Ruby Wax on Cape Town, being the class clown and studying cognitive therapy
After moving from America to the UK, Ruby Wax started her acting career at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre.
In 1985 she won a role in British sitcom Girls On Top and was given her own show Don’t Miss Wax two years later. Ruby made a number of appearances in Absolutely Fabulous in the 1990s.
Ruby was a contestant on Comic Relief Does The Apprentice in 2009.
How do you take your tea?
I drink a lot of it, all day long. I like Earl Grey or English Breakfast, with honey.
Who would you most like to have a cup of tea with?
President Obama – to find
out more about what’s going
on in the world.
What was your favourite subject at school?
Strangely enough, I never liked school and I didn’t do very well because I just wasn’t interested.
All I really wanted to do was entertain people.
What’s your earliest memory of performing?
I vividly remember making jokes at school and getting a lot of laughs. I was definitely the class comedian.
What first prompted you to write your book Sane New World: Taming The Mind?
Growing up, I was always interested in how the brain worked, but then there wasn’t really the option to study it.
So eventually, I decided to go to Oxford and study for a Masters degree in mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. That’s where the book idea originally came from.
You’ve now adapted the book into a touring show. Tell us a bit about that.
It was always going to become a show, as I really liked the idea of bringing comedy into it to grab people’s attention.
Our minds are very complex, and even those without a mental illness can sometimes struggle to stay sane!
What would you say has been your biggest career highlight to date?
I’m lucky to have had a very varied career, but speaking at the global TED Talks conferences (ted.com/speakers/ruby_wax) and performing with the Royal Shakespeare Company are two things that spring to mind.
What would an ideal weekend be like for you?
I’d go to Cape Town, if I could! But otherwise, I’m very happy to just see my friends, read and write.
Sane New World: Taming The Mind (£8.99, Hodder & Stoughton) is out now. For details of Ruby’s tour, visit rubywax.net