Dame Edna

Dame Edna is really Barry Humphries, who claims he created the character of an Eisenhower-era Australian suburban housewife for a skit in a college play. To Humphries' surprise (and annoyance, he says), people loved Edna right from the start.

Dame Edna: She's More Famous Than You
Dame Edna

AP Photo/Jeffrey Richards & Associates, Joan Marcus

Barry Humphries as Dame Edna, left, and caberet performer Michael Feinstein are shown in "All About Me." After a disappointing run on Broadway, the show ended on April 4.

Dame Edna: She's More Famous Than You

Actor Barry Humphries, left, dressed as his alter-ego Dame Edna, actor William H. Macy, center, and actress Felicity Huffman pose on the red carpet at the gala grand reopening of the renovated Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles on Saturday, Sept. 13, 2008.

Dame Edna: She's More Famous Than You

The self proclaimed giga-star of stage and screen for more than 50 years, Dame Edna Everage, once a shy Melbourne housewife, morphed into an international star, complete with a made-up life story so real that Dame Edna's autobiography became a best seller... on non-fiction lists.

Dame Edna: She's More Famous Than You

Dame Edna Everage is the gender-bending entertainer and the alter ego of Australian comedian Barry Humphries.

Dame Edna: She's More Famous Than You

Without the makeup and the glasses, Edna is Barry Humphries... painter, writer and collector of rare books.

Dame Edna: She's More Famous Than You
Dame Edna