Sir Derek Jacobi CBE is an actor from England. He’s famous for acting in plays at the Royal National Theatre and in movies and TV shows. He’s won many awards like the BAFTA Award, Olivier Awards, Emmy Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards, and a Tony Award. Queen Elizabeth II made him a knight in 1994 for his work in theatre.
Jacobi started acting with Laurence Olivier at the National Theatre. He’s been in a lot of Shakespeare plays like Hamlet, Macbeth, and Romeo and Juliet. He’s also been in TV shows like I, Claudius and movies like Gladiator and Murder on the Orient Express.
Jacobi was born in 1938 in Leytonstone, Essex, England. His parents worked in shops. He went to Leyton County High School for Boys and then studied at the University of Cambridge. He’s been acting on stage and screen since the 1960s and is known for his talent in classical roles.
Jacobi lives in London with his partner, Richard Clifford. He’s been involved in the debate about who really wrote Shakespeare’s plays and has supported the idea that Edward de Vere wrote them. He’s also known for his atheism.