English actress and comedian, Jennifer Saunders is a Lincolnshire-born entertainer who is known to have started her career in the early 1980s when she first stepped into the game with her partner, Dawn French. She is known to have attended the Central School of Speech and Drama in London in 1977, where she met French for the first time, later telling fans that she immediately disliked the latter.
One cannot talk about Saunder’s career without mentioning French, her best friend and comedic partner, since the two started together. Right after their graduation, the two took to performing their acts in festivals and stand-up places, finally making an official debut through The Comic Strip, an informal band for the comedians of that time.
The comic strip at the time had members including the likes of Adrian Edmondson, Rik Mayall, Peter Richardson, Nigel Planer, and many others but all men. In 1982, The Comic Strip Presents put out their first episode on Channel 4, and Saunders was a part of it, appearing in episodes, ‘Bad News’ and ‘More Bad News’ in the role of a rock journalist.
She continued to feature on television through Girls on Top, Happy Families, The Supergrass, and The Young Ones, after which, in 1987, she and French decided to create French and Saunders, a comedic sketch that used to air on BBC, though irregularly.
Saunders and French have created for themselves different career pathways, ones that have crossed with each other a few times over the years. Since then, Saunders has continued to put work in the form of sketches and shows for BBC, a connection that was strong up until the late 2000s.
Saunders can be spotted in Uptown Downstairs Abbey, a parody of the original beloved shows, Downtown Abbey and Upstairs Downstairs. In 2012, she featured in the BBC comedy set, Dead Boss, and is known to have written for the Spice Girls-inspired musical, Viva Forever.
Net Worth
The sixty-five-year-old is a multitalented entertainer who has a knack for acting, screenwriting, a bit of singing, and, most of all, comedy. Having worked and grown her skills over the years of being in the industry, the comedian has managed to make a mark and establish herself, with fans all over, even in the industry itself.
Such a successful comedy career has got Saunder’s net worth that easily touches the $20 million mark. Much of her early success came from her being a part of the successful duo, French and Saunders. She has not limited her work to just comedy but has featured in several films and television series too.
During the early 2000s, fans spotted her in the show, Jams & Jerusalem, playing the role of Caroline Martin, while she was a part of the show ‘Absolutely Fabulous’, which had been ongoing since 1992. The Comic Strip Presents was pretty much a permanent thing since 1982, of which Saunders’ was a part.
That’s Jinsy, Blandings, Classic Car Show, Grandpa’s Great Escape, Josh, and Dead Boss are some more of Saunders’ works. The comedian holds almost twenty writing credits, including Viva Forever, Uptown Downstairs Abbey, Girls on Top, and A Bucket o’ French & Saunders.
With three BAFTA awards under her name, along with several other awards and nominations, the comedian has done a lot over her career. She has been a part of movies like In The Bleak Midwinter, and Spice World, with her latest appearance being in the 2022 film, Death on the Nile, sharing the screen with her long-time partner Dawn French, Gal Gadot, and Kenneth Branagh.
She is known to have lent her voice to multiple iconic characters, having voiced the Fairy Godmother in Shrek 2, Miss Spink in Coraline, Queen Elizabeth II in the 2015 released, Minions, and Miss Nana Noodleman in the animated movie Sing, for which she voiced the character again in Sing 2.
With so much work and credit under her name, it only makes sense that the talented comedian has accumulated such wealth, continuing to push the limits even now.
