Jennifer Saunders Biography Quotes 17 Report mistakes

Early Life and Education
Jennifer Jane Saunders was born on 6 July 1958 in Sleaford, Lincolnshire, England. Raised in a military family, she spent her childhood moving between Royal Air Force bases, an itinerant upbringing that exposed her to varied communities and sharpened her observational humor. After school she moved to London to study at the Central School of Speech and Drama. There she met Dawn French, initially cast as her classroom rival but quickly becoming her closest collaborator. The two trained to teach drama, but their shared comic sensibility pulled them toward performance and writing.

Breakthrough and The Comic Strip
Saunders and French began performing together in the early 1980s, entering the alternative comedy circuit at venues like The Comedy Store. They joined The Comic Strip, a collective that included Peter Richardson, Rik Mayall, Ade (Adrian) Edmondson, Nigel Planer, and Alexei Sayle. Channel 4's The Comic Strip Presents... showcased their early screen work and established Saunders as a distinct comic voice with a taste for character-led satire and fearless parody. This community would remain central to her life and work; she later married Ade Edmondson, and the group's collaborative energy helped define British television comedy of the decade.

French and Saunders
In 1987, Saunders and Dawn French launched French and Saunders on the BBC. The sketch series, which ran through multiple series and specials over nearly two decades, became famous for lavish parodies of films, pop culture, and celebrity personas. Their work balanced affectionate homage with sharp critique, and their partnership modeled a rare, equal-footed female double act in primetime. They were staples of Comic Relief, and their long-running influence was acknowledged when French and Saunders received the BAFTA Fellowship, the British Academy's highest honor, in 2009.

Absolutely Fabulous
Saunders achieved international fame with Absolutely Fabulous, which she created and headlined in 1992. Playing the fashion-and-fad-obsessed publicist Edina "Eddy" Monsoon, she teamed with Joanna Lumley's indelible Patsy Stone to lampoon celebrity culture, consumerism, and the pursuit of eternal youth. Julia Sawalha portrayed Eddy's grounded daughter Saffron, June Whitfield played Eddy's sweetly bemused mother, and Jane Horrocks brought manic sparkle as Bubble. Ruby Wax contributed as a script editor. The series ran across the 1990s with revivals and specials in the 2000s and 2010s, culminating in Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie in 2016. Its unapologetically female-centered comedy and stylish anarchy influenced generations of writers and performers and became a cultural touchstone well beyond the UK.

Writing, Producing, and Ensemble Television
Beyond sketch and Ab Fab, Saunders created and wrote Jam & Jerusalem (known in the US as Clatterford), a warm, character-driven sitcom about village life and community ties, featuring an ensemble that included Sue Johnston and Maggie Steed, with appearances from friends and colleagues such as Dawn French and Joanna Lumley. She also co-created The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle with psychologist Tanya Byron, a dark satire of daytime television that starred Saunders alongside Miranda Richardson. These projects demonstrated her interest in female communities, complicated friendships, and the tensions between public performance and private life.

Film and Voice Work
Saunders brought her comic timing to film, most memorably as the Fairy Godmother in Shrek 2, where her musical turn helped make the character iconic. She reunited with Dawn French to voice retired performers Miss Spink (Saunders) and Miss Forcible (French) in Coraline, adding a gently eerie warmth to the film's atmosphere. Her screen appearances often showcase a combination of elegance and mischief, playing with personas that oscillate between grandiose and self-deprecating.

Stage and Later Career
On stage, Saunders has taken on classic comedy roles, including the Duchess of Berwick in Lady Windermere's Fan and Madame Arcati in revivals of Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit. These performances underlined her command of farce and her precision with language, traits that have always informed her screen work. She also ventured into musical theatre writing with Viva Forever!, using the Spice Girls' catalog to explore friendship and fandom; while critically divisive, the project reflected her willingness to experiment across forms.

Personal Life
Saunders married Ade Edmondson in 1985, forging a partnership that spans both personal and professional spheres. They have three daughters, Ella, Beattie, and Freya, and have maintained a relatively private family life despite public careers. The comedy community around them, including close friends like Dawn French and collaborators such as Joanna Lumley, has been an enduring support network. In 2009, Saunders was diagnosed with breast cancer. She spoke candidly about treatment and recovery, announcing remission in 2010 and later discussing the experience in public appearances and interviews. Her memoir, Bonkers: My Life in Laughs, published in 2013, reflected on family, friendship, illness, and the craft of making people laugh.

Awards, Recognition, and Influence
Saunders's work has garnered multiple awards and nominations over decades, with Absolutely Fabulous and French and Saunders earning particular acclaim. The BAFTA Fellowship awarded jointly to her and Dawn French recognized not only their longevity but also their transformative effect on British comedy. Saunders's influence is evident in the confidence of later female-led comedies and in writers who cite her blend of sharp satire, glamour, and unruly joy as liberating. She showed that women could drive mainstream comedy with audacity, complexity, and commercial success, without compromising voice or vision.

Legacy
Jennifer Saunders's career is defined by fearless invention and enduring collaborations. From the anarchic energy of The Comic Strip to the glossy subversion of Absolutely Fabulous and the communal warmth of Jam & Jerusalem, she has continually expanded the possibilities for character-based satire and female ensemble storytelling. Her partnerships, with Dawn French at the heart, and with Ade Edmondson, Joanna Lumley, Julia Sawalha, Jane Horrocks, June Whitfield, Ruby Wax, Peter Richardson, Rik Mayall, Nigel Planer, and Miranda Richardson among others, anchor a body of work that is both deeply personal and widely beloved. Through resilience in the face of illness, a sustained commitment to new projects, and a talent for building memorable, flawed, and flamboyant characters, Saunders has secured a place as one of the most influential comedians and writers in modern British entertainment.

Our collection contains 17 quotes who is written by Jennifer, under the main topics: Witty One-Liners - Justice - Friendship - Funny - Writing.