Now, let's talk about the medal. In 2015, Ruby Wax was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for "services to mental health." Yes, the same woman who once asked Pamela Anderson if she had "blonde roots" was now being honored by the monarchy. Imagine the letter from the palace: "Dear Ms. Wax, please bring your tiara. No, not the cheap one from the joke shop."
The OBE is traditionally given to people who have done something boring and terribly important, like running a hospital or discovering a new species of potato. But Ruby got it for destigmatizing the human brain. She basically took a sledgehammer to the shame around depression and waved a sledgehammer made of punchlines.
But Did She Actually Earn It?
Let’s look at the facts. Her one-woman show, "Losing It," is a masterpiece of brutal honesty. She talks about her own hospitalizations for depression with the same comedic timing she gave to a celebrity roast. She wrote books like "Sane New World" that are essentially survival guides for the anxious modern human.
Her charity work? She co-founded the mental health initiative “From The Beginning” and has raised hundreds of thousands of pounds. She’s spoken to Parliament, the House of Lords, and terrified them all into thinking about their own sanity. That takes more guts than any stand-up routine.
Ruby Wax: Mental health campaigner discusses reducing stigma
And let’s be honest: the OBE doesn't hurt the brand. A few years ago, Madonna presented her with a lifetime achievement award. You think Madge would show up for just anyone? No. Ruby Wax is the only person who can make a depressive episode sound like a funny anecdote you'd tell at a dinner party.
