Ruby Wax is 73 years old. She was born on 19 April 1953 in Evanston, Illinois, in the United States, which makes her one of the most enduring figures in British comedy despite her American roots. The comedian, actress and mental health campaigner has been a familiar face on UK television for more than four decades, most recently appearing on I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! in 2025.
How old is Ruby Wax in 2026?
Born on 19 April 1953, Ruby Wax celebrated her 73rd birthday in April 2026. She grew up in Evanston as Ruby Wachs, the daughter of Austrian Jewish parents, before studying at the University of California, Berkeley and moving to Britain in the 1970s to train at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.
Her age has never slowed her down. In her seventies she continues to tour, write and appear on television, and her openness about ageing, mental health and reinvention has made her a much-loved public figure well beyond the comedy world.
Her comedy career
Wax first made her name as a performer in the BBC sitcom Girls on Top in the mid-1980s, alongside Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders and Tracey Ullman. She then developed her signature interview style with shows such as The Full Wax and Ruby Wax Meets…, where her sharply funny, disarmingly personal interviews with figures including Madonna, Imelda Marcos and OJ Simpson became television events.
Behind the scenes, she also worked as a script editor on the beloved sitcom Absolutely Fabulous, and she co-wrote and performed in a string of acclaimed stage shows, including Losing It, which dealt with her experiences of clinical depression.
Mental health campaigning
One of the most significant chapters of Wax’s life began when she publicly shared her struggles with depression and bipolar disorder. Rather than hiding her diagnosis, she studied neuroscience and psychotherapy at the University of Oxford, earning a master’s degree, and became one of Britain’s most prominent mental health campaigners.
She founded the Frazzled Cafe charity, which provides peer-support meetings in workplaces and community spaces, and her books — including Sane New World and How to Be Human — have become bestsellers. She was appointed an OBE in 2015 for services to mental health.
I’m a Celebrity and recent work
In 2025, Wax surprised fans by joining the cast of I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, bringing her trademark wit to the Australian jungle at the age of 72. Her appearance introduced her to a new generation of viewers and reminded audiences of her fearless, self-deprecating humour.
She continues to write columns, deliver talks on mindfulness and mental health, and perform live shows across the UK.
Early life
Ruby was born Ruby Wachs in Evanston, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, to Austrian Jewish parents who had fled Europe. She has spoken candidly about a difficult childhood shadowed by her parents’ experiences and her mother’s mental illness — experiences that later informed both her comedy and her campaigning work, giving her humour its distinctive edge of honesty.
After studying at the University of California, Berkeley, she moved to Britain in the 1970s to train as an actress at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow. She performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company before realising that her true talent lay in comedy writing and performance rather than classical theatre.
Her big break came when she joined the BBC, where her brash American persona stood out in the alternative comedy scene of the 1980s. She quickly became known for a fearless interview style that mixed comedy with startling personal disclosure — a technique that would define her career.
Personal life
Wax has been married to television director and producer Ed Bye — best known for directing Red Dwarf and My Family — since 1988. Bye was born in June 1955, making him 71 — two years younger than Wax — and theirs is one of the longest marriages in British showbusiness. The couple have three children: Marina, Max and Madeline.
She has said that becoming a mother, combined with her own struggles with depression, drove her to study mindfulness and neuroscience at Oxford in midlife — a decision that transformed her career. Now based in London, she continues to tour her stage shows and is one of the UK’s most sought-after keynote speakers on mental health, addressing corporate audiences around the world.
In interviews, she remains characteristically blunt about ageing, describing her seventies as a period of freedom rather than decline — and showing no intention of slowing down.
Quick Facts
| Full name | Ruby Wax (née Wachs) |
| Date of birth | 19 April 1953 |
| Age | 73 |
| Birthplace | Evanston, Illinois, USA |
| Nationality | British-American |
| Husband | Ed Bye (married 1988) |
| Children | 3 |
| Known for | Comedy, mental health campaigning |
| Honours | OBE (2015) |
| Recent show | I’m a Celebrity (2025) |
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Conclusion
At 73, Ruby Wax remains one of Britain’s most versatile and admired entertainers. Born on 19 April 1953, she has reinvented herself several times over — from sitcom star to celebrity interviewer, from script editor to mental health advocate — and her fearless honesty about her own struggles has arguably become her most lasting contribution of all.
