# Dawn French
**Dawn French** (Dawn Roma French, born 1957 in Holyhead, Wales) is a British comedian, actress, and writer, best known as one half of the comedy double act French and Saunders with [Jennifer Saunders](https://www.edgepedia.org/jennifer-saunders) and for playing the Reverend Geraldine Granger in the BBC sitcom *The Vicar of Dibley*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0294067/bio/) • [2](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/stars-on-stage/dawn-french) Over a career of more than 40 years she has worked across television, film, stage, radio, and publishing, and in 2009 she and Saunders received the BAFTA Academy Fellowship together.[3](https://www.unitedagents.co.uk/client/dawn-french/cv/acting/?token=4920b38eb1d9) • [4](https://static.bafta.org/files/fellowship-announcement-2009-273.pdf)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1957, Holyhead, Wales; birth name Dawn Roma French[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0294067/bio/) |
| Comedy partnership | Met Jennifer Saunders at the Central School of Speech and Drama; their BBC sketch show *French and Saunders* aired from 1987 to 2005[5](https://www.rte.ie/entertainment/2026/0524/1574982-saunders-saw-my-grief-for-what-it-was-dawn-french/) |
| Signature role | The Reverend Geraldine Granger in *The Vicar of Dibley* (from 1994), a role Richard Curtis wrote for her[2](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/stars-on-stage/dawn-french) |
| Marriages | Lenny Henry (married 20 October 1984, divorced 25 October 2010, one child, Billie); Mark Bignell (married 20 April 2013)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0294067/bio/) |
| Joint honor | BAFTA Academy Fellowship with Jennifer Saunders, 2009[4](https://static.bafta.org/files/fellowship-announcement-2009-273.pdf) |
| Solo stage work | First solo show, *30 Million Minutes*, toured from 2014, directed by Michael Grandage; later tour *Dawn French Is a Huge Twat* (2022)[6](https://www.timeout.com/london/comedy/dawn-french-interview) • [3](https://www.unitedagents.co.uk/client/dawn-french/cv/acting/?token=4920b38eb1d9) |
| Recent television | Stars as Debbie Fendon in the six-part BBC One sitcom *Can You Keep a Secret?*, premiered 7 January 2026[7](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/streaming/watch-can-you-keep-a-secret-free) |
## Early life and education
French was born in Holyhead, Wales, in 1957.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0294067/bio/) She was educated as a weekly boarder at St Dunstan's Abbey in Plymouth, spending weekends with her grandparents, who ran a newsagent's in the town.[8](https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2014/jun/08/dawn-french-30-million-minutes-observer-profile) Her father, Denys, an RAF sergeant, had suffered from severe depression since his teenage years; in September 1977, when French was 19, he died by suicide.[8](https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2014/jun/08/dawn-french-30-million-minutes-observer-profile) Weeks later she began her degree at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London, where she met Jennifer Saunders; the two became flatmates and began writing together.[8](https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2014/jun/08/dawn-french-30-million-minutes-observer-profile) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0294067/bio/)
## French and Saunders
French and Saunders began performing together on the alternative comedy circuit. They appeared at the Comic Strip club in London from 1980, took part in the [Channel 4](https://www.edgepedia.org/channel-4) *Comic Strip Presents* films, and then launched their own long-running BBC sketch series, *French and Saunders*, one of the most popular sketch shows of the late 1980s and 1990s, satirizing subjects from Madonna to the 1962 film *What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?*[9](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/Encyclopedias/Archive-Encyclopedia-of-Television/Encyclopedia-of-Television-Vol-2.pdf) • [8](https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2014/jun/08/dawn-french-30-million-minutes-observer-profile) French also played a role in the earlier sketch that inspired the sitcom *Absolutely Fabulous*, which Jennifer Saunders created and wrote.[10](https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/french-dawn-1957) • [19](https://rts.org.uk/article/comfort-classic-absolutely-fabulous)
The pair also toured live. Their 2000 *French and Saunders Live* run at the [Hammersmith Apollo](https://www.edgepedia.org/hammersmith-apollo) was directed by Simon McBurney of Theatre de [Complicité](https://www.edgepedia.org/complicite), and a reviewer for *The Independent* noted that both had fared as well with solo careers, in *The Vicar of Dibley* and *Absolutely Fabulous* respectively, as with the double act.[11](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/features/still-french-still-saunders-and-still-funny-626165.html) In 2009 the two received the BAFTA Academy Fellowship, the Academy's own award, whose earlier recipients include [Bruce Forsyth](https://www.edgepedia.org/bruce-forsyth), Richard Curtis, David Jason, and Judi Dench.[4](https://static.bafta.org/files/fellowship-announcement-2009-273.pdf)
## The Vicar of Dibley and solo television
*The Vicar of Dibley*, first broadcast in 1994, gave French one of the most recognizable characters of her career: the Reverend Geraldine Granger, a role [Richard Curtis](https://www.edgepedia.org/richard-curtis) wrote for her.[2](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/stars-on-stage/dawn-french) • [10](https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/french-dawn-1957) The premise grew from Curtis's interest in the [Church of England](https://www.edgepedia.org/church-of-england)'s vote on women priests, and in the first series the village, led by the pompous David Horton, resists Geraldine's appointment.[12](https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/92239/1/2022WalkerEAPhD.pdf) French's Geraldine, described in one academic study as the glue holding together the quirky parishioners of Dibley, made the series a continuing story rather than a string of sketches.[12](https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/92239/1/2022WalkerEAPhD.pdf)
Independent of Saunders, French starred in the black-comedy anthology *Murder Most Horrid* (1991), the BBC dramas *Tender Loving Care* (1993) and *Sex and Chocolate* (1997), and the sitcom *Wild West* ([BBC One](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-one), 2002–04), in which she and [Catherine Tate](https://www.edgepedia.org/catherine-tate) played life partners running a store in a small Cornish town.[10](https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/french-dawn-1957) • [13](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/dawn-french/) Her later television credits include *Jam and Jerusalem*, *Roger and Val Have Just Got In*, *[Delicious](https://www.edgepedia.org/delicious-tv-series)*, and *The Trouble with Maggie Cole*.[3](https://www.unitedagents.co.uk/client/dawn-french/cv/acting/?token=4920b38eb1d9) In 2026 she returned to primetime comedy as Debbie Fendon in *Can You Keep a Secret?*, a six-part BBC One sitcom written by Simon Mayhew-Archer about a family that declines to correct a deadly clerical error and tries to claim life insurance instead.[7](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/streaming/watch-can-you-keep-a-secret-free)
## Film, stage, and voice work
French's film roles include the Fat Lady in *Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban* (2004), Mrs Beaver in *The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe* (2005), Mrs Spink in [Henry Selick](https://www.edgepedia.org/henry-selick)'s *Coraline*, and Mrs Bowers in [Kenneth Branagh](https://www.edgepedia.org/kenneth-branagh)'s *Death on the Nile*.[13](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/dawn-french/) • [3](https://www.unitedagents.co.uk/client/dawn-french/cv/acting/?token=4920b38eb1d9) On stage she has appeared in the West End and beyond, in [Ben Elton](https://www.edgepedia.org/ben-elton)'s *Silly Cow* (1991), Sharman MacDonald's *When I Was a Girl I Used to Scream and Shout* (1998), as Bottom in *A Midsummer Night's Dream*, and as the Duchesse de Crackenthorp in Laurent Pelly's production of *La Fille du Régiment* at the Royal Opera House; she made her pantomime debut as Queen Dragonella in *Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs* at the London Palladium.[10](https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/french-dawn-1957) • [3](https://www.unitedagents.co.uk/client/dawn-french/cv/acting/?token=4920b38eb1d9) • [14](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/602fd14cd2f2d944f171971c/t/6218fe22547f9a26944c360b/1645805090610/jack_and_the_beanstalk_at_the_london_palladium_announcement_press_release_25_february_2022.pdf)
## Solo shows and writing
After decades of working in troupes and double acts, French began performing alone. Her first solo show, *30 Million Minutes*, toured from 2014 and reached the West End; it is a performed autobiography focusing on her personal rather than professional life, directed by Michael Grandage, covering her childhood, her father's death, and her relationship with her body.[6](https://www.timeout.com/london/comedy/dawn-french-interview) • [15](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2015/nov/13/dawn-french-review-30-million-minutes-vaudeville-london) A Guardian review described it as poignant, noting that her career is barely mentioned in it.[15](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2015/nov/13/dawn-french-review-30-million-minutes-vaudeville-london) A second tour, *Dawn French Is a Huge Twat*, followed in 2022.[3](https://www.unitedagents.co.uk/client/dawn-french/cv/acting/?token=4920b38eb1d9)
She has also written fiction. Her novel *According to Yes* was published by Michael Joseph at £20 in 2015,[16](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/according-to-yes-by-dawn-french-book-review-affirmative-action-from-french-a6695311.html) and her own site describes her as an award-winning author and narrator with a further novel about motherhood.[17](https://dawnfrench.com/)
## Personal life
French married the comedian [Lenny Henry](https://www.edgepedia.org/lenny-henry) on 20 October 1984; they had one child, Billie, and divorced on 25 October 2010. She married Mark Bignell on 20 April 2013.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0294067/bio/) Her daughter Billie is adopted; in *30 Million Minutes* French criticized an unofficial biographer, Alison Bowyer, for uninvited contact with Billie's birth parents.[18](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/comedy/reviews/dawn-french-30-million-minutes-theatre-royal-brighton-comedy-review-a-rage-against-the-machine-9565844.html) She has said of her father's death that there is "always a sense of absence," but that "it's not something you can't survive."[8](https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2014/jun/08/dawn-french-30-million-minutes-observer-profile)
## References
1. [Dawn French – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0294067/bio/)
2. [Dawn French – Stars on Stage, London Theatre](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/stars-on-stage/dawn-french)
3. [Dawn French – Acting CV, United Agents](https://www.unitedagents.co.uk/client/dawn-french/cv/acting/?token=4920b38eb1d9)
4. [Fellowship Announcement 2009, BAFTA](https://static.bafta.org/files/fellowship-announcement-2009-273.pdf)
5. [Saunders saw my grief for what it was – Dawn French, RTÉ](https://www.rte.ie/entertainment/2026/0524/1574982-saunders-saw-my-grief-for-what-it-was-dawn-french/)
6. [Dawn French on her solo show, Time Out London](https://www.timeout.com/london/comedy/dawn-french-interview)
7. [How to watch 'Can You Keep a Secret?', Tom's Guide](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/streaming/watch-can-you-keep-a-secret-free)
8. [Dawn French: first lady of laughter gets back on the road, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2014/jun/08/dawn-french-30-million-minutes-observer-profile)
9. [French, Dawn, Encyclopedia of Television](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/Encyclopedias/Archive-Encyclopedia-of-Television/Encyclopedia-of-Television-Vol-2.pdf)
10. [French, Dawn (1957–), Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/french-dawn-1957)
11. [Still French, still Saunders and still funny, The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/features/still-french-still-saunders-and-still-funny-626165.html)
12. [Walker, PhD thesis on The Vicar of Dibley, University of East Anglia](https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/92239/1/2022WalkerEAPhD.pdf)
13. [Dawn French – Actress, Comedian, Writer, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/dawn-french/)
14. [2022 Pantomime at the London Palladium press release](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/602fd14cd2f2d944f171971c/t/6218fe22547f9a26944c360b/1645805090610/jack_and_the_beanstalk_at_the_london_palladium_announcement_press_release_25_february_2022.pdf)
15. [Dawn French review – comic opens her heart in poignant solo show, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2015/nov/13/dawn-french-review-30-million-minutes-vaudeville-london)
16. [According to Yes, by Dawn French – book review, The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/according-to-yes-by-dawn-french-book-review-affirmative-action-from-french-a6695311.html)
17. [Dawn French – Award winning author and narrator](https://dawnfrench.com/)
18. [Dawn French: 30 Million Minutes, comedy review, The Independent](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/comedy/reviews/dawn-french-30-million-minutes-theatre-royal-brighton-comedy-review-a-rage-against-the-machine-9565844.html)
19. [Comfort Classic: Absolutely Fabulous](https://rts.org.uk/article/comfort-classic-absolutely-fabulous)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › English actors: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames E to G*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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