Dame Edna Everage, often known simply as Dame Edna, is a character created and performed by Australian comedian Barry Humphries, known for her lilac-coloured ("wisteria hue") hair and cat eye glasses ("face furniture"); her favourite flower, the gladiolus ("gladdies"); and her boisterous greeting "Hello, Possums!" As Dame Edna, Humphries wrote several books, including an autobiography, My Gorgeous Life; appeared in several films; and hosted several television shows (on which Humphries also appeared as himself and other alter-egos).
Humphries regularly updated Edna. Starting as a drab Melbourne housewife satirising Australian suburbia, the character adopted an increasingly outlandish wardrobe after performances in London in the 1960s, through which she grew in stature and popularity.
Edna was known for her outlandish spectacles. Humphries claimed the eyeglasses, and other aspects of Edna's personality, were inspired by Stephanie Deste, a Melbourne eccentric, beautician, radio broadcaster, actor and dancer.
Following film appearances and an elevation to damehood in the 1970s, the character evolved to "Housewife and Superstar", then "Megastar" and finally "Gigastar". Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Dame Edna became increasingly known in North America after multiple stage and television appearances.
Edna described her chat-shows as "an intimate conversation between two friends, one of whom is a lot more interesting than the other". The character was used to satirise the cult of celebrity, class snobbery, and prudishness and was often used by Humphries to poke fun at the political leaders and fashions of the times. Her exuberant persona and scathing commentary on society and celebrity, as well as her habit of treating celebrities like ordinary people (on her television shows) and ordinary people like celebrities (in her stage shows) have become signatures.
Although Humphries freely stated that Edna was a character he played, Edna referred to Humphries as her "entrepreneur" or manager. Humphries and his staff of assistants and writers only referred to Edna as "she" and "her", never mixing the character with Humphries.
In March 2012, Humphries announced that the character would be retired at the end of the current stage tour, but later in 2013 he decided to bring her back. Humphries died in April 2023, having played Edna for almost 68 years.
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