Lenny Henry

Lenny Henry Biography

An English stand-up comedian, actor, singer, writer, and television presenter, Lenworth George Henry is better known as Lenny Henry. He is best known for co-founding the charity Comic Relief, and appearing in TV programs including children's entertainment show "Tiswas", sitcom "Chef!" and "The Magicians" for BBC One. He had his first acting role in a stage production of "The Black and White Minstrel Show" as he has also done voice acting for "Big and Small". Recently, the actor says streaming services such as Netflix are better than terrestrial channels at representing Britain's ethnic diversity. Henry has warned that the BBC and other terrestrial broadcasters risk losing black and Asian viewers to on-demand streaming services because they feel such services do a better job at representing their lives. Scroll more to know more about his Full Biography, Personal Life, Facts, Untold Story, & more.

Famous For

• Being an English stand-up comedian, actor, singer, writer, and television presenter.
• For co-founding the charity Comic Relief, and appearing in TV programs including children's entertainment show "Tiswas", sitcom "Chef!" and "The Magicians" for BBC One.

Source: @irishnews

Lenny Henry Early Life

On 29th August 1958, Lenny Henry opened his eyes for the first time with the real name or full name of Lenworth George Henry in Dudley, Worcestershire, England. He holds British nationality and British-black ethnic background. He is from Christianity religion and his race is black. He happily celebrates his birthday on 29th August of every year and he has celebrated his 62nd birthday as of 2020 though as his birthdate, his star sign is Virgo. He was born to Winston Jervis Henry (father) (1910-1978) and Winifred Louise Henry (mother) (1922-1998), who emigrated to Britain from Jamaica before he was born. The fifth of seven children, Henry was the first to be born in the United Kingdom. When he was 10 years old, he began spending time with the man who was later revealed to be his biological father, Albert Augustus "Bertie" Green (1927-2004), another Jamaican immigrant with whom Henry's mother had a brief relationship when she first arrived in England. Additionally, he attended St John's Primary School and later The Blue Coat School in Dudley before completing his schooling at W.R. Tuson College in Preston, Lancashire. He graduated with a BA Hons in English Literature, from the Open University, in 2007. He studied for an MA at Royal Holloway, the University of London in screenwriting for television and film, where he received a distinction and in 2010 he began studying at the same institution for a Ph.D. on the role of black people in the media.

Lenny Henry Career

• Lenny Henry jumps off his career by impersonating the mainly white characters, such as the "Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em" character Frank Spence although he made his television appearance on the "New Faces" talent show in 1975, aged 16.
• His first manager was Robert Luff, who signed him in 1975 and gave him the opportunity, from the ages 16 to 21, to perform as a comedian as part of the Luff-produced touring stage version of "The Black and White Minstrel Show" though he starred in LWT's sitcom "The Fosters" in 1976 as well as in "Celebrity Squares", "Seaside Special" and "The Ronnie Corbett Show".
• He then made a guest appearance in the final episode of "The Young Ones" as The Postman, in 1984 whereas the first series of "The Lenny Henry Show" appeared on the BBC in the following year.
• Henry co-founded the British Comic Relief charity organization in 1985, and 1988 when the first-ever Red Nose Day was celebrated as he also appeared in a TV film, "Coast to Coast" in 1987.
• As well, he was seen in the Hollywood film True Identity" in the early 1990s and he also appeared in a BBC drama alongside Robbie Coltrane called "Alive and Kicking" in 1991.
• Henry is known as the choleric chef Gareth Blackstock from the 1990s television comedy series "Chef!", or from his 1999 straight-acting lead role in the BBC drama "Hope And Glory" though he was co-creator with Neil Gaiman and producer of the 1996 BBC drama serial "Neverwhere". 
• After that, he starred on Kate Bush's album "The Red Shoes" (1993) as a backing singer as he returned to the BBC to do "Lenny Henry in Pieces".
• Also, he was listed in "The Observer" as one of the fifty funniest acts in British comedy in 2003 as well as he was listed in "The Sunday Times" as the fifteenth funniest black performer of all time in 2004.'
• He voiced Dre Head, the "shrunken head" on the Knight Bus in the 2004 Alfonso Cuaron movie "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban", and read the audiobook version of Neil Gaiman's Gaiman's "Anansi Boys" also, he voiced Sporty on the children's show "Little Robots".
• Similarly, he has starred in numerous films, series like "Live at The Apollo", "The Magicians", Famous, "Rich and in the Slums", "Rudy's Rare Records", and many others.
• Furthermore, he wrote, "Danny and the Human Zoo", a ninety-minute television film shown on BBC One in 2015 whereas it was announced in November 2019 that Henry would guest star in "Spyfall", the two-part opening episode of Doctor Who's twelfth revived series, which began broadcast on New Year's Day 2020. 
• He was also announced as a cast member of Amazon Prime's Lord of the Rings spin-off series in December 2020.
• Moreover, he made his debut at the Royal National Theatre in London in Shakespeare's "The Comedy of Errors", directed by Dominic Cooke, in which he played the character of Antipholus of Syracuse in November 2011a.
• As a piece of fresh news, the actor says streaming services such as Netflix are better than terrestrial channels at representing Britain's ethnic diversity. Henry has warned that the BBC and other terrestrial broadcasters risk losing black and Asian viewers to on-demand streaming services because they feel such services do a better job at representing their lives.

Music career

• Henry was asked by Sky Arts to produce a show for them, "Lenny Henry's Got The Blues" in 2015 as he worked with a group of musicians including Jakko Jakszyk, lead singer of King Crimson, to produce the album "New Millennium Blues". 
• Later, he released a "hard-hitting animated blues video" directed by Iranian filmmaker, Sam Chegini titled "The Cops Don't Know" which was premiered by "Classic Rock" magazine on 20th April 2016.

Awards, Honors, and Achievements of Lenny Henry

• Lenny was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1999 New Year Honours. He was knighted in the Queen's 2015 Birthday Honours for services to drama and charity.
• He also became the chancellor of Birmingham City University citing his passion to give life-changing opportunities to young people from a wide range of backgrounds in July 2016. Henry has also been listed in the "Powerlist" of the 100 most influential Black Britons, including ranking fourth in 2016.
• As well, he was made a fellow of the Royal Television Society in 2016 as he was awarded the BAFTA Television: Special Award in 2016.
• He was awarded an honorary doctorate from Nottingham Trent University in recognition of his significant contribution to British comedy and drama, along with his achievements in international charity work on 20th July 2016.

Lenny Henry Personal Life

Reflecting on Lenny Henry's personal life, he is a married guy. He was married in 1984 in Covent Garden, London with Dawn French whom he met on the alternative comedy circuit. The couple has one child, a daughter named Billie. After 25 years of marriage, French and Henry announced they were 'amicably' separating on 6th April 2010 as the divorce was finalized in 2010. Since 2012, Henry has been in a relationship with a theatre producer and casting director Lisa Makin. The couple is having a blissful and happy life. Furthermore, talking about his sexual orientation, he is straight.

Source: @standard.co.uk

Lenny Henry Net Worth

Moving towards Lenny Henry's net worth, he has a worth of around $9 million as of 2020. With his hard work and luck by his side, he can double the amount of wealth he has today. He has also a handsome amount of salary too which is also in millions of dollars per year. Moreover, he earns around $39.40 per hour as his main source of income is from his stand-up comedian and acting career. He has not done any endorsement work yet.

Lenny Henry Body Measurement

Lenny Henry is a handsome and versatile stand-up comedian, actor, as well as writer who stands at a perfect height of 1.9 m with balanced body weight. He is considered one of the hottest celebrities of the time. Enriched with the toned bicep and perfect built, the actor doesn't hesitate to go shirtless. Lenny has black hair and dark brown eyes color however he has shot hair. Regarding his body build type, it is average.He has also loss his weight.