Fern Brady

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Fern Brady
Born (1986-05-26) 26 May 1986 (age 35)
Bathgate, West Lothian, Scotland
OccupationComedian, columnist
Years active2010–present
Websitefernbradycomedian.com

Fern Brady (born 26 May 1986) is a Scottish comedian and writer.

Early life[]

Brady was born in Bathgate, West Lothian, where she grew up. She is of Irish descent.[1] Her father worked at the truck company Scania, and her mother worked at Tesco. Her parents have since divorced.[2]

Career[]

While at university, Brady was editor of The Student, a weekly newspaper produced by students at the University of Edinburgh. To finance her university studies, she worked as a stripper.[2] She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Arabic and Islamic History. Following university, Brady originally trained to become a journalist, although she had been secretly thinking about becoming a stand-up comedian since 2006.[3] In 2009, she was an intern at Fest Magazine, a free magazine covering the Edinburgh Festival. One of her assignments there was to write an article about a comedy critic trying stand-up.[4][5] Brady describes the experience as "the push I needed to realise it was what I wanted to do".[3] Her first professional gig was in May 2010.[3]

She reached the finals of "So You Think You're Funny" at the 2011 Edinburgh Fringe, where she was placed joint third; the finals of the Piccadilly Comedy Club new act competition in 2012, and the Hackney Empire New Act of the Year in 2013. She has appeared on 8 Out Of 10 Cats, , The Alternative Comedy Experience, BBC Radio 4's The News Quiz, series 3 of Live from the BBC, series 14 of Live at the Apollo and on series 3 of Frankie Boyle's New World Order. She has written for The Guardian.[6]

In 2020, Brady and fellow comedian Alison Spittle started a podcast for the BBC called Wheel of Misfortune, which is based on the Wheel of Fortune.

In late 2021, Brady co-presented the Dave travelogue British as Folk alongside fellow comedians Ivo Graham and Darren Harriott.[7] In January 2022, Brady will begin a 25-date tour of her new show, "Autistic Bikini Queen".[8]

Personal life[]

Brady is bisexual.[9] She was diagnosed with obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) at the age of 16,[10] and revealed in 2021 that she has also been diagnosed with autism.[11]

References[]

  1. ^ "Scottish comic Fern Brady on her Donegal roots, Shaun Ryder and the Edinburgh Fringe". The Irish News. 12 February 2016. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Fern Brady and life as a stripper". Evening Times. 25 July 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  3. ^ a b c "Interview with Fern Brady". Comedy Blogedy. 1 February 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  4. ^ "Faking it". Fest-mag.com. 19 August 2009. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  5. ^ "Scottish Comedian Fern Brady's 'Take No Prisoners' Beauty Routine". Viva.co.nz. 16 April 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  6. ^ "Fern Brady". The Guardian.
  7. ^ Golby, Joel. "British As Folk: three comedians in a campervan have fun with history". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  8. ^ Bennett, Steve. "Fern Brady announces 2022 tour : Other news 2021 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
  9. ^ "Fern Brady Live at the Apollo". YouTube. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
  10. ^ Brady, Fern (14 July 2015). "I came out of a teenage mental health unit worse than when I went in". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  11. ^ Brady, Fern [@FernBrady] (7 January 2021). "Got autism diagnosis this week. Told my dad who responded by asking me what I had for dinner tonight.