Fenella Edwards is a many generation Tasmanian, raised in a typical middle class family and educated, along with her two older brothers, at Launceston Church Grammar School. After finishing grade 12 Fenella obtained a Commerce degree (Marketing & International Business, Psychology majors) from UTAS, and then moved to Canberra where she worked for the Australian Bureau of Statistics for five years across health, education, and Indigenous statistics. It was during her time in Canberra that Fenella connected with her hidden Aboriginal heritage at the Aboriginal Tent Embassy. Before leaving Canberra, Fenella earned a Graduate Diploma in Science Communication from ANU, and travelled the country with the Questacon Science Circus, making science fun and accessible for school students and the public. After Canberra, Fenella moved to Melbourne for 4 years, initially to care for her sick mother. After working casually in hospitality, Fenella had a stint as a lady tradie fixing double hung windows and produced her first one woman show for the 2015 Melbourne International Comedy Festival ‘Madam Moonshine Muppet Oracle’.

In 2017 Fenella moved back to Tasmania to try and turn her show into an online web series as part of the Screen Australia/Screen Tasmania initiative, the Comedy Concentrate, but missed out on funding to make a pilot. She has performed freestyle raps on stage with Brian Ritchie at MONA, performed two sets as the Fenella Edwards Trio at MONA, exhibited art at they Arthouse in New Norfolk and Sawtooth Ari in Launceston, worked for Rosny College in admin, filled a contract at the Department of Education, managed the Save the Tasmanian Devil Appeal, been a Metro bus driver and tour guide – before going back to UTAS to study fine art. Fenella made her first short film in 2021, Claire, which was shortlisted for the Very Short Film Festival and Toronto Independent Film Festival. There’s no saying what Fenella will do next!