Trevor Noah has been making waves in the US - and now another South African-born comedian is doing the same thing on the other side of the world.

Urzila Carlson, a former Benoni resident , moved to New Zealand five years ago, where one night some friends persuaded her to enter a comedy talent show.

She is now regarded as the hottest property on the New Zealand comedy circuit and has won several awards, including being declared the country's best comedienne two years in a row.

She admits it's been a roller-coaster ride, far from her old job at a Benoni newspaper where she designed advertisements. Now she is a recognisable face in her adoptive country, appearing as a regular panelist on New Zealand's top television comedy show, "7 Days".

Carlson spoke to the Sunday Times this week from Melbourne, Australia, where she is on tour with her show "A Whole Lotta Woman".

She said her comedy was based on real life.

"It's mostly factual. I take a situation that I'm in and think: 'What's the funniest ... scenario?' Then I perform it. People find things funny that they can relate to."

She is adamant that she is not like other expats who slate South Africa once they leave. Instead, she insists on having a South African flag on all her promotional posters.

"I want them to know that I'm a South African living in New Zealand," she said.

In an online video she describes herself as someone who "enjoys short walks and sitting".

And she likes to joke about her well-rounded figure, saying that when she's really famous she wants to put "juggling belly dancing midgets or lots of beer and biltong" on her backstage list of demands.

She also likes to remind her audiences that she is from Benoni - home to stars including Charlize Theron and Princess Charlene of Monaco.

"I tell them Charlize Theron is from [Benoni] too. You know, if the light catches me on the right angle we look quite similar. No one has seen it yet, but a girl can dream," said Carlson.

She has won or been nominated for "heaps" of awards: "But most importantly I just love it. If anyone told me that I'd be living in New Zealand and doing comedy internationally I would have thought they were out of their minds," said Carlson.

But jokes about rugby and cricket are taboo.

"All three countries have a happy love-hate relationship with each other so they respond well - I just can't talk about rugby or cricket, or I get booed," she said.