Eddie Izzard knew she was trans before the age of six: ‘It’s just built in’
Eddie Izzard attends the “Icons” exhibition press view in conjunction with Art Hound Gallery at Riverside Studios on 24 September, 2020. (Getty/ Nicky J Sims)
Eddie Izzard has spoken of her understanding of gender identity as a young child, revealing that she knew she was trans before the age of six.
The gender-fluid comedian, 58, has referred to herself as transgender since 2016 and publicly stated her preference for she/her pronouns in December 2020.
Speaking with Simon Thomas on the Life, Interrupted podcast, the star recalled an early memory of seeing a boy being bullied for wearing girls’ clothes, shortly after she and her family moved from Yemen to Bangor.
“I must have been four or five, and there was laughter, mocking,” Izzard said. “I remember thinking, ‘That sounds pretty good to me, I’d be quite happy to be a girl, what’s going on there?’
“Your biological body [can give] different signals as to how it is in the brain, but I do feel gender-fluid,” she continued. “I have got boy genetics and girl genetics, so I call it boy mode and girl mode. These may not be great phrases but I can’t think of better words.
“Man mode and woman mode doesn’t sound good so I’m going with those at the moment, but language can change over the years. I am gender-fluid, I do seem to be a mixture, but I’m now based in girl mode as a trans woman.
“And now that pronouns have come out, feels like a promotion. I’m very happy with that.”
The comedian countered suggestions that her mother’s death when she was six could have played a role in her transgender identity, confirming that she was aware of this during her family’s time in Northern Ireland between 1964 and 1967, when she was aged between two and five.
“Some people say [my mother’s death is] linked to being trans but it really isn’t because I knew beforehand and I don’t think it’s right. I think it’s just built in,” she said.
Eddie Izzard recently announced that she will be trading showbiz for politics as she revealed her ambitions to become the UK’s first transgender MP.
The longtime Labour campaigner branded premier Boris Johnson a “liar” and has vowed to fight alongside opposition leader Keir Starmer.
