Ruby Wax's Parents: She Had a Traumatic Relationship with Her Mother & Father

Behind the laughter and wit that charmed audiences was a tale of resilience and pain. Ruby Wax, known for her comedic genius, bore the weight of a traumatic relationship with her parents. Although she was an only child, her mother and father never pampered her, and she was exposed to violence.

American British actress Ruby Wax was born on April 19, 1953, to Bertha Wachs and Edward Wachs in Illinois, Chicago, and she was their only child. However, they were not kind to their daughter, nor were they kind to each other. Ruby Wax has publicly spoken about her volatile relationship with her parents.

She has told many stories about their marriage, health, backgrounds, and the viciousness they portrayed toward her as their daughter. Ruby Wax had a traumatic childhood, and once admitted, things between her and her parents became so much worse that she believed she would have died had she remained in their house much longer.

Ruby Wax's Parents Were Jewish but 'Never Practiced'

Although she did not have a happy upbringing, Ruby used her painful experience as a child in her early days as a comedian to talk about her Jewish parents, who "never practiced." The Hollywood star's father, Edward, was a wealthy sausage manufacturer. She did not mention what her mother, Bertha, does, she did reveal that her mother spoke nine languages and suffered from depression.

She later disclosed that her act was fueled by anger because her parents dismissed her as a child and regarded her as a loser. The comedian even shared a tale describing her relationship with her mother. In her story, their family lost a dog, and her mother did not tell her the dog had died. Ruby said:

"I was away at school and she went and got a replica of the dog. He was 150 in dog years when he died and when I came home, there was a puppy. She didn't mention he died."

Ruby Wax's Parents Escaped the Nazis & Were Affected by Their Experiences

In 1938, when Adolf Hitler wreaked havoc in their home country, Ruby's parents fled Austria and settled in Chicago. However, in a June 2019 interview, she divulged that her parents' escape only brought more problems for the family of three, adding, "Their marriage haunted me for most of my life."

The writer explained that her parents had issues and were unaware of that. She added that their household became chaotic, making her blame herself as a child. She said:

"My father was abusive and my mother was hysterical. She screamed all the time."

In an April 2023 interview, Ruby admitted she grew up with "high state anxiety" and blamed her parents, who left their homeland just before the Second World War. While appearing on "Who Do You Think You Are?" she was curious to learn who they blamed for their behavior.

"They took the war with them and brought it to our table," she said of her mom and dad. Bertha had a condition called "hysteria," while her husband Edward was volatile, "a torturer." He was a Jewish prisoner in Vienna when the Nazis overtook Austria and was tortured.

The father of one was eventually released after promising he would leave the country. Before fleeing, he flew to Belgium in September 1938 and married his wife, Bertha, who stayed in Vienna until December 1938.

Bertha & Edward 'Beat Up' Their Child – She Felt Suicidal

When Ruby told her parents she wanted to be an actress as a teenager, they contemplated sending her to an asylum instead. She ended up studying drama in Glasgow. In a recent interview, Ruby revealed she was often "locked in" at home and would watch other kids play outside through her window.

Meanwhile, her mom and dad would also direct their anger toward each other. They exchanged vile words to each other and were "pretty violent with each other (and me)," she explained. When she was eighteen, she became rebellious and did all she could to spite them, which made them "angrier."

The couple became physical with their daughter and beat her up when she hitch-hiked to San Francisco. In another instance, Edward "beat her up" in front of her friends. The television personality revealed anger helped her overcome her traumatic childhood.

"If I wouldn't have gotten out of there, I would be dead," she said. Ruby, who starred in "Girls on Top," with Jennifer Saunders, Alan Rickman, Dawn French, and Tracey Ullman, became depressed.

The mental health campaigner revealed in May 2017 that her former husband, Ed Bye, with whom she shares daughters Madeline and Marina, including son Max, did not let the kids notice. They only told them about it when they got older. Stars like Guy Pearce, Jon Provost, and Lena Headey have also battled depression.