Ruby Wax arrived in Britain in 1977 to pursue an acting career. She says I really could never find my niche. I was a terrible actress, I couldnt sing, I couldnt do characters, I couldnt do an English accent and I lived in England, so I was narrowing it down.
She met French and Saunders at a party and worked alongside them a number of times, on television in Happy Families, at charity events such as Hysteria and notably the sitcom Girls on Top. Ruby played Shelley Dupont, a stereotypically loud American dying for a career in show-business. Not a huge hit, Girls on Top nevertheless gave the trio the chance to find their feet in comedy.
Ruby eventually got a chat show after drunkenly interviewing Michael Grade (who was head of Channel 4 at the time) in a tent at the Edinburgh festival. She subsequently made a range of programmes, many revolving around her as an interviewer. Her popularity in terms of comedy came from her interviewing technique: she was always forthright, brash and loud, conforming to the British stereotype of an American. Her physical appearance matched this image, with red hair and blood-red lipstick.
In 2002 Ruby Wax wrote her memoir, How Do You Want Me?, which became a bestseller.
Her 2010 stand-up show Losing It deals with her experience of bipolar disorder. She founded in 2011 in response to the audience reaction from her theatre show. In September 2013, she graduated from Kellogg College at Oxford University with a masters degree in mindfulness based cognitive therapy. She had previously earned a postgraduate certificate in psychotherapy and counselling from Regents College in London.
These days she promotes and campaigns for greater mental health awareness and destigmatisation.