Jack Whitehall Biography

He was born Jack Peter Benedict Whitehall, on July 7, 1988, in the city of Westminster, London, England, to Hilary Amanda Jane Whitehall and Michael John Whitehall. His mother was an actor who once went by the stage name “Hilary Gish.” His father was a TV producer and agent for famous actors such as Judi Dench and Richard Griffiths. He is the eldest among the siblings. He has a younger sister named Molly Louisa and a younger brother named Barnaby William.

He was enrolled at ‘Tower House School’ in East Sheen, London, and then attended ‘Dragon School’ in Oxford. He later joined ‘Marlborough College’ in Wiltshire and attended the ‘University of Manchester’ to study history of art. While in college, he was influenced by Jack Dee and wanted to become a stand-up comedian like him.

His first exposure to TV was at the age of 9, when he appeared in the series ‘Noah’s Ark.’ By the time he was twenty, he had presented an episode of ‘Big Brother’s Big Mouth’ and had made several appearances on the ‘Channel 4’ comedy show ‘8 Out of 10 Cats.’ In 2007, he was the winner of the ‘Comic Abuse’ sketch, which was a significant event in his career.

His interest in stand-up comedy drew him to participate at the ‘Edinburgh Festival Fringe’ and various other events. He was the runner-up in the ‘Laughing Horse New Act of the Year’ competition and one of the finalists in ‘So You Think You’re Funny?’ in 2007. He was also nominated for the ‘Best Newcomer’ at the ‘Chortle Awards’ in 2008.

Whitehall performed his first solo stand-up comedy show in August 2009, at the ‘Edinburgh Festival Fringe’ and was nominated for the ‘Best Newcomer.’ However, he was later accused of stealing the lines of Stewart Lee, who had performed similar jokes in the 1990s. Robbie Williams was accused of stealing Whitehall’s jokes the same year.

In 2010, he was a regular performer in ‘Channel 4’s ‘Stand Up for the Week,’ alongside performers such as Kevin Bridges and Rich Hall. He also appeared at the Montreal ‘Just for Laughs’ comedy festival that year. The American entertainment magazine ‘Variety’ chose him as one of the most promising 10 stars of the future. He was also popular on ‘Mock the Week’ and ‘A Comedy Roast.’

Whitehall established a ‘Guinness World Record’ in 2011, by hosting the highest stand-up comedy gig on board a ‘British Airways’ flight, in support of the charity show ‘Comic Relief.’ His performance at the ‘Edinburgh Festival Fringe’ and the stand-up show ‘Backchat’ with his father received positive reviews that year.

He appeared in the ‘BBC’ comedy–drama series ‘Bad Education’ in 2012, and was a guest chairman of the British TV panel for ‘Have I Got News for You.’ Having established himself as a celebrity, he appeared as a guest in ‘Top Gear’ and ‘The Life of Rock with Brian Pern’ on ‘BBC’ in 2014. He has been a regular panelist on the game show ‘A League of Their Own’.

He started dating British actor Gemma Chan in 2011, when they met during the production of his comedy serial ‘Fresh Meat.’ They had a long-term relationship that lasted till 2017, but broke up due to their busy schedules that left them with no time for each other. He has been romantically linked to model Roxy Horner.