ACTOR · BORN 1939
John Cleese
- Born
- 27 October 1939, Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset, England, UK
- Known for
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), Shrek 2 (2004), Shrek the Third (2007)
69 archived facts 5 topics 1 source Last reviewed Sep 2026
19 Facts About John Cleese's Life and Family
- #003
When the Globe Theatre was rebuilt in London, a service was offered that let you have your name inscribed on a tile in the courtyard in exchange for a donation to the project. Cleese and fellow Python Michael Palin both signed up for tiles, but Palin's was misspelled. Cleese paid extra to make sure his was written as "Pallin."
- #004
John Cleese holds a law degree from Cambridge University. He went on to play lawyers in A Fish Called Wanda (1988) and Splitting Heirs (1993).
- #011
Cleese helped his daughter Camilla Cleese overcome her drug habit (which began when she was 11) by sending her to a psychiatric ward and then to a rehabilitation clinic. After further time in rehabilitation, she finally overcame her drug and alcohol habit in 2007 and praised her father for helping her change her life (21 December 2008).
- #013
Cleese's father was named Reg Cleese, but his grandfather was named John Edwin Cheese. His grandfather changed the name when he joined the British army in 1915.
- #019
After moving to Monterey, California, John Cleese joked about reverting to the old family surname 'Cheese'; since 'Jack' is a nickname for 'John' (as 'Hank' is for 'Henry'), he thought it would be fun to be known as 'Monterey Jack Cheese'.
- #024
John Cleese's mother, Muriel Cleese (née Cross, 5 October 1899 – 5 October 2000), died on her 101st birthday.
- #031
John Cleese served as rector of the University of St Andrews from 1970 to 1973.
- #034
John Cleese is the father of two daughters: Cynthia Cleese (born 1971) with Connie Booth, and Camilla Cleese (born 1984) with Barbara Trentham.
- #038
Three of his marriages ended in divorce, and although he remained on good terms with Connie Booth and Barbara Trentham, his relationship with his third wife, Alyce Faye Eichelberger, became extremely strained amid a bitter alimony battle reported to have cost him more than 13 million dollars in cash and assets. The court also ordered him to pay her 1 million dollars a year for seven years, more than 20 million dollars in total. To raise the money he had to return to the theatre, which he jokingly called "The Alimony Tour." He also said the alimony settlement would have been even worse if they had had children together.
- #039
In 2002 he appeared alongside Maggie Smith in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) and alongside her son Toby Stephens in Die Another Day (2002).
- #040
He is an Andrew D. White Professor-at-Large at Cornell University.
- #042
His father, Reg Cleese, was an insurance salesman.
- #047
He played the father of two of Charlie's Angels. He first played Lucy Liu's father in the film Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003). The following year he played Cameron Diaz's father in Shrek 2 (2004).
- #048
He said Cornell University is located in one of the most beautiful places in the world.
- #049
He was a member of the prestigious Cambridge University Footlights Club.
- #052
Before becoming an actor, Cleese trained to be a lawyer. He went on to play lawyers in A Fish Called Wanda (1988) and Splitting Heirs (1993).
- #059
He is Ed Solomon's father-in-law.
- #063
He played Tim Curry's brother in Will & Grace and his sister in Over the Garden Wall.
- #069
His father was an insurance salesman.
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