William "Billy" Connolly, né le 24 novembre 1942 à Glasgow en Écosse, est un humoriste, acteur, compositeur, scénariste et producteur britannique.

Biographie

Connolly has been married to his second wife, comedian and psychologist Pamela Stephenson, since 1989. He is father to five children: two (Jamie and Cara) from his first marriage, to Iris Pressagh, and three (Scarlett, Amy and Daisy) from his second. Connolly and Stephenson won custody of Jamie and Cara in 1983, due to the fact that "[Pressagh] was unable to care for herself, let alone children". Pressagh moved to Spain and became estranged from her children. She died in 2010. Connolly became a grandfather in 2001, when Cara gave birth to Walter.

In the book Billy, and in a December 2008 online interview, Connolly states that he was sexually abused by his father between the ages of 10 and 15. He believes this was a result of the Catholic Church not allowing his father to divorce after his mother left the family. Because of this, Connolly has a "deep distrust and dislike of the Catholic church and any other organization that brainwashes people". On his religious views, Connolly called himself an atheist.

In September 2013 Connolly underwent minor surgery for early-stage prostate cancer. The announcement also stated that he is being treated for the initial symptoms of Parkinson's disease. Connolly admitted earlier in 2013 that he had started to forget his lines during performances.

Connolly appeared on Who Do You Think You Are? on 2 October 2014, when his family's Indian ancestry was revealed.

He is a fan of Glasgow-based Celtic F.C. and has a seat for life at the club's Celtic Park stadium, an honour bestowed only on him and Rod Stewart.


Political views
Connolly has stated in the past that he disapproves of Scottish independence, although he also disapproves of entertainers telling people how to vote, but admitted that 2012 had been "a very interesting time for Scotland".

He questions the expense of independence, and whether average Scots would benefit from another level of government. "But Scots are very capable of making up their mind without my tuppence worth."

In April 2014, despite previously vowing not to step into the 'morass' of the debate over the breakup of the Union, Connolly gave the clearest indication yet of his opposition to Scottish independence. In an interview with the Radio Times, he stated, "I think it's time for people to get together, not split apart. The more people stay together, the happier they'll be." He also wrote, referring to the Darien scheme, "You must remember that the Union saved Scotland. Scotland was bankrupt and the English opened us up to their American and Canadian markets, from which we just flowered."

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