Jennifer Saunders

Jennifer Saunders Bio

Jennifer Jane Saunders (born 6 July 1958) is an English comedian, actress, singer, impressionist, satirist, and screenwriter whose influential career has spanned television, film, theatre, and voice work since the early 1980s. She first gained prominence as a member of The Comic Strip comedy collective after training at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, forming a lifelong creative partnership with Dawn French. Together they created and starred in the pioneering sketch show French and Saunders, and Saunders achieved international recognition for her portrayal of Edina Monsoon in Absolutely Fabulous. Her body of work has established her as one of Britain’s most versatile comedic talents. In 2009, she received the BAFTA Fellowship alongside Dawn French for her outstanding contribution to British comedy.

Early Life and Background

Jennifer Jane Saunders was born on 6 July 1958 in Sleaford, Lincolnshire, England. Her mother, Barbara Jane, was a biology teacher, and her father, Robert Thomas Saunders, served as a pilot in the Royal Air Force, rising to the rank of group captain before later working for British Aerospace. Six months after her birth, Saunders’ family relocated to Cyprus due to her father’s RAF posting. They subsequently moved to Camberley and then to Melksham when she was ten, eventually settling in Cheshire in 1971.

Growing up in a military family meant Saunders attended boarding schools from the age of five to eighteen, including St Paul’s Girls’ School in London, where she completed her secondary education. Her family had wanted her to attend Stonar School, and she spent her first year of secondary school at a comprehensive school in Wiltshire. At Northwich Grammar For Girls, she played in goal for the school hockey team. After completing school, she spent a year working as an au pair in Italy.

Path to Acting and Comedy

In 1977, Saunders enrolled at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London on a drama teachers’ course, where she met her future comedy partner, Dawn French. Interestingly, the two came from similar RAF backgrounds and had grown up on the same military base, even sharing the same best friend, yet had never met. Their relationship got off to a rocky start—Saunders viewed French as an overly confident upstart, while French considered Saunders aloof. Despite their initial friction, they eventually became friends and shared a flat together after graduation.

Following drama school, French and Saunders performed together on the festival, cabaret, and stand-up circuits. They formed a double-act called The Menopause Sisters, which Saunders later described as cringe-worthy. Their big break came in 1980 when they answered an advertisement in The Stage newspaper seeking female comedians to perform at The Comic Strip, which had previously only featured male performers. Saunders and French walked into the audition and were immediately booked, marking the beginning of their professional partnership.

Jennifer Saunders Career

Early Career (1982–1990)

The comedy group made their television debut on Channel 4’s first night on air, appearing in the first episode of The Comic Strip Presents: Five Go Mad In Dorset on 2 November 1982. Saunders played various roles across the group’s productions, including a rock journalist in the Bad News episodes. She appeared in several other projects during this period, including Ben Elton’s Happy Families and multiple appearances on The Young Ones.

In 1985, Saunders co-created and starred in Girls on Top with French, Tracey Ullman, and Ruby Wax, a sitcom about four eccentric women sharing a flat in London. The following year, she and French created their own sketch show, French and Saunders, which premiered on BBC Two in 1987. The show ran for 20 years and became renowned for its distinctive parody sketches and celebrity impressions, building a devoted audience throughout its run.

Breakthrough (1992–2000s)

Saunders’ biggest solo success came with Absolutely Fabulous, which she created, wrote, and starred in as Edina Monsoon, a fashion publicist known for her reckless behavior and excessive lifestyle. The character, which originated from a French and Saunders sketch called Modern Mother and Daughter, became a cultural phenomenon. The series ran for five full series, two telemovies, three special episodes, and a feature film, spanning 24 years from 1992 to 2016.

During the 1990s and 2000s, Saunders appeared in several notable films, including In the Bleak Midwinter (1995), Muppet Treasure Island (1996), and Spice World (1997). Her voice work in Shrek 2 (2004) as the Fairy Godmother brought her renewed acclaim, winning the People’s Choice Award for best movie villain in 2005. She also voiced characters in Coraline (2009) and Minions (2015), and in 2022, she appeared in Kenneth Branagh’s Death on the Nile.

Notable Works and Milestones

Beyond Absolutely Fabulous and French and Saunders, Saunders created and starred in the comedy drama Jam and Jerusalem (2006-2009), about a Women’s Institute group. She wrote The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle (2007) with psychologist Tanya Byron, a comedy about a neurotic daytime talk show host. Her theatre work includes Lady Windermere’s Fan (2018), Blithe Spirit (2019-2021), Sister Act the Musical (2022), and her pantomime debut as Captain Hook in Peter Pan at the London Palladium (2023).

Jennifer Saunders Awards

Jennifer Saunders has received numerous accolades throughout her distinguished career. She was awarded the BAFTA Fellowship in 2009 alongside Dawn French for their outstanding contribution to British comedy, one of the highest honors in British television. Her role as the Fairy Godmother in Shrek 2 earned her the People’s Choice Award for best movie villain in 2005. She was named one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy by The Observer in 2003 and was listed as the fourth funniest woman in Britain in a 2005 poll of 4,000 women. Saunders has also received honorary doctorates from the University of Exeter (2007) and Edge Hill University (2011). She was offered an OBE in 2001 but declined the honor.

Jennifer Saunders Family

Jennifer Saunders married Adrian Edmondson on May 11, 1985, at Christ Church, Crowton, Cheshire, with fellow Comic Strip members Rik Mayall and Robbie Coltrane attending the wedding. The couple has three daughters: singer-songwriter Ella Edmondson (born 1986), actress Beattie Edmondson (born 1987), and actress Freya Edmondson (born 1990). Saunders and Edmondson have five grandchildren together.

Personal Life

In July 2010, Saunders publicly announced that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer in October 2009. She underwent treatment including a lumpectomy, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy and was in remission following her recovery. Saunders published her autobiography, Bonkers: My Life in Laughs, in October 2013. She is a patron for Smart Works Charity, a non-profit organization that supports unemployed women into work by providing professional clothing and coaching. A self-described petrolhead, Saunders has a passion for Alfa Romeo cars and has owned four.