After arriving in Britain from the United States in 1977 and training as an actress, Ruby Wax joined the Royal Shakespeare Company for five years.  She then had a hugely successful career spanning twenty-five years with the BBC, writing and presenting her own shows, as well as script editing  all series of Absolutely Fabulous.  

Following her career in television she returned to school to get her Master's in Psychotherapy and Counselling at Regent's University, followed by an Master's in Mindfulness Based-Cognitive Therapy from Oxford University, graduating in 2013. She holds two Honorary Doctorates and a Visiting Professorship and is shortly to be awarded a City Lit Lifetime Fellowship. 

Ruby is the author of two best-selling books, Sane New World  and A Mindfulness Guide for the Frazzled which combine neuroscience and mindfulness spun with comedy.  Both books were number one in the Sunday Times best seller list. Her one-woman shows, Sane New World and Frazzled have toured internationally and had runs in London's West End.  She founded Black Dog Tribe, an on-line, social networking site providing information and support for people suffering with mental health issues.  She spoke at TedGlobal in 2012 on breaking the stigma; her speech was called What's So Funny about Mental Illness?  Ruby is a regular speaker at parliament and Downing Street raising money for research into neuroscience and mental health. She is an ambassador for MIND and SANE charities, on the board of the Anna Freud Centre and President of Relate.

In the past year, Ruby has created her own charity, Frazzled Cafes, in partnership with Marks and Spencer's. Marks and Spencer's provide space in their cafes throughout the UK, closing them to the public for small groups to meet bi-monthly, led by a trained facilitator.  This works in a similar way to AA but specifically for those who feel frazzled.

Her latest book How to Be Human was published in January 2018. It went immediately to the best seller list. She wrote it with the help of a monk and a neuroscientist. They plan on touring in autumn of 2018. 

When Ruby's not writing, or performing she does private speaking engagements for organizations such as: Google, Apple, MI5, Bae, Skype, Facebook, eBay, Oxford University, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, Microsoft, The Home Office, Johnson and Johnson Pharmaceuticals, Bayer Pharmaceuticals, GMT Communication Partners, Royal Bank of Scotland and the Home Office. 

In 2015 she was awarded an OBE for her work in mental health.