‘I was caught stealing make-up at 15’: Eddie Izzard, 61, reveals she turned to SHOPLIFTING as a teen amid the trauma of establishing her gender in the wake of her mother’s death
Eddie Izzard has revealed she turned to shoplifting when she battled with establishing her gender as a teen, following her mother’s death.
The comedian, 61, recently revealed she would be adding ‘Suzy’ into her name yet opted to remain as Eddie in recent interviews as the moniker is her ‘public name’.
Eddie explained that her mother’s death made it ‘impossible’ for her to express herself – to the point of making herself ill when she was cast as a woman in a theatre show while she was at boarding school in her teens.
She told The Guardian: ‘After Mum died, it was just me and my brother and my dad, so even to throw on a dress was impossible…
‘I’d been caught stealing makeup when I was 15… Suddenly I’m 16 and being cast as a gangster’s moll in this revue. I got psychosomatically ill’.
Open and honest: Eddie Izzard has revealed she turned to shoplifting when she battled with establishing her gender as a teen, following her mother’s death (pictured earlier this month)
Tough times: Eddie explained that her mother’s death made it ‘impossible’ for her to express herself – to the point of making herself ill when she was cast as a woman in a theatre show while she was at boarding school in her teens (pictured in 2000)
Despite having the opportunity to explore her gender during the school performance, she could not tackle the work through fear.
She explained: ‘They had to get someone else to do it. From the room I was in, I could hear his performance. By the time it was over, I was well again. I probably thought, ‘This is what I really want – but won’t I just sound like a boy?’”
Eddie went on: ‘When I came out I realised I didn’t look terribly … well, I kind of look like a trans person but I think the world is more relaxed about that now, and I am too. We’ve gone through a unicorn phase but we’ve just got to be people…
‘When we hit boring, that’s when we’ve made it. ‘You’re lesbian or gay or bi or trans, yes, but what do you do?’ ‘Oh, I’m a librarian.’ ‘Are you a good librarian or a bad librarian?’ ‘I’m a good librarian. I can find you all the books.’
On the up: The comedian, 61, recently revealed she would be adding ‘Suzy’ into her name yet opted to remain as Eddie in recent interviews as the moniker is her ‘public name’
Her true self: She told The Guardian: ‘After Mum died, it was just me and my brother and my dad, so even to throw on a dress was impossible’
‘Or an astronaut. ‘Are you a good astronaut or a bad astronaut?’ ‘Ah, a bad one, I’m afraid. I landed on the wrong planet …’
Last month, Eddie said that she understands there may be confusion surrounding her name and identify now but insisted that nobody could offend her.
She said: ‘So there’s now all this about people don’t know what to say – I prefer Suzy but I don’t mind Eddie. I prefer she/her, but I don’t mind he/him.
‘Nobody can make a mistake unless they call me Gregory or Sabrina and then that’s not quite right. Everything else nobody can make a mistake and they can choose.’
Eddie went on to add that it is a ‘hard time’ to be a trans person, saying: ‘This hard time with trans is just something we have to go through…
‘We are in the conversation now. And we will get through it. People get very angry on the internet and I just ignore it. I really try to be positive. I want to be an MP.’
Speaking out: Last month, Eddie said that she understands there may be confusion surrounding her name and identify now but insisted that nobody could offend her