English comedian, actor, writer and broadcaster Stephen Fry was BOTD in 1957. Born in London to a middle-class family, he studied at Cambridge University, where he met and performed with Emma Thompson and Hugh Laurie. He and Laurie became central figures in the “alternative” 1980s comedy scene, rising to fame with their TV series A Bit of Fry and Laurie, recurring roles in historical parody series Blackadder, and were well-cast in a 1992 adaptation of P. G. Wodehouse’s “Jeeves and Wooster” novels. A creative polymath, Fry’s prolific output includes revising the 1937 musical Me and My Girl into a star vehicle for Thompson; writing an X-rated Christmas pantomime; appearing as Malvolio in a Tony-nominated production of Shakespeare‘s Twelfth Night; starring as gay playwright Oscar Wilde in the 1997 biopic Wilde; directing the film Bright Young Things, which he adapted from Evelyn Waugh‘s satirical novel Vile Bodies; hosting popular TV quiz show QI; playing a closeted Conservative politician in Russell T. Davies‘ AIDS-themed TV drama It’s A Sin; scripting and starring in an Emmy-winning documentary about his experiences living with manic depression; writing four novels and three volumes of memoir; recording audiobooks of J. K. Rowling‘s Harry Potter novels; and voicing the title track of Kate Bush’s winter-themed concept album 50 Words for Snow. Openly gay since forever, he married his partner Elliott Spencer in 2015, cheerfully shrugging off media critiques about their 30 year-age difference. He was knighted in 2025 for his services to mental health and environmental awareness. He will shortly star as Lady Bracknell in a West End revival of Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest.