John Cleese – who-aknew.com

John Cleese, born 27 October 1939 in Weston-super-Mare, is an English actor and comedian best known as a founding member of Monty Python, the troupe he formed with Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin and Graham Chapman. He trained at Clifton College and Downing College, University of Cambridge, before moving into television and film acting. Over his career he has collected a Rose d’Or, a BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, a European Film Academy Lifetime Achievement Award and a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series. He later held a position at Cornell University and built a parallel career producing business training films through his company Video Arts.

Key facts

Born: 27 October 1939
Birthplace: Weston-super-Mare
Country: United Kingdom
Occupation: actor; television actor; film actor; comedian
Employer: Cornell University
Education: Clifton College; Downing College; University of Cambridge
Awards: Rose d’Or; BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role; European Film Academy Lifetime Achievement Award; Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series

Career and business

Cleese’s work with Monty Python, alongside Gilliam, Idle, Jones, Palin and Chapman, produced the group’s most contested film, Monty Python’s Life of Brian, which Cleese co-wrote and starred in. The film prompted numerous British local authorities to ban or restrict it on grounds of blasphemy.

Outside performing, Cleese built Video Arts into a successful business training film company. He sold it to its management for £43 million in 1989, though he continued to appear in its titles afterward.

Personal life

Cleese has been married four times: to American actress Connie Booth from 1968 to 1978, model Barbara Trentham from 1981 to 1990, American psychotherapist Alyce Faye Eichelberger from 1992 to 2008, and jewellery designer Jennifer Wade since 2012.

Recent controversies

In 2020 Cleese drew criticism after posting tweets defending J.K. Rowling that critics labeled transphobic, including the line “I’m afraid I’m not that interested in trans folks.” He also cancelled a planned appearance at the Cambridge Union after learning that a fellow attendee had been barred for impersonating Adolf Hitler, calling his withdrawal a stand against cancel culture.

In July 2026 Cleese generated fresh controversy by saying some cultures were better than others while discussing Islam, Western society and London Mayor Sadiq Khan. On September 22, 2026, a formal complaint was filed asking Britain’s Prevent counter-extremism program to review him over what it described as a sustained pattern of social media posts about Islam, accusing him of posts that “demonizes, dehumanizes, and collectively attributes violence and criminality to Muslims and Islam.” Cleese responded to news of the referral by saying “How exciting” and later dismissed the controversy as “all good comedy material.” As of the November 2026 reporting, public records showed no evidence he had entered the Prevent program or faced a formal police investigation over the matter.

Did you know

Cleese stands 6 feet 5 inches (196 cm) tall, a height often noted alongside his lanky comic physicality. (coastpulse.org)
Video Arts’ first production, filmed in a West London terraced house in 1972, was titled “Who sold you this then?” (videoarts.com)
Cleese’s marriage to fourth wife Jennifer Wade spans a 31-year age gap between the couple. (yahoo.com)

Data sources

Data updated: 2026-11-10