Net Worth: C. $10 Million
Age: 42
DOB: 24 May 1981
Birthplace: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Andy Lee is an Aussie comedian, children’s writer, musician and TV and radio personality best known for being one-half of the entertainment duo Hamish & Andy. During a career that has spanned two decades, he has amassed a personal fortune of around $10 million.
Early Life
Andy Lee was born to parents Michael and Margaret in 1981. He has two siblings, including Cameron, his older brother, with whom he once was in a band called Zoophyte, and a younger sister called Alex, who is best known for starring in Pork Pies, a comedy stage show.
As a child, Lee initially went to Balwyn Primary School before attending Camberwell Grammar School. He also joined the Boy Scouts and performed in the Melbourne Gang Show and Camberwell Showtime.
After leaving high school, he went to Melbourne University to read Commerce. During his time here in 2001, he met Hamish Blake.
Hamish and Andy
Lee and Blake, along with other collaborators, including Ryan Shelton, created a broadcast named Radio Karate for RMITV, the uni’s student television company. The show was broadcast on community-access television station Channel 31. They also featured on SYN, the student radio station at RMIT and had a few spot projects on FOX FM.
The duo hosted a comedy program on Australia’s Seven Network named The Hamish and Andy Show. However, while the show was cancelled due to bad ratings, the name stuck, and they subsequently became known as Hamish & Andy – mostly performing together ever since. They also created other projects, including a mockumentary television show called Real Stories.
Lee and Blake hosted the national drive-time radio show Hamish & Andy, which aired between 4 pm and 6 pm, Monday to Friday, on the Hit Network. The show was immensely successful, achieving high ratings in Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth. It had an audience share of around 20%, which was the highest ever recorded for a national FM show in Australia. However, the program was later cut back to a weekly Friday show.
Lee won the first series of Joker Poker, a celebrity poker show where contestants win money for
charity. He also featured on a TV programme called Australia’s Brainiest Comedian, which aired on Network Ten, and was cast as one of the notable figures in Australia’s 2011 Who’s Who edition.
In 2010, Andy and Hamish appeared on the TV show Good News Week. In 2011, the pair were engaged by Channel Nine to create a 10-part series called Gap Year: New York. They also created two more Gap Year seasons in 2012 and 2013, respectively titled Hamish and Andy’s: Euro Gap Year and Hamish & Andy’s Gap Year Asia.
In 2014, they completed their fourth and final gap year in South America, called Hamish & Andy’s Gap Year South America. They also worked on a weekly podcast on the PodcastOne network and the TV series True Story.
Individual Work
Lee published an educational CD book titled ‘The Sing Along Times Table CD Book’ in 2003. The CD went unnoticed until a radio listener told Blake about it on their show in 2005, which caused Blake to tease Lee about it.
Lee, along with his brother Cameron, was a founding member of Melbourne band Zoophyte. However, in 2007, Lee retired from the band to focus on other projects and commitments, but every now and then he played at gigs as a guest.
In 2015, Lee, along with his comedic partner Hamish Blake and producer Jack Post formed a band called ‘Coolboys and the Frontman’.
In 2016, Lee authored a children’s book titled ‘Do Not Open This Book’ as a surprise for his nephew George’s first birthday. The book featured illustrations by Heath McKenzie and was supposed to be a one-off single-copy book. However, it became very successful, leading to widespread publication and an award-winning series over the next several years. Currently, there are 30 items in the ‘Do Not series’, including several books.
Just before the start of the AFL season in 2020, the Seven Network announced that Lee would join original hosts Sam Pang, Mick Molloy and Andy Maher as a regular presenters of the ‘The Front Bar’.
In early 2021, Lee hosted and was the executive producer of the Australian version of the game show The Cube on Network 10. He also hosted The Hundred with Andy Lee on the Nine Network in 2021.
At various points in the Ashes series of 2021–22, Lee took on a role as cricket commentator for Triple M’s coverage.
Personal Life
In 2006, Cleo chose Lee as their Cleo’s Bachelor of the Year. He has dated Megan Gale, although their relationship ended around 2010.
Around January 2015, he began dating Rebecca Harding, an Australian model. However, they separated briefly in July 2016, reputedly because Harding was struggling with the pressure of dating a famous person. The couple appear to have worked through this issue through as they are rumoured to be together again.
Lee is a passionate supporter of the AFL team, Carlton. Over the years, he has worked for the club, primarily in off-field roles that involve club members.
In 2013 he was nominated for a Logie Award in the category of the Most Popular Personality on TV. Unfortunately, he did not win.