Born in Kuala Lumpur in 1960, Jenny Eclair is a comedian, actor and author. The daughter of a major in the British army, she spent her childhood in Singapore, Malaysia and Germany, until the family settled in Lancashire. After studying drama at Manchester Polytechnic, Eclair began standup in the 1980s, and in 1995 became the first female solo comic to win the Perrier award, now the Edinburgh comedy award. Her career since has been prolific: comedy tours, writing and hosting for TV, radio and podcasts, as well as publishing six novels. She lives in London with her husband Geof Powell; her daughter is the playwright Phoebe Eclair-Powell. Her book Jokes Jokes Jokes: My Very Funny Memoir is out now, and she is touring until June 2025.
It was the mid-90s and I was at my peak when this photo was taken. I looked exceptional, glorious, fabulous – the most beautiful girl in the world. I had discovered a brand of fake tan that worked well on my skin, and my body was toned from all the yoga. There was a lot of money sloshing around in comedy, so I could afford to do lots of different setups for my Edinburgh festival poster. I went into the studio with several ideas, one of which involved this bunny outfit from the 1970s. It was really quite decrepit. The rabbit I’m holding is Flopsy, my daughter’s pet. Flopsy was lovely, but disappeared one day. Her hutch door was open, but there wasn’t a smear of blood. It must have been a fox, but I got the blame.
