The 40-year-old stand-up comedian is studying a post-graduate law degree at Melbourne University and says she will retire from the entertainment business when she graduates.
“I won’t be doing two jobs, so once I’m employed as a lawyer I don’t envisage I’d be working in comedy or performing,” she told news.com.au.
“I’ve been doing it (comedy) for 16 years and I just thought it was time for a bit of a change.”
Grant has become one of Australia’s best-known female comedians through her appearances on shows such as Rove Live, The Glasshouse and Skithouse.
The transition between law and comedy is a path well-trod with a swag of comedians coming from a law background. John Cleese studied law at Cambridge before Monty Python became a world-wide sensation. Shaun Micallef worked as an insurance lawyer but now hosts the ABC’s satirical news show Mad as Hell. Perhaps Australia’s most famous legal-comedic crossover team are The Chaser boys. Chas Licciardello, Julian Morrow and Craig Reucassel are law graduates from the University of Sydney and began their comedy careers in Law reviews there.
But while all these people made the transition from law to comedy, Corrine Grant is going the other way.
“I’ve always been quite interested in social justice issues, and I’ve always found doing the contracts part of my performance work quite fascinating,’ she told Samara magazine.
“I think that makes me a nerd… I guess I’m finally outing my inner nerd!”
