Annabel Crabb

Annabel Crabb was born in Adelaide, South Australia, to Christobel and Mac Crabb and grew up on a small farm near Two Wells. She completed her high school education at Wilderness School in Medindie before attending the University of Adelaide, where she graduated in 1997 with degrees in arts and law. During her university years, she was briefly involved in student politics as the women’s officer for the student association. Crabb began her journalism career with a cadetship at The Advertiser in 1997. Two years later, she moved to its Canberra bureau, covering both state and federal politics. In 2000, she joined The Age as a political columnist and correspondent. She then spent several years in the United Kingdom as the London correspondent for the Sunday Age and The Sun-Herald, also contributing to The Sydney Morning Herald. Her first book, “Losing It: The Inside Story of the Labor Party in Opposition,” was published during this period.

Returning to Australia in 2007, Crabb became a senior writer and political columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald and a regular columnist. She also served as a commentator for the ABC’s coverage of the 2007 Australian federal election. In November 2009, Crabb joined the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) as its chief online political writer and became a presenter for The Drum. Her 2009 Quarterly Essay, “Stop at Nothing: The Life and Adventures of Malcolm Turnbull,” earned her a Walkley Award for best magazine feature writing. In 2011, she received an Eisenhower Fellowship. In 2014, her book “The Wife Drought” was published, addressing the debate around work-life balance for women. She later released “Men at Work: Australia’s Parenthood Trap” in 2019, focusing on the gendered impacts of caring on work and advocating for policy changes to promote parental leave for fathers.

Crabb’s television career began in mid-2012 with the ABC1 light-entertainment program Randling, where she was part of the team ‘West Coast Odd Sox.’ She has been a regular panelist on ABC’s Insiders, and a guest on Network Ten’s Good News Week and ABC’s Q&A. She also served as a panelist on the 2010 and 2013 ABC federal election series Gruen Nation. In 2012, she launched her own show, Kitchen Cabinet, on ABC2 (later ABC1), featuring informal interviews with Australian politicians. She created and presented the documentary series “The House, With Annabel Crabb,” which aired in 2017, offering a look into the workings of Parliament House. In 2018, she hosted “Back in Time for Dinner,” a seven-part series based on the UK format. She also co-hosts the independent podcast Chat 10 Looks 3 with Leigh Sales, discussing books, film, culture, and cooking. The podcast won two awards at the 2019 Australian Podcast Awards and led to their book, “Well Hello,” published in 2021.