COMEDIAN Eddie Izzard, known as Suzy Izzard, recently revealed that she knew she was trans at the age of five and has been living authentically ever since.
Suzy, 62, unpacked her experiences of living as a trans woman to presenter Steve Denyer in LGBTQ+ pop-up radio station, Virgin Radio Pride.
The iconic stand-up comic disclosed on the radio show that she knew she had been trans since she was five-years-old but kept it a secret.
Suzy told Steve that she pushed herself to play football and ‘fit in with the boys’ in her boarding school in order to avoid scrutiny and various forms of potential harassment.
She said: “I was five when I knew I was trans. I loved playing football and I was very scrappy in school so no one said ‘you must be trans’. Kids are braver these days, I wasn’t at that point.”
Suzy lost her mother at six, and came out to her father around the same time that she came out publicly, back in 1985.
She continued: “I wasn’t going to live a lie. You never know how your parents will react, I’ve heard some horror stories. My dad said if mum was alive she would had been okay about it, that was a nice thing for me him to say.”
“Some people and press were bemused, especially as I wrote trousers at that point. So I thought ‘I’ll throw on some makeup and a dress’. They still called me a mess, so I said ‘Ok, I’ve gotta work on that.’ “
Reflecting on whether there has been shift in understanding or acceptance of LGBTQIA persons, Suzy responded: “When I came out in ’85, there were no conversations about being trans. I was considered a non-person. I realised the conversations had to start.”
She continued: “I believe in the future, and hope we’ll get to a place where we will say ‘women’s rights are human rights and trans rights are human rights’. End of story.”
EARLY BEGINNINGS
The Yemen-born comic was born to English parents, nurse Dorothy Ella Izzard and accountant Harold John Michael Izzard. Harold worked in Aden [now known as Yemen] at the time of Suzy’s birth.
When Suzy was a year old the family moved to Northern Ireland before settling in Bangor where the family lived until she was five. Suzy’s mother died of cancer the year after.
She began to focus on comedy when she studied drama at The University of Sheffield. Suzy and fellow student Rob Ballard began performing comedy in the streets of Convent Garden, London.
In the early 80s, Suzy decided to go solo as a comedian and became a street performer in the United States as well as Europe, developing her comedic acts and focusing on stand-up comedy.
Her first stage performance was at the comedy hotspot the Comedy Store in London where she honed her comedic style throughout the 80s and early 90s.
COMEDY, THEATRE AND FILM CAREER
Suzy’s has appeared in a plethora of hit films including 2004’s Ocean’s Twelve, 2007’s Ocean’s Thirteen, 2008’s Valkyrie, 2015’s Absolutely Anything, 2017’s The Lego Batman Movie and Netflix original series, Green Eggs and Ham released in 2019.
She has created numerous acclaimed comedy specials, including 2000’s Dress to Kill which earned her two Primetime Emmy Awards, an Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Variety or Music Program as well as an Emmy for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program.
Suzy is an accomplished theatre actress also. In 1994, she made her West End debut in the drama in The Cryptogram.
In 2014, she appeared on stage with the Monty Python cast in their live show Monty Python Live.
Suzy is currently on tour for her solo performance of Shakespeare’s Hamlet in London’s Riverside Studios until June 30th.
Virgin Radio Pride UK is on air until 31st August 2024. Ask your smart speaker to “play Virgin Radio Pride”. Tune in online, on virginradiopride.co.uk, the free Virgin Radio app or on DAB Digital radio in Greater London and Scotland.
