Dawn French

Dawn French (born Dawn Roma French on 11 October 1957 in Holyhead) is an English actress, comedian, and writer. She is known for writing and starring in the BBC sketch comedy series French and Saunders (1987-2007) with her friend and comedy partner Jennifer Saunders, and for starring in the BBC comedy series Murder Most Horrid (1991-1999) and The Vicar of Dibley (1994-2007). She has been nominated for seven British Academy Television Awards and won a BAFTA Fellowship with Saunders in 2009.

French was born in Holyhead because her father, who was in the Royal Air Force, was stationed at nearby RAF Valley. She was public school educated, partly funded by the RAF, attending Caistor Grammar School and later boarding school at St Dunstan's Abbey in Plymouth, and spent a year studying abroad at the Spence School in New York City on a debating scholarship. In 1977, she began studying drama at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, where she met Jennifer Saunders. The two came from RAF backgrounds, and after graduating they formed a double act called the Menopause Sisters.

French debuted on television on Channel 4's The Comic Strip Presents series in the 1982 episode "Five Go Mad in Dorset," acting in 27 of the 37 episodes and writing two. In 1985 she starred alongside Saunders, Tracey Ullman, Ruby Wax and Joan Greenwood in Girls on Top. She and Saunders co-wrote and starred in French and Saunders, which debuted in 1987 and spoofed many celebrities and films, including The Lord of the Rings, Star Wars and Harry Potter.