Born in Chelmsford, Essex in 1960, Grayson Perry studied Fine Art at Portsmouth Polytechnic and started pottery lessons at the Central Institute in 1983. His first exhibition of ceramics was held in London in that same year. Perry was the winner of the 2003 Turner Prize and has had many major solo shows, including at the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (2002), Barbican Art Gallery (2002), the Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh (2006) and the British Museum (2011). He also curated the British Museum exhibition Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman and in 2013 delivered the BBC's annual Reith Lectures entitled 'Playing to the Gallery'.
In 2013 Perry was appointed CBE for services to contemporary art. He lives and works in London.