Ricky Dene Gervais is an English comedian, actor, writer, producer and director, born on 25 June 1961 in Reading, Berkshire. Active professionally since 1982, he has worked across stand-up comedy, television, film, radio, music and literature. He studied philosophy at University College London, graduating in 1983. During his time at university, he met Jane Fallon, with whom he has been in a relationship since 1982.
Gervais began his career in music. In 1983, he formed the new wave duo Seona Dancing with his university friend Bill Macrae. The group released the singles “More to Lose” and “Bitter Heart” through London Records. Although the songs failed to make an impact on the UK Singles Chart, “More to Lose” became a hit in the Philippines. Gervais later worked as manager of the then-unknown band Suede before turning his attention fully to comedy during the mid-to-late 1990s.
He worked at London radio station Xfm, where he met Stephen Merchant, beginning a creative partnership that would lead to several major projects. Gervais gained wider television attention through The 11 O'Clock Show in 1998 and 1999 and presented his own talk show, Meet Ricky Gervais, in 2000. In 2001, Gervais and Merchant created The Office, with Gervais playing the central character David Brent. The series became internationally successful, and its American adaptation was produced by Gervais and Merchant.
Their collaboration continued with Extras, while Gervais later created, wrote and starred in the television series Derek and After Life. In 2026, he was also associated with the series Alley Cats. Alongside television, Gervais has appeared in films including For Your Consideration, Ghost Town and the Night at the Museum trilogy. He wrote, directed and starred in The Invention of Lying and also wrote and starred in the Netflix comedy Special Correspondents.
Gervais began performing stand-up in the late 1990s and has completed five multinational comedy tours. Together with Merchant and Karl Pilkington, he created The Ricky Gervais Show, which began as a radio and podcast project before being adapted into an animated television series. Gervais is also the author of the Flanimals book series. His career has brought numerous awards, including five Golden Globe Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards and seven British Academy Television Awards. He has hosted the Golden Globe Awards five times, in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2016 and 2020.
