Ruby Wax OBE is an American-British actress, comedian, writer, television personality, and mental health campaigner. A classically-trained actress, Wax was with the Royal Shakespeare Company for five years and co-starred on the ITV sitcom Girls on Top (1985–1986).
She came to prominence as a comic interviewer, playing up to British perceptions of the strident American style, on television shows including The Full Wax (1991–1994), Ruby Wax Meets… (1994–1998), Ruby (1997–2000), and The Ruby Wax Show (2002).
She was a script editor for the BBC sitcom Absolutely Fabulous (1992–2012), also appearing in two episodes. Wax holds both American and British citizenship and has resided in the United Kingdom since the 1970s.
In 2013, she gained a master’s degree in mindfulness-based cognitive therapy from Kellogg College, Oxford. Wax was appointed an honorary Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2015 Special Honours for services to mental health.
Her memoirs How Do You Want Me? (2002) and Sane New World (2013) both reached number one on the Sunday Times bestseller list.
Ruby Wax Age
Ruby Wax is 69 years. Wax was born Ruby Wachs and raised in Evanston, Illinois, the daughter of Edward and Berthe Wachs (née Goldmann.)
Her parents were Austrian Jews who left Austria in 1938 because of the Nazi threat. Her father was a sausage manufacturer and her mother qualified as an accountant.
Once settled in Chicago, her father changed the spelling of the family surname from Wachs to Wax. Wax majored in psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, leaving after a year without completing her degree.
Ruby Wax Movies and Tv Shows
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Chariots of Fire | Bunty | |
| Shock Treatment | Betty Hapschatt | ||
| Omen III: The Final Conflict | Secretary | Uncredited | |
| 1982 | Things Are Tough All Over | Restaurant Patron | |
| 1985 | Romance on the Orient Express | Susan Lawson | |
| Water | Spenco Executive | ||
| 1997 | The Borrowers | Town Hall Clerk | |
| 2005 | Tara Road | Carlotta | |
| 2008 | Agent Crush | Charleen Chinstubble | |
| 2011 | The British Guide to Showing Off | Herself | Documentary film |
| 2012 | Sir Billi | Patty Turner | Voice role |
| 2021 | Ron’s Gone Wrong | Ms. Hartley | Voice role |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | The Professionals | Lonnie | 1 episode |
| 1985 | Happy Families | Waitress | 1 episode |
| Girls on Top | Shelley | 13 episodes | |
| 1987–1988 | Don’t Miss Wax | Presenter | |
| 1988–1992 | Wogan | Herself | 5 episodes |
| 1988–1989 | Wax on Wheels | ||
| 1988–1993 | Count Duckula | Various | Voice role |
| 1989 | Red Dwarf | Blaize Falconburger | Episode: “Timeslides” |
| Class of ’69 | Presenter | ||
| 1990 | Hit and Run | ||
| 1991 | Ruby Takes a Trip | Herself | |
| 1991–1994 | The Full Wax | ||
| 1992 | The Comic Strip | Sue | 1 episode |
| Wax Acts | Herself | ||
| 1993 | Wax Cracks Hollywood | ||
| 1994–1998 | Ruby Wax Meets… | ||
| 1995, 2001 | Absolutely Fabulous | Beth De Woodi / Candy | Also script editor |
| 1997–2000 | Ruby | Presenter | BBC talk show |
| 1998 | Miami Memoirs | Herself | |
| 1999-2000 | Ruby’s American Pie | Presenter | 12 episodes |
| 1999 | Ruby | Talk-reality show airing on Lifetime | |
| 2000 | Ruby Wax Gets Streetwise | ||
| 2001 | Hot Wax | ||
| 2001–2002 | The Waiting Game | ||
| 2002 | Commercial Breakdown | 8 episodes | |
| The Ruby Wax Show | |||
| 2002–2003 | V Graham Norton | Herself | 4 episodes |
| 2003 | Ruby Wax With… | ||
| Comic Relief Does Fame Academy | Series one | ||
| The Big Read | 2 episodes | ||
| Have I Got News for You | 1 episode | ||
| 2004 | Ruby Does The Business | ||
| Planet Cook | Roxie | Voice role | |
| French and Saunders | The Executive | 1 episode | |
| 2005 | Jackass | Herself | Episode: “Gumball 3000 Rally Special” |
| Gameshow Marathon | 4 episodes | ||
| 2006 | Cirque de Celebrité | Presenter | 9 episodes |
| Popetown | The Pope | 10 episodes | |
| Dawn French’s Girls Who Do Comedy | Herself | 3 episodes | |
| 2009 | Taking the Flak | Candida | 1 episode |
| 2012 | Ruby Wax’s Mad Confessions | Herself | |
| 2013 | Anna & Katy | 1 episode | |
| College Tour | |||
| The Spa | |||
| 2017 | Who Do You Think You Are? | 1 episode | |
| Head Talks | |||
| Thunderbirds Are Go | Hayley Edmonds | Voice role | |
| 2018 | Ruby Wax: How to Be Human | Presenter | |
| 2021 | When Ruby Wax Met… | Herself | |
| 2022 | Countdown | Dictionary corner, 5 episodes | |
| The Great Celebrity Bake Off For Stand Up To Cancer | |||
| Gogglebox | |||
| Trailblazers: A Rocky Mountain Road Trip | 3 episodes |
Ruby Wax Books
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- How Do You Want Me? (2002)
- Sane New World (2013)
- A Mindfulness Guide for the Frazzled (2016)
- How to Be Human: The Manual (2018)
- And Now For The Good News…: The Much-needed Tonic for Our Frazzled World (2020)
- Mindfulness Guide for Survival (2021)
Ruby Wax Website
You can find the Ruby Wax website at https://www.rubywax.net/