Best Comedians
by ChrisManuel | created - 01 Feb 2014 | updated - 01 Oct 2017 | Public1. Michael Palin
Writer | Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Michael Palin is an English comedian, actor, writer and television presenter. He was one of the members of the comedy group Monty Python.
After the Monty Python television series ended in 1974, the Palin/Jones team worked on Ripping Yarns, an intermittent television comedy series broadcast over ...
2. John Cleese
Actor | A Fish Called Wanda
John Cleese was born on October 27, 1939, in Weston-Super-Mare, England, to Muriel Evelyn (Cross) and Reginald Francis Cleese. He was born into a family of modest means, his father being an insurance salesman; but he was nonetheless sent off to private schools to obtain a good education. Here he ...
3. Rowan Atkinson
Actor | Johnny English
Rowan Sebastian Atkinson was born on 6 January, 1955, in Consett, Co. Durham, UK, to Ella May (Bainbridge) and Eric Atkinson. His father owned a farm, where Rowan grew up with his two older brothers, Rupert and Rodney. He attended Newcastle University and Oxford University where he earned degrees ...
4. Lee Evans
Actor | Le Cinquième Élément
In 2014 Whilst being interviewed by Jonathon Ross on his show, he announced his immediate retirement from Stand Up and Touring after the premature death of his manager from a heart attack. He is now determined to spend more time with his wife Heather and daughter Molly, or Little Mo as he calls her.
5. Henning Wehn
Self | The Alternative Comedy Experience
Henning Wehn was born on April 10, 1974 in Hagen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. He is an actor, known for The Alternative Comedy Experience (2013), 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown (2012) and Would I Lie to You? (2007).
6. Vic Reeves
Actor | Catterick
Vic Reeves was born on January 24, 1959 in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, UK. He is an actor and writer, known for Catterick (2004), Vic Reeves Big Night Out (1990) and House of Fools (2014). He has been married to Nancy Sorrell since January 25, 2003. They have two children. He was previously ...
7. Bob Mortimer
Writer | House of Fools
Bob Mortimer was born on May 23, 1959 in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England, UK. He is a writer and actor, known for House of Fools (2014), Catterick (2004) and Shooting Stars (1993). He has been married to Lisa Matthews since October 2015. They have two children.
8. Paul Merton
Actor | Have I Got News for You
Paul Merton was born on July 9, 1957 in Parsons Green, London, England, UK. He is an actor and writer, known for Have I Got News for You (1990), Rango (2011) and Paul Merton: The Series (1991). He has been married to Suki Webster since 2009. He was previously married to Sarah Parkinson and Caroline...
9. Jack Dee
Actor | Lead Balloon
Jack Dee was born on September 24, 1961 in Petts Wood, Kent, England, UK. He is an actor and writer, known for Lead Balloon (2006), Bad Move (2017) and The Grimleys (1997). He has been married to Jane Dee since 1989. They have four children.
10. Bill Bailey
Actor | Hot Fuzz
Bill Bailey is known for his sharp wit and classic sense of humor. he is most famous for being in Never Mind The Buzzcocks, celebrity game-show in which he is a team captain. Bill is a stand up comedian, and has also starred in cult comedies such as Spaced and of course Black Books. He was given ...
11. Rhod Gilbert
Writer | Rhod Gilbert's Work Experience
Rhod Gilbert was born on October 18, 1968 in Carmarthen, Wales, UK. He is a writer and producer, known for Rhod Gilbert's Work Experience (2010), NeckFace (2018) and Save the Cinema (2022). He has been married to Sian Harries since August 16, 2013.
12. Oliver Hardy
Actor | Saps at Sea
Although his parents were never in show business, as a young boy Oliver Hardy was a gifted singer and, by age eight, was performing with minstrel shows. In 1910 he ran a movie theatre, which he preferred to studying law. In 1913 he became a comedy actor with the Lubin Company in Florida and began ...
13. Stan Laurel
Actor | Saps at Sea
Stan Laurel came from a theatrical family, his father was an actor and theatre manager, and he made his stage debut at the age of 16 at Pickard's Museum, Glasgow. He traveled with Fred Karno's vaudeville company to the United States in 1910 and again in 1913. While with that company he was Charles ...
14. Russell Brand
Producer | Arthur
Russell Brand was born on June 4, 1975, in Grays, Essex, England, the son of Barbara Elizabeth (Nichols) and Ronald Henry Brand, a photographer. An only child, his parents divorced when he was only six months old, and he was subsequently raised by his mother. Enduring a difficult childhood that saw...
15. Jimmy Carr
Self | 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown
Jimmy Carr is an award-winning comedian, writer and television host.
Among the most-respected and best-loved comedians working in Britain today, Jimmy is one of the biggest selling live acts in UK comedy, consistently performing to sell-out crowds across the country and around the world.
His ...
16. Billy Connolly
Actor | Brave
Billy Connolly was born and raised in Glasgow, Scotland. He left school to work in the shipyards, becoming a welder, and joined the Territorial Army (in the parachute regiment) at around the same time. He developed an interest in folk music, eventually being an accomplished banjo player and a ...
17. Eddie Izzard
Actor | Ocean's Thirteen
Best-known for her surreal and digressive stand-up, British comedian and actor Eddie Izzard was born on February 7, 1962, in Aden, Yemen, where her English parents -- Dorothy Ella, a nurse and midwife, and Harold John Izzard, an accountant -- worked for British Petroleum.
Izzard worked as a street ...
18. Harry Enfield
Actor | Kevin & Perry Go Large
Harry Enfield was born on May 30, 1961 in Horsham, Sussex [now West Sussex], England, UK. He is an actor and writer, known for Kevin & Perry Go Large (2000), Harry & Paul's Story of the 2s (2014) and Ruddy Hell! It's Harry and Paul (2007). He has been married to Lucy Lyster since February ...
19. Tim Minchin
Actor | Upright
Tim Minchin was born on October, 1975, as Timothy David Minchin, and was brought up in Perth, Western Australia. He is an actor, comedian, musician, writer, and director known for Californication (2007), Larrikins (2018), and Tim Minchin and the Heritage Orchestra (2011). He is the composer ...
20. Omid Djalili
Actor | The Mummy
An actor and stand up comedian, born in London to Iranian parents of the Baha'i faith. He studied English and Theatre Studies. He recently starred in the Netflix Global drama The Letter for the King (2020) as Sir Fantumar and the HBO/BBC series His Dark Materials (2019). A Perrier Award nominee in ...
21. Jim Jefferies
Writer | Legit
Jim Jefferies was born on February 4, 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He is a writer and producer, known for Legit (2013), Jim Jefferies: Freedumb (2016) and The Librarians (2014). He has been married to Tasie Lawrence since September 2020. They have one child.
22. Frank Skinner
Producer | Killing Clovis Dardentor
Frank Skinner was born on January 28, 1957 in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England, UK. He is a writer and actor, known for Killing Clovis Dardentor, The Frank Skinner Show (1995) and Blue Heaven (1992).
23. Sarah Millican
Self | QI
Sarah Millican was born on May 29, 1975 in South Shields, Tyne and Wear, England, UK. She is a writer and actress, known for QI (2003), The Sarah Millican Television Programme (2012) and Mock the Week (2005). She has been married to Gary Delaney since December 2013. She was previously married to ...
24. Zach Galifianakis
Actor | The Hangover
Zach Galifianakis was born in Wilkesboro, North Carolina, to Mary Frances (Cashion), who owned a community arts center, and Harry Galifianakis, a heating oil vendor. His father is of Greek descent and his mother is of mostly English and Scottish ancestry. Zach moved to New York City after failing ...
25. Martin Clunes
Actor | Shakespeare in Love
Martin Clunes was born the son of the noted Shakespearean actor Alec Clunes. He was educated at the Royal Russell School in Surrey and the Arts Educational School in Chiswick, London. He made his television debut playing an alien prince opposite Peter Davison in Doctor Who: Snakedance: Part One (...
26. Leigh Francis
Actor | Bo' Selecta!
Leigh Francis was born on April 30, 1973 in Leeds, Yorkshire, England, UK. He is an actor and writer, known for Bo' Selecta! (2002), Celebrity Juice (2008) and Keith Lemon: The Film (2012). He has been married to Jill Carter since October 31, 2003.
27. Ruby Wax
Actress | Girls on Top
Ruby Wax was born on April 19, 1953 in Evanston, Illinois, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for Girls on Top (1985), Shock Treatment (1981) and Chariots of Fire (1981). She has been married to Ed Bye since May 16, 1988. They have three children. She was previously married to Andrew Porter ...
28. Paul Whitehouse
Actor | The Fast Show
Paul Whitehouse was born on May 17, 1958 in Stanleytown, Rhondda, Wales, UK. He is an actor and writer, known for The Fast Show (1994), The Death of Stalin (2017) and Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016).
29. Rich Hall
Writer | Not Necessarily the News
Rich Hall was born on June 10, 1954 in Alexandria, Virginia, USA. He is a writer and actor, known for Not Necessarily the News (1982), Arthur Christmas (2011) and Otis Lee Crenshaw: Live (2001). He has been married to Karen Hall since 2004. They have two children.
30. Milton Jones
Actor | Moon 44
Milton Jones was born in 1964 in London, England, UK. He is an actor and writer, known for Moon 44 (1990), Planet Mirth (1997) and The Strangerers (2000).
31. Tommy Cooper
Actor | The Cool Mikado
After leaving the army Tommy Cooper took up show business in 1947 and so started his long career of comedy derived around visual humour, magic tricks that didn't work and his trademark red fez, a prop that started from his days in the army. The BBC described him as an "Unattractive young man with ...
32. Frankie Boyle
Art_department | Hangar 10
Frankie Boyle was born on August 16, 1972 in Glasgow, Scotland, UK. He is a writer and actor, known for Hangar 10 (2014), Revolver (2001) and Gasping (2014).
33. Simon Amstell
Writer | Benjamin
Amstell was born on 29 November 1979 and was raised in Gants Hill, London. The lively and determined chap made his first television appearance in 1993 when he appeared as a contestant on the Channel 4 game show GamesMaster (1992-1998), which he unfortunately lost, but this did not falter him on his...
34. Richard Ayoade
Writer | Submarine
Richard Ellef Ayoade was born in Hammersmith, and grew up in Suffolk, in England, the son of a Norwegian mother, Dagny Amalie (Baassuik), and a Nigerian father, Layide Ade Laditi Ayoade. He studied Law at Cambridge university, and followed in the footsteps of British Comedy legends like Monty ...
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