Joanne McNally discusses bulimia, breakdown, and comedy career
8 reported
Comedian Joanne McNally, in a Guardian interview, described her struggles with bulimia that began in her 20s and led to a mental breakdown in her early 30s. McNally stated that she quit her job and moved into her mother’s attic, where she lived “like a mental patient.” She said the breakdown was “the making of me” and presented a “big fork in the road.” Her recovery began after a friend asked her to perform in a play, and she later started a blog about bulimia called Eat the Pastry. McNally credited comedian PJ Gallagher with encouraging her to try standup comedy. She co-hosts the podcast My Therapist Ghosted Me with Vogue Williams and is currently touring her show Pinotphile.
What’s reported
Joanne McNally was born in County Roscommon in 1983 and raised in Dublin.
She worked as a PR for a youth agency before taking a job at a mental health charity.
In her early 30s, she quit her job and moved into her mother’s attic, describing it as a “mental breakdown.”
McNally stated her bulimia was “spiralling out of control” in her 20s.
She still gets teeth pulled and filled due to the effects of bulimia.
Her breakthrough came with the one-woman show Bite Me and the tour Prosecco Express.
She co-hosts the podcast My Therapist Ghosted Me with Vogue Williams.
Her current standup show Pinotphile is touring Ireland and the UK until December.
Key figures
Joanne McNally, comedian and writer
Vogue Williams, podcast co-host
PJ Gallagher, comedian
Una, friend who wrote the play Singlehood
Sources: The Guardian
