Francesca Martinez (born 1978) is an English comedian, writer and actress. She has cerebral palsy, but prefers to describe herself as "wobbly". Martinez first came to public attention in 1994, when she made her debut on the television series Grange Hill, where she went on to portray the role of Rachel Burns for a total of 55 episodes. Later turning her focus to stand-up comedy, she has performed at the Edinburgh Festival and internationally, including the Melbourne Comedy Festival, the Adelaide Fringe Festival, the Perth Festival and the Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal. In 2018 she completed a 140-date tour, and has had off-West End London runs at the Tricycle Theatre, the Hackney Empire, and the Soho Theatre. Martinez's debut play, All of Us, was scheduled to be performed at the National Theatre in 2020, but it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It opened in July 2022. Early life Martinez was born in London to a Spanish father and a half-Swedish, half-English mother in 1978. She was diagnosed with cerebral palsy aged two. Martinez was also incorrectly diagnosed as intellectually disabled by a consultant physician, but her parents chose for her to be educated at an integrated school, an experience that Martinez enjoyed. She later attended an all-girls' high school, an experience that harmed her previously good self-esteem. She was 14 when she secured a role on the series Grange Hill. Comedy A year after she began performing stand-up comedy, in 2000, Martinez became the first female comic to win the prestigious Daily Telegraph Open Mic Award at the Edinburgh Festival. She performed her debut solo show, I'm Perfect, in 2002. In 2003 she was listed in The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy. Martinez has performed in many countries including Australia, Canada, Ireland, Sweden, Switzerland, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa, as well as the United States, performing at Caroline's on Broadway, 92YTribeca and the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater (all in New York City), and the Laugh Factory and the Comedy Store (both in Los Angeles). She also performed at the 2008 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland with Emma Thompson. Her most recent tour WHAT THE **** IS NORMAL?! clocked up over 140 dates around the world – winning a Fringe Media Network Award at the Edinburgh Fringe, as well as being nominated for Best Show at Dave's Leicester Comedy Festival and