Biography
Sir Billy Connolly [B.1942, Glasgow]
Sir William “Billy” Connolly, CBE is an award-winning Scottish comedian, musician, presenter and actor. He is sometimes known, especially in his native Scotland, by the nickname The Big Yin (The Big One). His first trade, in the early 1960s, was as a welder in the Glasgow shipyards, but he gave it up towards the end of the decade to pursue a career as a folk singer. His career as a comedian and actor took off in the 1970s and he went on to appear in over 50 films, including The Hobbit: The Battle of The Five Armies (2014), Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004), The Last Samurai (2003), Mrs. Brown (1997) and Indecent Proposal (1993). It was on a rainy day in 2007 that Billy first embarked on his artistic journey. Taking refuge from the grey drizzle of Montreal, Canada, he entered an art shop with a twinkling curiosity and left with an armful of supplies and the urge to create. Over the next five years, his felt-tip drawings evolved into his debut fine art collection, Born On A Rainy Day, which has enjoyed eight successful releases since its launch in 2012.
2001 Awarded an honorary doctorate from University of Glasgow 2002 Presented with a Special Award by British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) 2003 Made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list 2006 Awarded an honorary doctorate from Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama 2010 Awarded an honorary doctorate from Nottingham Trent University 2010 Made a Freeman of Glasgow with the award of the Freedom of the City of Glasgow
2012 Presented with the Outstanding Contribution Award by BAFTA Scotland 2016 Presented with National Television Awards (NTA) Special Recognition Award 2017 Received a knighthood in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list 2021 Presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Edinburgh TV Festival 2022 Presented with the BAFTA Fellowship. Awarded annually, the Fellowship is the highest accolade BAFTA can bestow on any one figure, recognising an exceptional contribution to film, television or games.
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