This story is part of the October 6 edition of Sunday Life. See all 13 stories . Lizzy Hoo is a comedian, best known for her stand-up special Hoo Cares!? Here, the 40-year-old shares how her parents reacted to her comedy aspirations, the male mentor who inspired her and her first kiss.
“I was in my 30s when I told my parents I wanted to be a comedian. It got a mixed reaction.” My maternal grandfather, Jack, owned a grocery shop in Toowoomba, Queensland.
He was entrepreneurial – the tag line on the store read: “Where the wise economise.” He was a charismatic man who lived with bipolar [disorder]. My Chinese-Malaysian paternal grandfather, Chee Bow, spoke five languages and worked as an interpreter for the Japanese during World War II.
He had to translate the horrific news that someone would be killed. It really affected him. They didn’t know what PTSD was back then, but he definitely had it.
He died when my dad was 16. My dad, Chan, joined military college in Malaysia when he was 13. He was away from the family home a lot because of this, so didn’t bear the brunt of his dad’s violence.
He was in the military until his early 20s. Dad met my mum, Barbara, while she was backpacking in Malaysia in the 70s. She was hitchhiking when he gave her and her friend a lift to Penang.
They fell in love and had my eldest brother, Simon, in Malaysia. After four years they relocated to Australia and had my brother Damian and me. Loading My dad is very gentle and the one who wou.