She's one of Barry Humphries's most famous characters, but who was Edna before she was a Dame? Before she was an international sensation?
The late comedian, who died in April, will be remembered later this morning at a state memorial at the Sydney Opera House.
But before his death, Humphries reflected on Edna's evolution and what it was about her that seemed to take hold with his audience.
Here, in his own words, is the story of how Edna came to be.
To start with, where did the moniker Edna come from?
"I just liked the name. It seemed to symbolise safety, comfort, friendliness, suburbia, suburban life," he said in ABC TV's Barry Humphries In His Own Words, airing tonight.
"I thought, 'Well, that's a funny character I've invented', and the audiences loved it."
Loading...As Humphries explained, the early Edna was derived from his observations of women around him in his family.
"Edna, in those days, she was very shy and mousy. Not very well dressed," he recalled.
"There was no real attempt at make-up and even looking feminine. It was all acted, but people immediately believed in her."
Edna emerges
According to Humphries, after some early Edna skits he "put her in the box".
But, when he brought her out a couple of years later — to his surprise, as much as anyone else's — Edna had changed.
Loading..."She was still rather prissy … but wasn't there a hint of lavender in her hair?" Humphries said.
"A little touch of rouge too much?"
After that, Edna didn't stop evolving.
Humphries credits that as the reason why she remained beloved.
"Edna has stayed vivid because she was always changing," he said.
"She's adopting the fashions of the period, her clothes change, she becomes more elaborate than more simple.
"And she reflects — she's a parody, really, of fashion."
'Rise, Dame Edna'
But there was one change that marked a new era for Edna.
Humphries said Edna's legendary title came about unexpectedly when, at the end of the second Barry McKenzie movie (another Humphries creation), the pair returned to Australia and were greeted by the prime minister of the day, Gough Whitlam.
"Gough improvised, and he said, 'Arise, Dame Edna,'" Humphries recalled.
"Dame Edna rather suited her elevated position."
In the years afterwards, Humphries described Edna as a woman unto herself.
"What is extraordinary about the character of Edna — and I speak as though I'm completely outside of this character," he said.
"I was, as it were, 'in the wings' and every now and then she said something extremely funny," he said.
"And I stand there and think, 'I wish I thought of that.'"
Loading...Edna's timelessness
Despite Edna's modest beginnings, flamboyant nature, and choice of dress and glasses, Humphries believed her cheeky earnestness solidified her spot in Australian history.
"Edna is rather timeless," he said.
"She began as a Melbourne housewife, and now she's a megastar, and the reason she's a megastar is that she tells people she is, and they believe her.
"She thinks she's Madonna or something like that. We know she's not, and that's the joke."
Loading...Throughout his career, Humphries made it clear that while he thrived on the adrenaline of live performance and performed "entirely for [his] own pleasure", he also cherished the opportunity to make people laugh.
"I've never let the audience down," he said.
"I've got these old-fashioned ideas about delivering what they pay to see.
"It's a nice job, really, to be in the cheering-up business."
Watch Barry Humphries In His Own Words tonight at 8:30pm on ABC TV or on ABC iview.
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2023-12-14 18:46:23Z
CBMiXGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIzLTEyLTE1L2JhcnJ5LWh1bXBocmllcy1kYW1lLWVkbmEtZXZlcmFnZS1ldm9sdXRpb24vMTAzMTM3Njg40gEoaHR0cHM6Ly9hbXAuYWJjLm5ldC5hdS9hcnRpY2xlLzEwMzEzNzY4OA
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