Paul O’Grady is one of the nation’s most beloved entertainers but how much do you know about him – how old is he, who is his daughter and who is his husband?
Here’s everything you could possibly want to know about the telly legend that is Paul O’Grady – from his early years, through to his eventful love life and all those adorable dogs of his.
Where was Paul O’Grady born and how old is he?
Paul was born Paul James Grady in the Tranmere area of Birkenhead, Merseyside in 1955.
That makes Paul currently 66 years old.
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In the book, Paul O’Grady: The Biography, he said: “When I look back on my childhood I have no bad memories.
“Our family was loving and full of affection. I never knew what divorce was until I moved to London. I was an indulged child and completely protected from anything bad.”
Is Paul O’Grady Irish?
You’d expect that with a name like O’Grady, Paul has Irish roots.
And you’d be right.
His dad – Patrick ‘Paddy’ Grady – originally hailed from Ballincurry, in County Roscommon in Ireland and came to England in 1936, settling in the Birkenhead area.
His mum, meanwhile – Mary ‘Molly’ Savage – was born in England but also had Irish roots. Her family were from County Louth in Ireland.
He has two siblings: brother Brendan was born in 1941 and sister Sheila was born in 1944.
So why is Paul’s surname O’Grady and not simply Grady? Later in life, when Paul joined the RAF his name was written down incorrectly on the paperwork.
It read O’Grady instead of Grady, and Paul decided to keep it.
What is his net worth?
Paul O’Grady has been a huge part of our televisual lives since the early 1990s.
Thanks to his appearances as his drag alter ego Lily Savage – a character fans desperately want to see again – and latterly as himself on For The Love of Dogs and his own chat shows, Paul has had a long and successful career.
Subsequently, Paul as accumulated a nice pot of wealth over the years.
And, when it comes to his net worth, the Idol Networth website says his current net worth is around £6million.
Is Paul O’Grady married? Who is his husband?
Paul is married to former professional ballerina Andre Portasio.
At 41, Andre is 25 years Paul’s junior.
They first met in 2006 and tied the knot at a low-key ceremony at The Goring Hotel in London in 2017.
However, their marriage was unconventional to begin with as they decided to carry on living apart.
He said in an interview quoted in the Daily Mail: “We’re doing a Helena Bonham Carter and Tim whatshisname, and it works a treat. It’s the same as before. We see each other all the time.
“We just don’t live together, which for me makes for a perfect relationship because when you’ve had enough, you can say, ‘I’ll see you, I’m off’.”
Did Paul O’Grady ever have a wife?
Paul’s marriage to Andre isn’t the first time he’s been in a conjugal relationship.
Once upon a time, Paul was in fact married to a woman… for 28 years!
He met Portuguese dancer Teresa Fernandes in 1976 when he started working at gay club Showplace.
Teresa was also gay, and theirs was purely a marriage of convenience, so she could avoid deportation.
“We worked in a club in Westbourne Grove, London, when I was 22,” Paul said in his autobiography.
“She was from a very strict Catholic family and was always being hassled by them: ‘Why aren’t you getting married?’ So I said: ‘Come on then, we’ll get married’, and we did.”
However, despite being legally married they lost touch, and only legally separated in 2005.
Does Paul O’Grady have a daughter?
Another surprising part of Paul’s history is that he also has a daughter.
Her name is Sharon and she, in turn, is married (to Philip Moseley) and has two kids of her own.
Back in 2013, Paul spoke about his grandson Abel to the Liverpool Echo: “He’s gorgeous. He’s 14 months – he’s crawling and stuff.
“He’s just a lovely little kid. He got very clingy to me, while he was here.
“It’s nice, as soon as I’d walk in the kitchen, he’d put his arms up. My daughter would say ‘Oh, here we go. I can see trouble here!'”
Who did Paul O’Grady have his child with?
His biography states that in 1974 Paul had casual sex with a female friend, Diane Jansen.
Diane found out that the encounter made her pregnant.
Paul, meanwhile, found out that he was to become a father in the same week that both of his parents had heart attacks.
His mum survived hers (but later died in 1988), but his father Paddy sadly did not.
What has he said about his illnesses?
In 2002, Paul had the first of his two heart attacks.
The second heart attack came when he was 51, and he told The Mirror: “I feel I’ve had more than my final warning.
“I shouldn’t even be here. I’ve had two heart attacks in four years and it’s come as quite a shock.”
After that second heart attack, Paul had an operation to widen an artery.
And this comes after a lifetime of smoking.
In the same interview he said: “But while smoking hasn’t helped, I think my heart problems are congenital. Mum and dad died from it.”
When is Paul O’Grady on Radio 2?
At the end of the 2000s, Paul began sitting in for Elaine Paige on her weekly BBC Radio 2 show.
Then, in 2009, he landed his own Radio 2 show – Paul O’Grady On The Wireless – which regularly attracts over two million listeners.
The show is broadcast every Sunday, between 5-7pm.
However, at the moment, Paul is taking a break and comedian Rob Beckett has replaced him.
But good news for fans of Paul, he’ll be back hosting his radio show in May.
What happened to Paul O’Grady’s dogs?
Paul’s love for pooches is well known, and over the years he’s had many a memorable four-legged friend.
His most famous sidekick was Buster – a Shih Tzu/Bichon Frise cross who frequently appeared with Paul on The Paul O’Grady Show throughout the 2000s.
Sadly, Buster had to be a put down in 2009 after a battle with cancer. Paul subsequently called Buster “the greatest canine star since Lassie” in an emotional episode of his chat show.
Next came Cairn terrier, Olga.
Sadly, Olga also succumbed to cancer and was let go in 2018.
In an interview, with The Mirror, he said: “It’s the hardest thing to do but it’s the only thing to do.
“I knew it wasn’t Olga any more, she was a state.
“I shed my tears earlier on in the week. It’s heartbreaking but she had a great life. She loved television studios.”
Since 2017, Paul has lost two other dogs – Shih Tzu Louis in 2017 and Bullseye in 2019.
Can Paul sing?
As his drag alter-ego Lily Savage, Paul often sang and performed in pubs and clubs, and, later, on television.
And he carried on this love of belting out a tune on his own shows.
Paul’s love of singing also saw him play roles in West End musicals. He starred in Prisoner Cell Block H the musical in 1996, Annie and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
He even released a single in 1988, called Tough At The Top, described as “hi-energy”.
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Where does Paul O’Grady live?
Paul has two homes – a central London flat and a farm in Adlington, Kent.
On the farm he tends to cats, New Zealand pigs, ducks, geese, donkeys, sheep, ferrets, goats and of course, his beloved dogs.
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He also welcomed some new arrivals… a herd of llamas.
Paul also grows organic vegetables and herbs on the farm, in keeping with this fascination with herbalism.
He said in an interview with the Daily Mail: “I’ve been making my own potions since my 30s. I can mix infusions that cure all kinds of ailments.”
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