Comedian and mental health advocate Ruby Wax has shared harrowing details of her difficult childhood, revealing she felt 'locked in the house' during her formative years. The 71-year-old star, currently appearing on the 2025 series of I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!, explained how these early experiences profoundly impacted her mental health throughout adulthood.
A Childhood of Confinement and Abuse
Ruby Wax was raised as an only child in Chicago, Illinois, by Austrian immigrant parents. She described her childhood home as a 'cruel house' and expressed amazement that she managed to survive it. Her parents were physically abusive, and Ruby often felt like a disappointment to them.
She revealed that her mother, Berta Wachs, was a beautiful 'It girl' who spoke eight languages, creating a stark contrast with Ruby herself. The comedian joked about her appearance, mentioning teeth 'that were in another time zone,' and explained that undiagnosed dyslexia led to her being placed in 'the slow class' at school.
'I knew the only way out of there was to get a sense of humour,' Ruby told Jamie Laing on his podcast. 'That was my safety gauge.'
Parents as 'Torturers'
Ruby didn't mince words when describing her parents, referring to them as her 'torturers.' She explained that while her mother was emotionally volatile and 'hysterical,' her father was intentionally cruel.
'They were torturous, both of them - in my mother innocently and my dad on purpose,' she said. 'You know, he'd play mind games. He'd keep telling me how rich I was.'
Her father would take her to the bank and rattle papers, insisting she was wealthy, a deception that kept her at home until her late thirties. Ruby developed a coping mechanism, charging her father imaginary fees for every beating or vicious act.
The verbal abuse was constant, with her father regularly calling her a 'sad sack' and 'idiot,' while questioning who would ever marry her. This criticism continued even when she achieved success later in life.
Life After Childhood Trauma
When asked if she loved her parents, Ruby responded bluntly: 'no, I didn't.' She admitted she didn't 'really know who they were' and wasn't 'really upset' when they died. In a 2023 appearance on Kate Garraway's Life Stories, she added: 'They were pretty violent with each other (and me), you'd have the sh** knocked out of you.'
After high school, Ruby moved to the UK where she trained as a classical actress before finding fame as a celebrity interviewer for the BBC in 1991. In the early 2000s, she left showbusiness to study mindfulness at Oxford University, subsequently writing several self-help books including Sane New World and Mindfulness Guide for Survival.
Her work in mental health earned her an OBE in 2015 for services to the field. Ruby has been open about dealing with depression, which she first experienced as a child.
Currently on I'm A Celebrity, Ruby has already made her mark, recently completing The Divey Bushtucker trial alongside AngryGinge. The pair earned 10 out of 10 stars despite facing challenges including eating bugs, camel toe, and vomit fruit, though Ruby expressed disappointment with their kangaroo neck prize meal.
If you are struggling with mental health, you can speak to a trained advisor from Mind mental health charity on 0300 123 3393 or email info@mind.org.uk
