Ruby Wax Joins 25th I'm a Celebrity Series

Veteran British comedian and television presenter Ruby Wax has been announced as a contestant for the 25th series of ITV's "I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!" airing this winter. The 72-year-old, known for her bold interviewing style and comedic roles spanning decades, will join other celebrities in the Australian jungle for the grueling reality competition, trading urban comforts for campsite challenges.

Wax, born Ruby Wachs on April 19, 1953, in Evanston, Illinois, grew up in America before moving to the United Kingdom in the 1970s. Her family name was anglicized to Wax by her father. She briefly attended the University of California, Berkeley, but left without graduating, then trained at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow. Her early acting career took root at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre, where she formed a creative partnership with Alan Rickman, who later directed several of her stage shows. Wax joined the Royal Shakespeare Company and had a small role in the 1981 film "Chariots of Fire."

Her television breakthrough came in the mid-1980s with the ITV sitcom "Girls on Top," where she portrayed the brash American character Shelley DuPont across two...