Eddie Izzard

The London Sunday Times has called him "the greatest British stand-up comedian of his generation" and the entity of Eddie Izzard is worthy of such praise. This comedian, actor and transvestite has bewitched the world of comedy into a kitschy, campy and cunning mix while adding a bit of British flair to American humor and it's brilliant. Born in 1962 to an accountant father and a mother who was a nurse, Izzard spent his early childhood in Yemen. Both of his parents worked at the British Petroleum refinery in Aden, but they moved to Bangor, Ireland before Izzard turned five. Time spent in Northern Ireland were the happiest of times for him, but another household upheaval to Skewen, South Wales changed all that. Izzard's mum died of cancer when he was just six, and he and his brother were sent to boarding school quickly thereafter. Such experiences would ultimately shape Izzard's charming, but crass persona. Izzard participated in various stage plays and skits throughout his early childhood and teenage years. At age seven, he realized that performing on stage in front of an amazing crowd was what he wanted out of life. In 1980, Izzard landed at Sheffield University for an Accounting and Financial Management with Mathematics degree, but comedy was fueling his fire. He spent the next year and half writing and acting in various university comedy shows, landing a top gig at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. By early 1984, Izzard left college, moved to London and performed street side shows with a friend in Covent Garden and figured himself out. He came out a year later. Eddie Izzard was a transvestite. In three years time, Izzard was hot on the London Club circuit and by 1993, he was performing shows in the West End. He'd performed his first show in a dress in 1992 and was...