Eddie Izzard

British heterosexual male transvestite stand-up comedian, actor and entertainer. In 2000, he won two Emmy Awards for Best Acting by a Single Performer in a Comedy, Musical, or Variety Special and Best Writing in a Comedy, Musical, or Variety Special for "Dress to Kill" which aired on HBO throughout 1999. He followed this with a sold-out, eight-city tour of North America, which ended in New York City. He is 5’ 7" with untidy dyed blond hair and a rumpled face that looks slept in. Born in Yemen to British parents, Izzard was the oldest of two sons. The family moved to Ireland then South Wales in 1967 where his dad worked as an accountant and his mom as a nurse. He remembers his mom as being wonderfully loving and never critical that he liked to dress in girl’s clothes from the time he was four. His mom died of cancer in 1968, when Eddie was six. Before her death, his parents had decided that their sons would be best at boarding school. "It was like being hit over the head with a sledgehammer," he recalled. "Occasionally I still collapse in floods of tears at the thought of it. Off I went to St John's boarding school in Porthcawl, Wales. It was run by a very pleasant man called Mr. Crump whom we nicknamed 'the man from hell that we all hate'. Seeing as my Mum had just died I decided to cry relentlessly for about a year. Mr. Crump would help me along with beatings when he could fit them in." At 15 he discovered puberty, acne and acting. Dropping out of upper school after a year, he spent five years as a street performer, working as a barman or waiter for sustenance. Izzard 'came out' as a transvestite when he was 23, although he didn't begin to wear frocks and skirts and blood-red nails on stage until a couple of years ago. After his apprenticeship on the streets, Izzard reached the status of a world-class entertainer during his eight years as a main stage act. He has taken his unique brand of comedy to Iceland, France and Australia before taking America by storm with his outrageous and hilarious comedy show. Izzard believes in clothing equality and, because women have a choice of pants and dresses, he thinks men should, too. He sticks to pants for his stage show but often wears makeup, nail polish and, always, outrageous high heels. You think Tina Turner looks good strutting in stilettos? Wait till you see Izzard. Religion is a favorite theme. He acts out conversations between Jesus and God, with God's voice always an imitation of the great British actor James Mason. During the Los Angeles run of Izzard's latest one-man show, "Circle," his first words as God brought delighted shouts and applause from audiences that included Cher, Brad Pitt, Jennifer Anniston and Elvis Costello. In "Circle," major topics included the pope, Charlton Heston, the Spanish Inquisition, Elian Gonzalez, the Pinochet scandal, Margaret Thatcher, Jesus, God and dinosaurs. As with his other five shows, "Circle" will be sold on video and, like "Dress to Kill," was taped for HBO. In 1993 began to climb the ladder of success in earnest, with sold-out bookings and the first awards beginning to pour in. Along with tours and videos, his first big screen role was as a Russian agent in "The Secret Agent," 1996. The following year, he took the East Village by storm with his second sold-out appearance in New York City. Izzard rents a modest one-bedroom flat in London, filled with books and videos. He leaves his stage persona at the theater. In July 1995 his autobiography, "Dress to Kill," was reissued as a paperback. He says, "Even though I'm transvestite, I happen to fancy women. I'd be quite happy to be gay, it might even make more sense, but I'm not. As to having children - yeah, I'd like children. I'd be the ultimate one- parent family." Link to Wikipedia biography