Barry Humphries
(February 17, 1934 - living) Australia - U.K.
Comedian, gender rebel; actor and talk-show host
Born in Kew, Melbourne, Victoria, his father was an affluent construction manager. Barry was a very intelligent boy who attended Melbourne University. There, he began in revues and doing some impersonations, joined the Melbourne Theatre Group, and created the character of Edna Everage in 1956.
In the early sixties he moved to London and appeared in several West End productions. He first brought Mrs. Everage to the British stage in 1969 for his one-man show "Just a Show". Humphries' characters, especially Dame Edna Everage,  a Melbourne housewife, and Sir Les Patterson, Australia's foul-mouthed Cultural Attache to Britain, have made him a national figure, with numerous stage and television shows.
His character, Dame Edna, was inspired by a character from his earlier film The Adventures of Barry Mackenzie, in which he is sent by his aunt, Edna, around Europe to finish his education. This included a lovely scene where Mackenzie (Barry Humphries) finds out that curry is an aphrodisiac and so preparing for his first sexual encounter pours a tin of curry down his trousers - magic.
He was given the Order of Australia in 1982, and an Honorary Doctorate of Griffith University (Australia) in 1994. He is married to Lizzie Spender, the daughter of Sir Stephen Spender, and has two sons and two daughters.
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