was shunned by some Māori who described it as "tiki tacky and culturally questionable".[5] The venture closed in July 2004 and was put into voluntary liquidation, owning more than $1 million. A year later, Paul was declared bankrupt. She vowed to pay back her debts and sought early discharge from bankruptcy.[6]
In 2007, Paul won Dancing with the Stars with dance partner Stefano Olivier,[7] despite breaking a rib in the final.[8]
Paul had her own television series, Second Honeymoon, Garage Sale and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, which screened on TVNZ,[8] as well as appearing in many other top-rating New Zealand television programs like City Celebrity Country Nobody, Celebrity Treasure Island (2003 and 2024), How's Life, Outrageous Fortune, Intrepid Journeys, Pulp Sport, Best Bits, What Now, and Good Morning.[citation needed]
In 1994, she released a dance music single, "Blue Monkey".[9] In 2010, under the name Suzy P, she featured in a duet called "Stranger Danger" with rapper Scribe.[10]
In September 2008, Paul published a memoir titled But Wait, There's More.[11] In August 2009, she launched her own clothing range, Suzanne Paul Petites sizes 8 to 16, for women 5 ft 4 inches and under, and the Short & Sweet range in sizes 6 to 18.
From July to August 2010, Paul had a starring role in the stage show, Stepping Out, by Richard Harris.[12] In 2011, Suzanne appeared in the stage show Dirty Dusting.[13]
In 2021, Paul appeared as a guest in episode 5 of the first season of RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under.[14]
In 2022, online news website The Spinoff described her as "New Zealand's undisputed infomercial queen" who "has a knack for reinventing herself and popping up where we least expect her to".[15]
Personal life
[edit]Paul has been married three times. Her first marriage was to Dean Kilworth, whom she met when she was 40. Their marriage failed in part due to the stress of unsuccessful IVF treatments.[16] In 2005, she married Duncan Wilson. They divorced in 2016 due to Wilson's struggle with Asperger syndrome.[17] In March 2020, she became engaged to drummer Patrick Kuhtze. He had also been married twice before.[18] The wedding was planned for October 2021,[19] but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[20] They got married on 30 October 2022.[21]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Suzanne's queen of Kiwi dance, Express & Star, 8 June 2007. Accessed 15 April 2009.
- ^ Jo Bailey, her inspiration, Her Magazine, March 2008. Accessed 15 April 2009.
- ^ Gleason, Emma (21 March 2024). "Suzanne Paul, Timeline of a Media Maven". Viva magazine. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
- ^ Waiwiri-Smith, Lyric (10 July 2024). "Remembering Suzanne Paul's 'cursed' Māori Village". The Spinoff. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
- ^ "'Tiki tacky' tourist attraction annoys Maori". Daily Post (Rotorua). 12 January 2004. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
- ^ Gregory, Angela (12 May 2006). "Bankrupt Suzanne Paul ready to pay back $1m debts". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
- ^ "Suzanne Paul wins Dancing With the Stars". New Zealand Herald. 29 May 2007. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
- ^ a b "Suzanne Paul". NZ on Screen. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
- ^ "Blue Monkey". NZ on Screen. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
- ^ "Stranger Danger - Suzanne Paul and Scribe". YouTube. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
- ^ But Wait There's More, by Suzanne Paul, Penguin Books Australia. Accessed 15 April 2009.
- ^ Simei-Barton, Paul (13 June 2010). "Review: Stepping Out at SkyCity Theatre". New Zealand Herald.
- ^ "Suzanne Paul tries phone sex". Nelson Mail. 2 June 2011.
- ^ Brooks, Sam (29 May 2021). "Drag Race Down Under power rankings: RuPaul meets Suzanne Paul". The Spinoff. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
- ^ Ward, Tara (27 June 2022). "But wait, there's more: Suzanne Paul is a YouTuber now". The Spinoff. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
- ^ "Suzanne Paul reveals: "I'm a mum at last"". New Idea. 10 December 2007. Archived from the original on 16 February 2015.
- ^ Pellegrino, Nicky (13 September 2016). "The sad truth behind Suzanne Paul's marriage split". Woman's Weekly.
- ^ Blithe, Rebecca (1 May 2020). "Suzanne Paul: Engagement joy and why women should never give up on love". New Zealand Herald.
- ^ Guthrie, Fleur (5 June 2021). "Suzanne Paul reveals the lessons she's learned at 64: 'I now know I can survive anything'". New Zealand Herald.
- ^ Lake, Dan (22 September 2021). "Suzanne Paul hospitalised after collapsing during Zoom call". Newshub.
- ^ Nissen, Wendyl (17 December 2022). "Suzanne Paul's 'romantic runaway wedding': 'It feels different'". The New Zealand Women's Weekly.
