Ricky Gervais

Ricky Dene Gervais is an English comedian, actor, writer, producer, and director. Born on 25 June 1961, he is best known for co-creating, co-writing, and starring in the British television sitcoms The Office (2001–2003), Extras (2005–2007), and Life's Too Short (2011–2013) alongside Stephen Merchant. He also created, wrote, and starred in Derek (2012–2014) and After Life (2019–2022), and served as an executive producer and cameo actor for the American adaptation of The Office.

Gervais was born at Battle Hospital in Reading, Berkshire. His father, Lawrence Raymond "Jerry" Gervais, was a Franco-Ontarian foreign duty laborer who settled in Reading with Gervais's mother, Eva Sophia House. Raised as the youngest of four children alongside Larry, Marsha, and Bob, Gervais attended Whitley Park Infants and Junior Schools and Ashmead Comprehensive School. After taking a gap year working as a gardener at the University of Reading, he attended University College London (UCL) in 1980, graduating with a lower-second class honours degree in philosophy in 1983. During his time at UCL, he met Jane Fallon, his partner since 1982.

In 1983, Gervais formed the new wave pop duo Seona Dancing with Bill Macrae, releasing two singles with London Records that achieved success in the Philippines but failed to chart in the UK. He later managed the band Suede and worked as an assistant events manager before becoming head of speech at the radio station Xfm. At Xfm, he hired Stephen Merchant as an assistant. After his role was made redundant in 1998, Gervais contributed to BBC Radio 1 and returned to Xfm with Merchant in 2001, where they began collaborating with producer Karl Pilkington.

Gervais turned to television in the late 1990s, writing for sketch shows and appearing on Channel 4's The 11 O'Clock Show and his chat show Meet Ricky Gervais. His major breakthrough came with the 2001 BBC mock documentary series The Office, portraying David Brent. The show gained global success and spawned international remakes. Gervais followed this with the sitcom Extras, starring as background artist Andy Millman, and later co-created Life's Too Short. He also wrote, directed, and starred in Derek, After Life, and the 2016 film David Brent: Life on the Road.

In addition to his television sitcoms, Gervais launched his stand-up comedy career in the late 1990s, going on to perform five multi-national stand-up tours. He co-created the podcast The Ricky Gervais Show with Merchant and Pilkington, which was adapted into an animated series and spawned spin-offs like An Idiot Abroad. His film work includes writing, directing, and starring in The Invention of Lying and Special Correspondents, as well as acting in Ghost Town, Muppets Most Wanted, and the Night at the Museum trilogy. He has hosted the Golden Globe Awards five times and authored the Flanimals book series.

Gervais has earned numerous accolades throughout his career, including seven British Academy Television Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, five National Comedy Awards, a Satellite Award, and two Rose d'Or awards. He was included on the Time 100 list of the World's Most Influential People in 2010. His later projects include hosting the radio show Ricky Gervais Is Deadly Sirius from 2017 to 2019, launching the audio series Absolutely Mental with Sam Harris, and serving as an executive producer on the 2025 spin-off series The Paper.