Eddie Izzard

Eddie Izzard began performing comedy while attending university with Rob Ballard, taking their act to the streets of London’s Covent Garden. After separating from Ballard, Izzard continued street performance work across Europe and the United States throughout the early 1980s, developing solo material before transitioning into UK stand-up clubs. Her first stand-up performance took place at the Banana Cabaret in Balham, London, followed by an appearance at the Comedy Store in 1987. Through the late 1980s and early 1990s, she refined her material in London clubs, including the Raging Bull venue in Soho, and gained wider attention in 1991 with her televised performance on the AIDS benefit Hysteria 3.

In 1994, Izzard made her West End stage debut in The Cryptogram, followed by roles in 900 Oneonta and Edward II (1995). Her film career began with The Secret Agent (1996) and later included roles in The Cat’s Meow (2001), Shadow of the Vampire (2000), Valkyrie (2008), Castles in the Sky (2014), Across the Universe (2007), Revengers Tragedy (2002), and the Ocean’s franchise (Ocean’s Twelve (2004), Ocean’s Thirteen (2007)). She also provided voice roles in Five Children and It (2004), The Wild (2006), and The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008).

On stage, Izzard appeared in Lenny (1999), A Day in the Death of Joe Egg (2001–2003, including its Broadway run), and Race (2010). She also performed with Monty Python in Monty Python Live at Aspen (1998) and Monty Python Live (Mostly) (2014). Her screen work includes The Day of the Triffids (2009), United States of Tara (2009–2011), Hannibal (2013–2015), and The Lost Symbol (2021). In 2024, she performed a solo adaptation of Hamlet in New York and London.