Ruby Wax

Ruby Wax is a side-splittingly charismatic  awards host ,  after dinner speaker ,  comedian ,  motivational speaker  and mental health campaigner. Using her knowledge from her Masters Degree in mindfulness-based cognitive therapy at Oxford University, she combines her sharp wit and charisma to make for an inspirational mental health mentor, adviser and keynote speaker.

Ruby first came to Britain in 1977 and initially trained as an actress working with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

In 1979 she moved into television, writing for ‘Not the Nine O’clock News’.  Ruby teamed up with Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders and worked alongside them on a number of television series throughout the 80s and 90s including ‘French and Saunders’ and ‘Absolutely Fabulous’.

Ruby got her own chat show and gained access to a wide variety of personalities.  Her inimitable style became her trademark and she provided the television public with a truly different insight into the lives of the rich and famous.  She has appeared on numerous television shows including ‘The Ruby Wax Show’, ‘Ruby Takes a Trip’ and ‘Ruby’.

Her keynote speeches and workshops combine humour with scientific and theoretical learning and practical exercises. Participants leave with a set of tools that will enable them to become more fully present - to themselves, clients, colleagues and team members. This kind of communication ensures that the individuals that make up an organisation work from a place of trust and transparency.

Ruby demonstrates how leaders can get the best out of their teams by creating a climate of positivity, not fear. Fear or stress passes like a virus through organisations. Teams and people work at their best if they feel genuinely listened to and heard – not talked at.

Touring comedy gigs and shows, Ruby is also hugely successful in this field, she was nominated for the Jo Hutchinson International Best Solo Performance in the 2012 WhatsOnStage.com Awards for her performance.

Ruby launched Blackdogtribe.com which helps sufferers get help, information, and to break the stigma.

In 2012 Ruby gave lauded TED talk covering the important issues of mental health and the brain. Her accolades do not stop there, as well as being a well-recognised speaker, her intellect is highly acclaimed too. She is an Alumna of Regent’s University London’s school of Psychotherapy and was awarded Senior Fellow and Honourary MA from there in 2013. In addition, Ruby is a Visiting Professor in the School of Mental Health Nursing at the University of Surrey, and has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the School of Psychology at The University of East London. Alongside these incredible achievements, Ruby can also boast of being awarded Veuve Clicquot woman of the year in 2011.

Ruby is a prominent speaker on mental health issues, as well as being an ambassador for Mind and SANE, she is on the board of the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families. Her 2014 international tour, Sane New World, explored these issues, addressing why we sabotage our own sanity and provides a manual on how to survive the 21st century. Ruby has published a best-selling book of the same name, which guides us to rewire our thinking and find calm in a frenetic world.

Ruby’s bestselling book ‘A Mindfulness Guide for the Frazzled’ was published in 2016 and her show of the same toured the UK to great acclaim.  She was awarded an OBE for services to mental health the previous year. Her latest book How to Be Human was published in January 2018. It went immediately to the bestseller list. She wrote it with the help of a monk and a neuroscientist. Ruby has been touring the show of How To Be Human throughout recently throughout the UK and Ireland.

Ruby has also created her own charity, Frazzled Cafes. Frazzled Cafe meetings are a supportive online community where you can come and talk in a safe, non-judgemental space about what’s really going on for you. Sessions are led by a trained facilitator, and work in a smilier way to AA, but specifically for those who feel frazzled.

Able to deliver a keynote, a personal or executive coaching conference, an after-dinner speech or a development class in emotional awareness, Ruby is incredibly talented and versatile speaker.