Janey Godley, a Scottish comedian, actor and writer whose hard-hitting, candid wit established her as a comedy star and who became known for her parody voice-overs of elected leaders during the coronavirus pandemic, died on Saturday in Glasgow. She was 63.
She died of ovarian cancer at the Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice, according to her manager, Chris Davis.
Ms. Godley, with her signature candor, announced in September that she had exhausted her treatment options and had entered palliative care. She is survived by her husband, Sean Storrie, and a daughter, Ashley Storrie.
Ms. Godley gained a following during the coronavirus pandemic for sharing parodies that reimagined what officials were saying — or perhaps secretly thinking — during their public addresses. One favored subject was Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s leader at the time.
Ms. Sturgeon seemed to appreciate the humor, calling Ms. Godley her “alter ego.” Ms. Godley’s videos, some observers said, led her to become a “distinctive” voice during the pandemic that helped spread public health messages.
Other world leaders were not exempt from being targets. Ms. Godley’s voice-overs also included former Prime Ministers Boris Johnson and Theresa May of Britain, former President Donald Trump of the United States and Queen Elizabeth II of England.
“Here’s the thing: Women my age are constantly being told we don’t know how to work the internet — but I nailed it,” she joked in an interview. “I showed these 22-year-olds how it’s done.”
Even before her internet fame, Ms. Godley was a mainstay on the Scottish comedy circuit. She won comedy awards in Britain and New Zealand, and performed regularly at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
The New York Times described her 2004 festival show, “Good Godley,” among other acts, as “some of the sharpest-elbowed comedy in the world.” She won an award at the Glasgow International Comedy Festival in 2023 bestowed by the Scottish comedian Billy Connolly.
Her hallmark in comedy was to bring no-nonsense humor to the most harrowing of topics, drawn from her own experiences of loss and hardship.
“Being onstage is just the best feeling in the world,” she said in a BBC Radio Scotland interview. “It’s the one place where I can take complete control of everything. And hearing everybody laugh when you speak — it’s like verbal heroin. You get addicted to it!”
Jane Godley Currie was born on Jan. 20, 1961, in Glasgow, one of four children. Her family was poor, and her parents struggled with alcohol and substance use disorders.
“When I was a kid, I would say funny things to relieve the obvious tension in the house,” she told the BBC.
Ms. Godley and her sister were sexually abused as children by their uncle, and he was found guilty of the abuse after they came forward 30 years later. She married into a family with apparent criminal connections and managed a pub in Calton, where she witnessed a heroin epidemic.
But being a pub manager sharpened her quick-fire banter, she said. When she decided to take her comedy more seriously in the mid-1990s, she did not shy away from her past. Much of it also formed the basis of her 2005 memoir, “Handstands in the Dark.”
“I decided to tackle subjects people don’t normally tackle,” she said in a 2004 interview, adding that there were “funny sides” to terrible experiences. She became a regular on BBC comedy shows, acted in film and television, and wrote several books.
She also brought her voice to politics.
A supporter of the center-left Scottish National Party who also praised Jeremy Corbyn’s bid for prime minister, she protested Mr. Trump’s visit to his Turnberry golf course in 2016 with a crude sign that garnered widespread attention.
In 2021, The Daily Beast unearthed a series of offensive social media posts that she had made about several Black American celebrities. Ms. Godley apologized, saying she was “deeply sorry.”
She brought her candor back to her personal life, revealing that same year that she had ovarian cancer. After undergoing a hysterectomy, she said in 2022 that she was free of cancer, but it later returned.
Ms. Godfrey pushed forward with a “Not Yet Dead” tour in 2023 while undergoing chemotherapy.
“It is devastating news to know that I’m facing end of life, but we all come to an end sometime,” she said in a farewell video thanking her supporters.
She signed off with an air kiss, and one last quip. “Even the ones that hate me, thanks for giving me your engagement,” she said.
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