After Dinner Speakers: Edna Everage, Sally Gunnell, Ted Wragg

The notorious and much-loved creation of Australian Barry Humphries, Dame Edna is probably the most famous drag queen of them all. Born Edna May Beazley, in the small outback town of Wagga-Wagga, Dame Edna Everage started her career on December 19th in 1955, an ordinary Australian housewife from Moonie Ponds, a Melbourne suburb, sharing stories about her everyday life with small audiences. Since then, she has become a Superstar and finally a global jet-setting Megastar, hosting huge television and theatre shows with a gallimaufry of very famous international guests, invariably ending with the ritualistic grand finale of flying, waving and trembling gladioli. Dame Edna continues to bring her "priceless gifts of caring and sharing" to a global audience, in what has been called "a riot of green spangles and diamante-trimmed flyaway spectacles". For moral support she usually brings along her old friend and bridesmaid, Madge Allsop. The poet John Betjeman described the Melbourne born (February 17, 1934) comedian Barry Humphries as "...an artist with words, imagination and mimicry who belongs to the great tradition of music hall and theatre". Dame Edna started out with a seminal appearance in his show in 1955, and was also present at his London debut in 1972. Since then, according to Edna, Barry Humphries has acted as her manager. Barry currently lives in Hampstead, London, with his fourth wife Lizzie Spender.