Suzy Eddie Izzard's mental health 'strong' since coming out as a trans person
Suzy Eddie Izzard came out in the 1980s.
Suzy Eddie Izzard's mental health is stronger than ever since coming out as transgender.
The 64-year-old comedian - who has used she/her pronouns since 2020 - revealed her sexuality in 1985, and she has broke boundaries since.
Izzard is currently in Toronto, Canada, playing male and female characters in a solo performance of Hamlet.
Asked what it is like playing two genders in her act - in which she plays all 23 parts from William Shakespeare's tragedy play - the actor told Toronto Life: "As a trans person, I want to honour both the male and the female characters.
"I’ve had great reactions to my Ophelia, which I’m very pleased about. I’ve been out as a trans person for 41 years now, and my mental health is strong because of it.
"Amid all the dishonesty in the world right now, what I say to people is, 'If you see a negative, do a double positive.'
"One of my superpowers is that I look and sound quite ordinary, but I’m doing extraordinary things."
The star likes how she can pick between comedy and serious acting - similar to how people can choose to address her as either Suzy or Eddie.
Quizzed on whether she feels the need to add humour into the dramatic Hamlet, Izzard said: "No, this is a drama.
"The grave-digging scene in Hamlet is very funny, as is the character Hamlet’s own wit. But this is a tragedy about a family and a country tearing itself apart, so don’t get the wrong end of the stick.
"I have my comedy, and I can do it whenever I want to. I didn’t cauterise that.
"But it’s like how I’m named both Eddie and Suzy. I don’t have a dead name and I don’t have a dead career. Both can live."
The activist - who added Suzy to her moniker in 2023, after wanting the name since she was aged 10 - previously said her pronouns feel "very positive".
During an appearance on the Sky Arts show Portrait Artist of the Year, on which she sat as a model, in 2020, a contestant asked Izzard - who has previously spoken about being gender fluid - how she felt using the pronouns.
The star replied: "It feels great, because people just assume that ... well, they just know me from before. I'm gender fluid.
"I just want to be based in girl mode from now on. One life, live it well."
