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Suzy Eddie Izzard has confirmed the notable change to her name after revealing the public hostility she faced after coming out as transgender more than 30-years ago.
The comedian originally shared plans to prefix her birth name with ‘Suzy’ during a recent appearance on Good Morning Britain, while expressing a desire to retain ‘Eddie’ for public appearances.
Taking to Instagram on Thursday, Izzard, 61, confirmed the change but admitted she was happy for people to continue using her birth name, as well as male pronouns – despite expressing a preference for she/her.
Sharing a brief post, she wrote: ‘As people may now well know, I have added the name ‘Suzy’ to my names.
‘So going forward I am preferring Suzy but I don’t mind Eddie. And I prefer she/her but I don’t mind he/him.
All change: Suzy Eddie Izzard has confirmed the notable change to her name after revealing the public hostility she faced after coming out as transgender more than 30-years ago
‘So no one can really get it wrong unless they call me Kenneth or Sabrina. I am remaining Eddie Izzard in public. Thank you. Suzy/Eddie.’
Days earlier Izzard revealed the abuse she faced after coming out as transgender in the less accepting 1980s.
The popular comedian, who is genderfluid, first came out as trans in 1985 when she was 23.
She told Good Morning Britain hosts Kate Garraway and Ben Shepherd about how she was ostracised by society and ‘fought in the streets’ after receiving abuse.
‘If you were trans you were considered toxic and not part of society. There weren’t any conversations when I came out in ’85 so it was such a hard mental thing to do because I had to sort of go do it.
‘You had to basically go out and if people shouted at you on the street, if they fought you in the streets, you had to fight back and stand your ground.’
In disbelief, Shepherd asked if she was ever actually involved in a physical fight.
Izzard continued: ‘Yes. Not a huge amount of times.
Opening up: Days earlier Izzard revealed the abuse she faced after coming out as transgender in the less accepting 1980s
‘I did have a big fight which I’ve talked about. There’s been a few fights and a lot more people shouting abuse.
‘That has got less over the years, but then if I go to other places I can get it. I just stand my ground.’
‘Everything after that is not so hard! Doing stand-up in French and German.’
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Izzard previously revealed she turned to shoplifting when she battled with establishing her gender as a teen, following her mother’s death.
She explained that her mother’s death made it ‘impossible’ for her to express herself – to the point of making herself ill when she was cast as a woman in a theatre show while she was at boarding school in her teens.
She told The Guardian: ‘After Mum died, it was just me and my brother and my dad, so even to throw on a dress was impossible…
‘I’d been caught stealing makeup when I was 15… Suddenly I’m 16 and being cast as a gangster’s moll in this revue. I got psychosomatically ill’.
Strength: The comedian said she just had to ‘stand her ground’ when faced with the abuse
Open and honest: Izzard revealed she turned to shoplifting when she battled with establishing her gender as a teen, following her mother’s death (pictured earlier this month)
Despite having the opportunity to explore her gender during the school performance, she could not tackle the work through fear.
She explained: ‘They had to get someone else to do it. From the room I was in, I could hear his performance. By the time it was over, I was well again. I probably thought, ‘This is what I really want – but won’t I just sound like a boy?’”
Eddie went on: ‘When I came out I realised I didn’t look terribly … well, I kind of look like a trans person but I think the world is more relaxed about that now, and I am too. We’ve gone through a unicorn phase but we’ve just got to be people…
‘When we hit boring, that’s when we’ve made it. ‘You’re lesbian or gay or bi or trans, yes, but what do you do?’ ‘Oh, I’m a librarian.’ ‘Are you a good librarian or a bad librarian?’ ‘I’m a good librarian. I can find you all the books.’
‘Or an astronaut. ‘Are you a good astronaut or a bad astronaut?’ ‘Ah, a bad one, I’m afraid. I landed on the wrong planet …’
Last month, Eddie said that she understands there may be confusion surrounding her name and identify now but insisted that nobody could offend her.
She said: ‘So there’s now all this about people don’t know what to say – I prefer Suzy but I don’t mind Eddie. I prefer she/her, but I don’t mind he/him.
‘Nobody can make a mistake unless they call me Gregory or Sabrina and then that’s not quite right. Everything else nobody can make a mistake and they can choose.’
Eddie went on to add that it is a ‘hard time’ to be a trans person, saying: ‘This hard time with trans is just something we have to go through…
‘We are in the conversation now. And we will get through it. People get very angry on the internet and I just ignore it. I really try to be positive. I want to be an MP.’
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays at 6am on ITV.
