Eddie Izzard

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Date of Birth : Feb 7th 1972

An English stand-up comedian and actor, known for his cross-dressing. His comedy style is expressed in rambling, surreal monologue and self-referential pantomime. In addition to touring, he is also a television, stage and film actor, and is active in charity work.

Izzard was born in Aden, Yemen, the youngest son of an English couple – Dorothy Ella, a midwife and nurse, and Harold John Izzard, an accountant. His mother died of cancer in March of 1968, which had a tremendous effect on the young Izzard.

In 2005, Izzard provided the voiceover (again, in his unique ‘rambling’ style) for the British government’s series of television advertisements promoting recycling. The tagline of the ads was “Recycling. The possibilities are endless!”

Izzard also performed with Scottish musician Midge Ure at Live8 in Edinburgh, Scotland. He played the piano accompaniment for the song “Vienna”.

In 1994, Izzard made his West End drama debut as the lead in the world premiere of David Mamet’s The Cryptogram with Lindsay Duncan, in the production at London’s Comedy Theatre. The success of that role led to his second starring role in David Beaird’s black comedy 900 Oneonta. In 1995, he portrayed the title character in Christopher Marlowe’s Edward II.”

Although much of his humour deals with sensitive issues, with special emphasis on religion, it is generally not intended as mean-spirited or rude. Instead, Izzard focuses on the creative possibilities of thinking through absurd situations in real time. He also turns much of the attention on himself and his personality, including his cross-dressing (“it is my manifest destiny to wear a dress on all seven continents”). Contemporary pop culture (Harry Potter, Star Wars, etc.), is also a frequent subject, brought up both to critique its weaknesses and as to enhance his anecdotes.