In life, there are those who dream, and those who DO. Occasionally a person combines the capacity for both. Kate Langbroek is the latter. From her origin story as a breakout newsreader in community radio (alongside names like Sam Pang, Hughesy, Dave O’Neil and Tom Elliott) to launching her award-winning career as a radio star across every major commercial network, as a founding panellist on the ground-breaking Channel 10 show The Panel or through countless appearances on Australia’s best-loved comedy shows, she is renowned for her frank humour, improv prowess and fearless wit.
But Kate is not defined solely by her career. She is a passionate* home cook, wife to Peter Lewis and mother to four children, one of whom survived childhood leukaemia. And in 2019 she did the unthinkable; she quit her top-rating national radio show Hughesy & Kate to move her family to Italy, where they lived for two years in Bologna; the second year in a global pandemic.
Since her return to Australia, Kate has continued to forge new challenges. She has written a best-selling memoir; Ciao Bella: Six take Italy, hosted two seasons of the popular Channel 9 show My Mum Your Dad, appeared weekly on The Project, made her mark with her long-form interviewing skills in a summer capsule of Mamamia’s foundational No Filter series, and still made dinner most nights.
Kate Langbroek is a gifted and inspiring personality. Her honesty and open-hearted ability to delve into even the darkest of human experiences with grace and humour make her an unforgettable and uplifting guest speaker. In a world that yearns for authenticity, Kate has it in spades.
*Disclaimer: ‘Passionate’ may sometimes mean tired and resentful.
Talking Points
MC & Host
Kate is an experienced and talented MC. Her ability to captivate a room is second to none, and her infectious personality and inimitable presence makes for an exciting addition to any event. Having done thousands of hours of live radio and television, Kate really knows how to steer an event, all the while fulfilling the brief with her unique flare.
MC & Host
Two Boys, One Girl; My Life in Radio and Comedy
A woman working in comedy - especially in radio comedy - will rarely (if ever) be the majority in the room. And then there’s a funny thing called the gender pay gap. Kate discusses how she has encountered, and surmounted both of these challenges, and risen (with a few banana-skin falls along the way).
Two Boys, One Girl; My Life in Radio and Comedy
A woman working in comedy - especially in radio comedy - will rarely (if ever) be the majority in the room. And then there’s a funny thing called the gender pay gap. Kate discusses how she has encountered, and surmounted both of these challenges, and rise
It is every parent’s nightmare; a child diagnosed with cancer. Kate’s first-born son, Lewis Lewis, was diagnosed with leukaemia when he was six years old. She shares how her family endured four years of often-brutal treatments, as a family, and as a mother who tries to hold her world together when it is falling apart.
A woman working in comedy - especially in radio comedy - will rarely (if ever) be the majority in the room. And then there’s a funny thing called the gender pay gap. Kate discusses how she has encountered, and surmounted both of these challenges, and rise
Walking Away from Everything and Gaining it all.
Who has not dreamed of running away from it all? Kate did exactly that - in 2019 she moved to Italy for the adventure of a lifetime. Only she had to take five people with her. In an often-funny and often-moving recounting of the realities of what actually happens when you make your dreams come true, she shares the highs and lows of leaving everything behind, what she learned about herself and Australia, and finding out what ‘home’ really means.
Walking Away from Everything and Gaining it all.
Those Who Dare to Dream, and Those Who Dare to Do.
People love to say; If you dream it you can do it, but Kate’s contention is that dreaming alone is not enough. The arena of life is full of those who criticise from the bleachers; who can see so clearly what could - and should - have been done better. Kate’s address celebrates the notion that the world is built by those who actually DO - who organise, who admin, who build - who book the tables-of-ten for others to enjoy. It is both a humorous and motivational salute to those who take the risks in turning ‘what-if’ into ‘look-at-this’, and an uplifting tale of moving from one side of the ledger to the other.
Those Who Dare to Dream, and Those Who Dare to Do.
