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{{Short description|Sitcom character}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Infobox character
| name = Patsy Stone
| series = [[Absolutely Fabulous]]
| image = PatsyStone.jpg
| caption = Joanna Lumley as Patsy Stone
| first = "Fashion" (1992)
| last = ''[[Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie]]'' (2016)
| creator = {{Plainlist|
* [[Jennifer Saunders]]
}}
| portrayer = [[Joanna Lumley]]
| full_name = Eurydice Colette Clytemnestra Dido Bathsheba Rabelais Patricia Cocteau Stone<ref>{{cite web |last=Mulkern |first=Patrick |url=http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2011-12-25/absolutely-fabulous-makes-a-hilarious-return |title=Absolutely Fabulous makes a hilarious return |work=[[Radio Times]] |date=25 December 2011 |access-date=30 December 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120107204150/http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2011-12-25/absolutely-fabulous-makes-a-hilarious-return |archive-date=7 January 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>
| nickname = Pats
| gender = Female <ref name="transgender">{{cite web |url=https://www.express.co.uk/celebrity-news/676709/Joanna-Lumley-Absolutely-Fabulous-Patsy-Stone-transgender-Jennifer-Saunders-BBC |title=Joanna Lumley FINALLY confirms Ab Fab's Patsy Stone is 'transgender' |work=[[Daily Express]] |date=3 June 2016 |access-date=3 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171204061357/https://www.express.co.uk/celebrity-news/676709/Joanna-Lumley-Absolutely-Fabulous-Patsy-Stone-transgender-Jennifer-Saunders-BBC |archive-date=4 December 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>
| occupation = {{Plainlist|
* Former fashion model<ref name=nytimes>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/06/arts/television-radio-the-original-queens-of-british-comedy.html?pagewanted=2&src=pm |title=Television/Radio; The Original Queens of (British) Comedy |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=2003-04-06 |access-date=2011-12-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160805235537/http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/06/arts/television-radio-the-original-queens-of-british-comedy.html?pagewanted=2&src=pm |archive-date=5 August 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>
* Former pornographic actress
* Magazine fashion director<ref name=Halifax>{{cite web |last=Crabtree |first=Diane |url=http://www.halifaxcourier.co.uk/lifestyle/the-guide-arts-and-entertainment/more-arts-and-entertainment-news/i_just_wanna_say_fabulous_darling_absolutely_fabulous_is_back_1_3731680 |title=I just wanna say 'fabulous darling' – Absolutely Fabulous is back |work=[[Halifax Courier]] |date=2011-09-01 |access-date=2011-12-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110925063401/http://www.halifaxcourier.co.uk/lifestyle/the-guide-arts-and-entertainment/more-arts-and-entertainment-news/i_just_wanna_say_fabulous_darling_absolutely_fabulous_is_back_1_3731680 |archive-date=25 September 2011}}</ref>
* Buyer for Jeremy's
}}
| family = {{Plainlist|
* Mother (deceased)
* Jackie (sister; deceased)
}}
| spouse = {{Plainlist|
* [[Edina Monsoon]]
* Baroness Lubliana (pretending to be a man, "Pat", in [[Cannes]])
}}
}}
'''Patsy Stone''' is one of the three main characters from the British television sitcom ''[[Absolutely Fabulous]]''. The character is portrayed by actress [[Joanna Lumley]].<ref>{{cite news |author=Press Association |author-link=Press Association |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2011/aug/29/absolutely-fabulous-back-bolly-stolly |title=Absolutely Fabulous is back – so crack open the Bolly and Stolly |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=29 August 2011 |access-date=21 December 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160923004327/https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2011/aug/29/absolutely-fabulous-back-bolly-stolly |archive-date=23 September 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Background==
Patsy was the last of a string of children born to an aging [[Bohemianism|Bohemian]] mother in Paris. Patsy's mother gave birth "like a [[Irrigation sprinkler|sprinkler]], scattering bastard babies all over Europe".<ref name="Happy New Year">{{cite episode |title=Happy New Year |series=Absolutely Fabulous |series-link=Absolutely Fabulous |series-no=3 |number=2 |airdate=6 April 1995 |network=[[BBC One]]}}</ref>

In a flashback showing Patsy's birth, Patsy's mother (Eleanor Bron) tells an attendant to cut the umbilical cord and then exclaims that she names the child '''[[Eurydice]] [[Colette]] [[Clytemnestra]] [[Dido]] [[Bathsheba]] [[Rabelais]] Patricia [[Cocteau]] Stone'''.<ref name="Birth">{{cite episode |title=Birth |series=Absolutely Fabulous |series-no=2 |number=6 |airdate=10 March 1994 |network=BBC One}}</ref>

The only one of Patsy's siblings that appears in the series is her older sister Jackie ([[Kate O'Mara]]), a former high-class escort. Patsy worships Jackie although Jackie treats her horribly and twice tried to murder her via a [[heroin]] overdose.<ref name="Happy New Year"/>

Patsy and [[Edina Monsoon]] were childhood friends, and since her mother despised and neglected her—regarding her more as a rival than a daughter—she came to rely on the Monsoons for most of her shelter, comfort, and food (though she has only been seen eating twice since 1973).

Patsy mentioned that her mother would have had an abortion, but she mistook her pregnancy with Patsy for the onset of menopause. The first few years of Patsy's life were spent locked in a room. By Patsy's description, the rest of her childhood was dismal; she was without friends, parties, and presents.<ref name="Birth"/> Although her mother eventually sent her to school, Patsy was much older than all the other students by the time she began attending.<ref name="Happy New Year"/> This explains a potential plot hole where Edina and Patsy are supposedly far apart in age, yet are shown to be in the same school year in flashback.

Although Patsy claims to have been an [[it girl]] and in-demand model in 1960s [[Swinging London]], flashbacks reveal she was completely unsuccessful, only obtaining work through latching on to high-profile designers and models and manipulating them into feeling sorry for her. Flashbacks to the 1960s reveal Patsy wreaking havoc on the respective sets of [[Zandra Rhodes]]' and Annagret Tree's photo shoots.<ref>{{cite episode |title=New Best Friend |series=Absolutely Fabulous |series-no=2 |number=4 |airdate=24 February 1994 |network=BBC One}}</ref><ref>{{cite episode |title=Paris |series=Absolutely Fabulous |series-no=4 |number=3 |airdate=14 September 2001 |network=BBC One}}</ref>

Patsy may have appeared in the pornographic magazine ''[[Razzle (magazine)|Razzle]]'', as she becomes concerned when an old copy of the magazine is discovered by Saffron in her half-brother Serge's bedroom. She dubs herself an "ex-[[Bond girl]]", but the films she starred in were actually Bond-inspired [[sexploitation]] films titled ''Bond Meets [[Black Emanuelle]]'', ''Boldfinger'' and ''The Man with Thunder Balls''.<ref name="Schmoozin">{{cite episode |title=Schmoozin' |series=Absolutely Fabulous |series-no=5 |number=6 |airdate=28 November 2003 |network=BBC One}}</ref> In "Schmoozin'", a group of partygoers are treated to a viewing of Patsy's 1970s [[Softcore pornography|softcore pornographic]] film ''Booberella''.<ref name="Schmoozin"/>

Patsy claims to have slept with every member of the [[Rolling Stones]], stating that "...you didn't have a favourite Stone, you had 'em all."<ref name="Schmoozin"/> She also claims to have slept with [[Keith Moon]] ("Well sort of. I woke up underneath him in a hotel room once."), and one of [[the Beatles]], although she cannot remember which one.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.salon.com/2001/11/15/ab_fab/| title=The return of "Absolutely Fabulous"| author=Carina Chocano| website=[[Salon (website)|Salon]] | date=2001-11-15| access-date=2018-01-01| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180102191423/https://www.salon.com/2001/11/15/ab_fab/| archive-date=2 January 2018| url-status=live}}</ref>

On various occasions throughout the series, it is alluded to that Patsy was a [[transgender|trans man]],<ref name="transgender"/> having undergone surgery in Morocco in the 1960s. Edina states that Patsy only had constructed male genitalia for a few months "before it fell off".<ref>{{cite episode |title=Morocco |series=Absolutely Fabulous |series-no=2 |number=3 |airdate=10 February 1994 |network=BBC One}}</ref> [[Elton John]] recognises her as someone he had slept with when she transitioned.<ref name="Schmoozin"/>

==In the series==
===Friendship with Edina===
Patsy shares a codependent existence with Edina and often acts as her [[enabler]], encouraging her to partake in addictive behaviours like smoking and drinking. The relationship usually results in hilarious, albeit dysfunctional, behaviour and over-the-top conflicts.

The two usually spend their days shopping at high-end department stores and boutiques ([[Harvey Nichols]] being their favourite), going to lunch at trendy restaurants, and avoiding their respective work places.

Patsy is more [[parasitic]] in her dependence than Edina is.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia| url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Absolutely-Fabulous| title=''Absolutely Fabulous'': British Television Show| encyclopedia=[[Encyclopaedia Britannica]]| access-date=2018-01-01| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180101195030/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Absolutely-Fabulous| archive-date=1 January 2018| url-status=live}}</ref> She spends most of her spare time at Edina's house, drinks Edina's booze, and uses her chauffeur-driven car. At some points, Patsy lives with Edina, either in the attic,<ref name="Identity">{{cite episode |title=Identity |series=Absolutely Fabulous |series-no=6 |number=1 |airdate=25 December 2011 |network=BBC One}}</ref> in Saffron's bedroom, or in the utility room. In "Death", Patsy attempts to convince Edina to bequeath Edina's multimillion-pound [[Holland Park]] house to her.

Patsy's reliance on her friendship with Edina causes Patsy to undermine any relationships that divert Edina's attention. This reliance is the root of Patsy's nearly constant antagonism toward Edina's daughter, Saffron.<ref name="Schmoozin"/><ref name="Magazine">{{cite episode |title=Magazine |series=Absolutely Fabulous |series-no=1 |number=6 |airdate=10 December 1992 |network=[[BBC Two]]}}</ref> Patsy is also quite critical of Edina, often making passive jabs at her weight and poor fashion choices.

===Appearance===
Unlike Edina, whose dress sense is dictated by fashion rather than what suits her, Patsy is usually seen sporting a more 'classic' style, generally consisting of a designer power suit and her trademark blonde [[Beehive (hairstyle)|beehive]] with a [[Bangs (hair)|fringe]] (dubbed her 'crutch' by Fleur in the episode "Donkey"). She has a particular fondness for couture [[Chanel]] jackets, which she wears to editorial meetings to intimidate her colleagues.<ref name="Magazine"/>

Patsy's birthdate is October 30th, but her precise age remains ambiguous; she typically claims to be between 39 and 43 years old. The first series, set in 1992, establishes her as a school classmate of Edina's, who turns 40 in that series, suggesting Patsy is, at most, 41. However, subsequent episodes indicate that Patsy's mother kept her out of school for extended periods, meaning she could have been Edina's classmate despite being older. She is so obsessed with projecting youth that she uses a false passport (obtained from "Johnny Fingers" on the [[Isle of Dogs]]) with a doctored picture from her modelling days.<ref name="Identity"/><ref name="Gay">{{cite episode |title=Gay |series=Absolutely Fabulous |airdate=27 December 2002 |network=BBC One}}</ref> In "Cold Turkey", a nurse guesses that she is approximately 65 years old.<ref>{{cite episode |title=Cold Turkey |series=Absolutely Fabulous |series-no=5 |number=8 |airdate=24 December 2003 |network=BBC One}}</ref>

In the episode series 3 "Happy New Year", Patsy's older sister Jackie reveals that she is 72 years old, to which Patsy replies, "My God, then how old does that make me?", suggesting that Patsy has lied about her age so often that she can no longer remember her real age.<ref name="Happy New Year"/> Her vanity and obsession with youth leads her to use radical beauty treatments, including [[sulfuric acid]] peels, [[collagen]] lip injections, and the [[Botox]]-like filler Parralox, which freezes wrinkles but paralyses her face.<ref>{{cite episode |title=Hospital |series=Absolutely Fabulous |series-no=2 |number=1 |airdate=27 January 1994 |network=BBC One}}</ref><ref>{{cite episode |title=Parralox |series=Absolutely Fabulous |series-no=4 |number=1 |airdate=31 August 2001 |network=BBC One}}</ref>

As the series progresses, Patsy betrays her age more and more, appearing to become more feeble beginning in the fourth series. In "Menopause", Patsy has to visit the hospital after fracturing her bones doing simple tasks, like snapping her fingers. The doctor diagnoses her with [[osteoporosis]] and declares that she has the lowest [[bone density]] on record.<ref name="Menopause">{{cite episode |title=Menopause |series=Absolutely Fabulous |series-no=4 |number=6 |airdate=5 October 2001 |network=BBC One}}</ref> In "Olympics", she admits to using [[adult diapers]] for occasional incontinence. Her poor eyesight is evident, with Patsy often colliding with objects and having to scrutinize type and images very closely.

===Personality===
Patsy usually seems quite cold and unemotive, especially in her behaviour toward her chief rival Saffron,<ref>{{cite news |last=Gates |first=Anita |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/30/arts/television-through-thick-and-thin-thin-i-could-kill-her.html |title=TELEVISION; Through Thick and Thin (Thin? I Could Kill Her) |work=The New York Times |date=1995-04-30 |access-date=2011-12-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180102073723/http://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/30/arts/television-through-thick-and-thin-thin-i-could-kill-her.html |archive-date=2 January 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> but she sometimes reveals a more vulnerable side (in flashbacks to her bleak life with her mother, in her overeager admiration for the awful Jackie, and in those rare moments when Edina temporarily withdraws her friendship) and even occasionally asks Saffron for advice. Patsy is an alcoholic, a [[chain smoker]], and a frequent [[recreational drug]] user. She carries drugs with her at all times, storing [[Joint (cannabis)|joints]] in her trademark beehive. She has nearly overdosed on several occasions,<ref name="Menopause" /> and on one occasion in the series has to have her stomach pumped after a [[rave]]-style drug binge in Edina's sitting room.<ref>{{cite episode |title=Death |series=Absolutely Fabulous |series-no=2 |number=2 |airdate=3 February 1994 |network=BBC One}}</ref> In "France", she is detained at customs after being found carrying what immigration officers believed to have been [[cocaine]], only to be released when tests show she had been cheated into buying [[talcum powder]].<ref name="France">{{cite episode |title=France |series=Absolutely Fabulous |series-no=1 |number=3 |airdate=26 November 1992 |network=BBC Two}}</ref>

In "Identity", she is revealed to have stiffed her former dealer, Barron, of £50,000 worth of drugs, justifying her habit by saying, "Have you seen the price of [[methadone]]? Cheaper to buy [[Crack cocaine|crack]]."<ref name="Identity" /> Her drinks of choice are [[Bollinger]] champagne or [[Stolichnaya]] vodka ("Bolly and Stolly"), though she will drink whatever alcohol is around. She jokes that her blood-alcohol level is so high that "the last mosquito that bit me had to check into the [[Betty Ford Clinic]]."<ref name="France" /> In "Birth", she causes a fire in Edina's kitchen when she passes out with a lit cigarette.<ref name="Birth" /> Her addiction to cigarettes is so strong that she carries [[nicotine patches]] that she gets into a non-smoking cab so that she can survive the journey.<ref>{{cite episode |title=Poor |series=Absolutely Fabulous |series-no=2 |number=5 |airdate=3 March 1994 |network=BBC One}}</ref>

At the beginning of the series, Patsy is very promiscuous and frank about her sexuality, seducing anyone she finds attractive. When the fourth series commences, Patsy's attractiveness to men has begun to wane, though she refuses to admit this and still throws herself at men. Her obsession with staying thin means that she rarely eats. She claims that she has not eaten anything since 1973. According to Edina, she has had a "stomach bypass". There are only two instances where she does eat. In the episode "New Year's Eve", she painfully chews and swallows a potato crisp and is visibly shaken from having actually eaten something. In the Christmas special "Cold Turkey", she renders the entire assembly speechless by demurely asking for a small slice of turkey during Christmas lunch; however, she chokes it up upon eating it.

===Career===
Throughout the first three series, Patsy is a [[creative director|fashion director]] at ''Ella'' magazine. She secured the job by sleeping with the publisher.<ref name="Magazine"/> Saffron derisively says that Patsy's job is to "invent random adjectives for pointless clothing."<ref>{{cite episode |title=Small Opening |series=Absolutely Fabulous |series-no=4 |number=5 |airdate=28 September 2001 |network=BBC One}}</ref> Patsy rarely does any work or goes to the office (in "Magazine", she cannot remember where her office is located in the building and needs to ask directions).<ref name="Magazine"/>

The benefits she most enjoys are the many free products she is given and the 50% discount she receives at [[Harvey Nichols]]. She refers to herself as an "international beauty and style guru",<ref>{{cite episode |title=Jealous |series=Absolutely Fabulous |series-no=3 |number=4 |airdate=27 April 1995 |network=BBC One}}</ref> boasting that she is so influential that "one snap of my fingers and I can raise hemlines so high that the world is your [[gynaecologist]]."<ref name="Magazine"/>

In the series 3 episodes "Fear" and "The End", Patsy's magazine closes and she briefly moves to New York to take another fashion director job at ''HQ'' magazine. However, she is so lonely without Edina that she quickly returns to London.<ref>{{cite episode |title=Fear |series=Absolutely Fabulous |series-no=3 |number=5 |airdate=4 May 1995 |network=BBC One}}</ref><ref>{{cite episode |title=The End |series=Absolutely Fabulous |series-no=3 |number=6 |airdate=11 May 1995 |network=BBC One}}</ref> In part one of "The Last Shout", she is job-hunting, but ditches a job interview to go to the pub.<ref>{{cite episode |title=The Last Shout Part 1 |series=Absolutely Fabulous |airdate=6 November 1996 |network=BBC One}}</ref> In part two, her old boss Magda ([[Kathy Burke]]) gets her a job as fashion editor at another magazine, ''The A''.<ref>{{cite episode |title=The Last Shout Part 2 |series=Absolutely Fabulous |airdate=7 November 1996 |network=BBC One}}</ref>

In the 2002 special "Gay", Patsy has taken a job as "executive creative director, chief buyer and lifestyle coordinator" for Jeremy's, an upscale boutique whose clientele consists of "rich bitches whose faces are pulled so tight they can't see what they're buying".<ref name="Gay"/> She also briefly attempts to become a celebrity [[Personal stylist|stylist]], but this effort ends after a disastrous encounter with [[Minnie Driver]].<ref>{{cite episode |title=Panickin' |series=Absolutely Fabulous |series-no=5 |number=3 |airdate=31 October 2003 |network=BBC One}}</ref> In "Birthin'", she is due to receive a "Global Style and Elegance" Award for promoting the importance of accessories, but fails to make the award show when Saffron goes into labour.<ref>{{cite episode |title=Birthin' |series=Absolutely Fabulous |series-no=5 |number=5 |airdate=14 November 2003 |network=BBC One}}</ref> In the 20th anniversary specials and the feature film, Patsy is once again working for a fashion magazine under the direction of her old boss Magda.

Patsy's colleagues at her original magazine are features editor Catriona ([[Helen Lederer]]) and beauty editor Fleur ([[Harriet Thorpe]]), who tag along on her various career moves.

==Significance==
For her portrayal of Patsy Stone, Lumley was nominated four different times for the [[British Academy Television Award for Best Comedy Performance|BAFTA Award for Best Comedy Performance]], winning in 1995.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://awards.bafta.org/award/1995/television/comedy-performance| title=BAFTA 1995 Best Comedy Performance| publisher=[[British Academy of Film and Television Arts|BAFTA]]| access-date=2018-01-02| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180103072429/http://awards.bafta.org/award/1995/television/comedy-performance| archive-date=3 January 2018| url-status=live}}</ref> She also won the BAFTA for [[British Academy Television Award for Best Entertainment Performance|Best Light Entertainment]] in 1993, and a [[British Comedy Award]] the same year for best actress.

The characters of Patsy and Edina Monsoon enjoy a significant following in the LGBT community<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.newnownext.com/ab-fab-patsy-transgender/06/2016/| title="Patsy is Transgender", reveals "Absolutely Fabulous" Star Joanna Lumley| author=Christopher Rudolph| publisher=[[NewNowNext]] | date=2016-06-03| access-date=2018-01-02| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180102191509/http://www.newnownext.com/ab-fab-patsy-transgender/06/2016/| archive-date=2 January 2018| url-status=live}}</ref> and have long been favourite subjects for drag performances.{{citation needed|date=May 2020}} Jennifer Saunders has described both Patsy and Edina as unconventional feminists, because "[i]t's never been about them finding a relationship, or defining themselves by having to have a man. They live life entirely on their own terms as women, and to be honest, men don't really affect them much. I mean, occasionally they want sex, but who doesn't? They're not defined by normality. They create their own normality."<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/07/absolutely-fabulous-movie-interview| title=When Donald Trump Met the Star of Absolutely Fabulous| author=Guy Lodge| work=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]| date=2016-07-20| access-date=2019-04-21| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161231065141/http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/07/absolutely-fabulous-movie-interview| archive-date=31 December 2016| url-status=live}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/abfab/family_tree/patsy.shtml Patsy Stone] at the BBC

{{Absolutely Fabulous}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stone, Patsy}}
[[Category:Absolutely Fabulous]]
[[Category:British female characters in sitcoms]]
[[Category:Fictional alcohol abusers]]
[[Category:Fictional cocaine users]]
[[Category:Fictional British criminals]]
[[Category:Fictional female criminals]]
[[Category:Fictional drug addicts]]
[[Category:Fictional businesspeople]]
[[Category:Fictional LSD users]]
[[Category:Fictional models]]
[[Category:Fictional people from London]]
[[Category:Fictional socialites]]
[[Category:Television characters introduced in 1992]]

Patsy Stone - Revision history

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