Paul O'Grady

Paul James O'Grady was born on 14 June 1955 in Birkenhead, England. He attended St Anselm's Christian Brothers School. After his graduation, he worked as a clerk in a magistrate's court.

During that time he met a woman named Diane Jansen with whom he had a brief affair. Their daughter, Sharyn, was born in 1974. However, Paul felt that he was too young to be a father and decided to travel to Europe where he worked (among other occupations) as a waiter in a brothel in Manila.

He returned to England in the 1980s and, in 1985, debuted his drag character, Lily Savage, in the gay bars and clubs throughout London. The character became extremely popular and afforded Paul his own television show, Live from the Lilydrome (1995), which debuted in 1995. In 2000, he retired the character of Lily Savage and began appearing on television solely as Paul O'Grady.

In 2002, Paul suffered a heart attack in his London flat. He moved to a farm near Kent, England. Paul was devoted to his daughter. He died in 2023, aged 67, from undisclosed causes.