Ruby Wax appears on the Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up to Cancer tonight (March 29).
Alongside three fellow celebrity contestants, she’ll join Noel Fielding, Matt Lucas, Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith in the famous tent.
But who exactly is Ruby?
Here’s everything you need to know about her. Minus previous baking experience.
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Who is Ruby Wax?
Ruby Wax is an actress, comedian, writer, reality television personality and mental health campaigner.
Currently taking part in The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up to Cancer, Ruby is known for being “loud” and “American”.
This is a stereotype she’s played up to in the past, particularly on her talk shows like The Full Wax and The Ruby Wax Show.
Read more: The Great Celebrity Bake Off: Emma Willis has viewers all saying the same thing
She’s actually a classically trained actress and was with the Royal Shakespeare Company for five years.
Ruby also worked as a script editor on Absolutely Fabulous.
She’s a huge advocate for mental health and has written two memoirs touching on her own experiences; How Do You Want Me and Sane New World.
In 2015 she was given an OBE for her services to mental health.
Where is Ruby Wax from?
Ruby was raised in Evanstan, Illinois and the original spelling of her last name was Wachs.
Her parents were Austrian Jews who left Austria in 1938 because of the Nazi threat. They settled in Chicago, which was when Ruby’s dad changed the spelling of their family name.
Ruby went on to study psychology at the University of California, but left after just a year and didn’t complete her degree.
Instead, she moved to the UK in the 1970s and now has dual US and UK citizenship. When she came to the UK, she enrolled at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow.
She began her showbiz career as a non-comic actress at Sheffield’s The Crucible theatre.
Ruby had a long-standing working relationship with legendary actor Alan Rickman.
The pair wrote and directed together and Alan – who died in 2016 – later directed lots of her stage comedy shows.
Who is Ruby Wax married to?
Ruby is currently married to film and TV producer and director, Ed Bye. He’s her third husband. Ed’s known for directing comedy series Red Dwarf.
Ed and Ruby wed in 1988. They have three children – Max, Madeleine and Marina.
In 2021, Ruby told The Sun’s Fabulous magazine that her marriage was unconventional and that’s what has kept it strong.
She said: “I have my friends, he has his friends. I don’t assume we have the same tastes. It’s understood we both have different careers.
“We don’t step on each other’s toes and I don’t really see myself as Mrs Bye.
“I see myself as an individual. But that’s okay. I’ve got three kids and they don’t mind.”
Her previous two marriages were short-lived, both ending in divorce.
Who is Ruby Wax’s son?
Ruby’s son is called Max Bye. He’s married to political journalist, Katy Balls. She’s the deputy political editor of The Spectator.
Katy also hosts a podcast called Women With Balls.
Max and Katy were due to marry in 2020 but the wedding was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She wrote about the experience of being a “competitive COVID bride” in The Spectator.
They finally managed to tie the knot in November 2011.
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Ruby posted a photo of the happy couple on her Instagram page, captioning it: “This is Max, my son who left my loins 33 years ago today – this is on his wedding day with his newlywed wife @katyballs.
“He got married at St Paul’s Crypt – the crypt is filled with dead famous people – Nelson and Wellington – I’m thinking as I pass them, I’m not worthy.”
Can Ruby Wax sing?
It’s a point for discussion, certainly.
Back in 2003, Ruby took part in Comic Relief Does Fame Academy, and finished as runner-up to actor Will Mellor.
Whether or not she is actually a very good singer is a matter of opinion, however…
Where does Ruby Wax live?
According to a report in The Sunday Telegraph in August 2021, Ruby and Ed currently live in London.
She told the publication that they often spend time apart and that this is nothing new for their relationship.
Ruby even spent much of lockdown alone in a one-roomed country lodge, rather than with Ed in their family home.
She said: “Some may think it odd that I was away from my husband for so long. But in truth, time apart isn’t new to our marriage. We’ve been together for 33 years.
“My career has involved so much travel, and I’m not much of a texter or caller, so we’re both used to it. I think it can actually be healthy for relationships to have your own space.”
Where is Ruby Wax now?
Ruby is currently taking part in Channel 4’s The Great Celebrity Bake Off as part of its Stand Up to Cancer campaign.
She’s on the show on Tuesday March 29 2022.
Laura Whitmore is one of the other celebs taking part.
Why does Ruby Wax have an OBE?
Ruby has an OBE for services to mental health.
The star has been very open about her own battle with depression and has worked on an online series about mental health issues for the BBC.
In 2010 she did a live show tour called Losing It, which documented her mental health struggles and experiences.
In January 2016, she released a second book on the subject of mental health called A Mindfulness Guide for the Frazzled.
How To Be Human: The Manual, which she co-wrote with neuroscientist and a monk came out in 2018.
Her most recent book A Mindfulness Guide for Survival is out now.
She founded a charity called The Frazzled Cafe which provides online meetings and mindfulness. This was particularly successful during the coronavirus lockdowns.
Read more: Meet the Great Celebrity Bake Off 2022 contenders including a very surprising entry
Ruby holds a Masters’ Degree from Kellogg College, Oxford University in mindful based cognitive behaviour therapy which she completed in 2013.
She often gives lectures on mindfulness and mental health for various educational institutions.
Is Ruby Wax on Instagram?
Ruby has accounts on both Instagram and Twitter.
She has personal accounts and accounts for her various mental health projects such as The Frazzled Cafe.
Ruby uses her accounts to promote her mental health work.
But she also shares some cute family shots too.
Catch Rub Wax on The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up to Cancer on Channel 4 at 8pm and All4 afterwards.
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