Ruby Wax

Ruby Wax was born on April 19, 1951 in Evanston, Illinois. She comes from a family of Jewish Austrian immigrants who fled Europe amid the Nazi regime during World War II. She attended the University of California in Berkeley, where she majored in psychology. She is married to Ed Bye and is the mother of actress Marina Bye. In 2009, she became the patron of Depression Alliance, working to raise mental health awareness.

In 2015 and 2016, Wax was awarded an honorary OBE, or Officer of the Order of the British Empire, for her services in mental health. She is best known for her work in Ruby (1997-2000) and Ruby’s American Pie (1999-2000), both of which she played as herself. She was also a host on The British Academy Craft Awards in 1996 and The Waiting Game in 2001, and received an honorary doctorate at the University of East London at the end of 2016.