Aisling Bea

Aisling Clíodhnadh O'Sullivan (born 16 March 1984), known professionally as Aisling Bea (/ˈæʃlɪŋ ˈbiː/ ASH-ling BEE), is an Irish comedian, actor and writer. She created, wrote and starred in the comedy series This Way Up on Channel 4. As a stand-up comedian, she won the "So You Think You're Funny?" award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2012, being only the second woman to win the award in its then twenty-five year history. She also regularly appears on light entertainment comedy panel shows such as QI and 8 Out of 10 Cats.
Bea was born in Kildare, Ireland. Her father, Brian, was a horse veterinarian who died by suicide when Bea was three years old; she was not told how he had died until she was 13. She adopted the stage surname "Bea" as a tribute to her father, taking it from a short form of his first name. Bea and her younger sister, Sinéad, were raised by their mother, Helen (née…