Stephen Fry, a multifaceted individual, is renowned for his work as a writer, actor, comedian, and philanthropist. He resides in his London SW1 flat and his Norfolk house, traveling frequently. Notably, he publicly declared his celibacy in the Tatler magazine in the 1980s, earning him the nickname "90 percent gay, 10 percent other" from his friend Emma Thompson.
Born in Hampstead, London, to Marianne Eve Newman and Alan Fry, a physicist and inventor, Stephen Fry's maternal grandparents were Hungarian Jewish immigrants, while his father's family had English roots. He grew up in Norfolk and attended Uppingham School and Stout's Hill. After a three-month stint in Pucklechurch prison for credit card fraud, Fry attended Queens College, Cambridge in 1979, graduating with a 2:1 in English in 1981/2. During his time at Cambridge, he was a member of the Cherubs drinking club and Footlights, where he collaborated with fellow comedians Emma Thompson, Tony Slattery, Martin Bergman, and Hugh Laurie.
Fry's prolific writing partnership with Laurie began in 1981, resulting in Footlights revues for various performances, including the May week and Edinburgh Festival. In 1984, he was engaged to rewrite the Noel Gay musical "Me and My Girl," which earned him a Tony award nomination in 1987 and made him a millionaire before the age of 30. Fry's television and radio work, as well as his writing for newspapers and magazines, dominated the 1980s. He is perhaps best known for his roles in Blackadder II (1986) and Jeeves and Wooster (1990).
Fry's dedication to charity work is evident through his support of the Terence Higgins Trust and numerous other philanthropic efforts. He has had successful runs in various stage productions, including Alan Bennett's "Forty Years On" and Simon Gray's "The Common Pursuit." Fry has also published four novels and a collection of his radio and journalistic miscellanea. He has recorded audio tapes of his novels and other works for both adults and children.
