Melanie Bracewell

Melanie Rita Bracewell (born 19 July 1995) is a New Zealand comedian, actress, and scriptwriter. In 2018, Bracewell won New Zealand's Billy T Award. She has hosted The Cheap Seats on Network 10 in Australia since its debut in 2021, and was a contestant on the fourth series of Taskmaster NZ. She grew up in Beach Haven in Auckland's North Shore, and is a niece of Test cricketers John Bracewell and Brendon Bracewell. She attended Birkenhead College, serving as deputy head girl, then studied Communication and Media Studies at the University of Auckland.

Bracewell worked as producer of the breakfast show on Radio Hauraki and appeared as a contestant on the Australian TV quiz show Have You Been Paying Attention? She co-hosts The Cheap Seats alongside Tim McDonald. In 2019, she began writing for the TV show The Project in New Zealand and has also written for the series Wellington Paranormal. In 2020, she received international coverage when videos and photos of her impersonating Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern went viral; Ardern responded with: "You do my makeup better than I do."

In 2020, Bracewell starred as Karen in The Eggplant, a New Zealand teen drama crime-comedy series, and appeared on the panel show Patriot Brains in 2021. In September 2025, she appeared as a contestant on the UK gameshow Richard Osman's House of Games, finishing 2nd in each of the 5 episodes as well as overall. In terms of recognition, she won 7 Days Comedy Apprentice in 2014, the Raw Comedy Quest, and Best Auckland Newcomer at the New Zealand International Comedy Festival in 2016, before receiving the Billy T Award in 2018.