Jenny Eclair – Comedian
With her trademark high-octane performances and earthy, eyebrow raising routines, Jenny is regarded as one of the country’s best loved stand-up comediennes and was the first woman to win the coveted Perrier Award. Writer, broadcaster and comedian, Jenny Eclair, is one of Britain's funniest women. Jenny started out writing punk poetry and performing in a band called Cathy La Crème and the Rum Babies. After a career change to stand up comedy Jenny adopted the name 'Eclair' after pretending to be French whilst in Blackpool.
Jenny Eclair, has been a stand up comic for donkeys’ years, she was the first woman to win the coveted Perrier Award and hasn’t stopped banging on about it ever since. She still gigs regularly and her latest show ‘Because I forgot to get a Pension’ will continue to tour, because guess what? She forgot to get a pension. Some of you might recognize her from tv, small screen highlights include, the ‘Grumpy Old Women’ series, plus the ‘Grumpy Guides’, ‘Grumpy Holidays’ and ‘It’s Grim up North’. She also occasionally crops up on day time telly and gets very excited about doing things like This Morning and Loose Women.
Weirdly enough Eclair was actually trained as a straight actress and has done ’acting’ on ‘Holby City’ and ‘The Bill’. Later this year she will crop up playing women of forty plus, in ‘Al Murray’s Multiple Personality Disorder’ (ITV1). Other TV credits include Celebrity Weakest Link (BBC Two), Celebrity Fame Academy (BBC One), The Joan Rivers Position and Room 101 (BBC Two), Empire’s Children, hosting The Perrier Awards (Channel 4), The BBC New Comedy Awards (BBC One), The British Comedy Awards… The Fun Goes On (ITV 2) and the** Eurovision Song Contest** (BBC Three). Jenny provided the voiceover for A Place in France (Channel 4) and Celebrity Fit Club (ITV1).
Stage wise, Eclair’s biggest hit to date has been co-writing (with Judith Holder) and starring in ‘Grumpy Old Women Live’. A two hour extravaganza that toured the UK, Australia and recently opened (in Finnish) in Helsinki, the show (in English) is now available on DVD. Other West End theatre credits include ‘Steaming’, ‘Mum’s the Word’ and ‘The Vagina Monologues’. Most recently she appeared in the title role of ‘The Killing of Sister George’ for the Derby Playhouse, unfortunately she spent the entire time she was on stage looking like a fat Margaret Thatcher.
