Rowan Sebastian Atkinson was born on 6 January, 1955, in Consett, Co. Durham, UK, to Ella May (Bainbridge) and Eric Atkinson. His father owned a farm, where Rowan grew up with his two older brothers, Rupert and Rodney. He attended Newcastle University and Oxford University where he earned degrees in electrical engineering. During that time, he met screenwriter Richard Curtis, with whom he wrote and performed comedy revues.

Later, he co-wrote and appeared in Not the Nine O'Clock News (1979), which was a huge success and spawned several best-selling books. It won an International Emmy Award and the British Academy Award for "Best Light Entertainment Programme of 1980." He won the "British Academy Award" and was named "BBC Personality of the Year" for his performing on Not the Nine O'Clock News (1979).

Sunetra Sastry (5 February 1990 - 10 November 2015) (2 children)

Trivia

He is the father of a son, Benjamin Alexander Sebastian Atkinson (born 1993) and a daughter, Lily Grace Atkinson (aka Lily Atkinson) (born 1995), with his wife Sunetra Sastry.
He rides go-karts round his tennis courts and, according to Stephen Fry (his best man), "hasn't got an ounce of showbiz in him".
He has an HGV license (Heavy Goods Vehicle - the old legal term in the United Kingdom for goods vehicles weighing more than 3.5 tonnes gross vehicle weight).
He owns various fast cars (Aston Martin Vantages, etc.).
He writes articles for CAR (a British car magazine).
His education: Newcastle University, Newcastle, UK (electrical engineering); Oxford University, Oxford, UK (electrical engineering).
He races (and also crashes) his Aston Martins in the Aston Martins Owners club series.
He attended Cathedral Chorister School, Durham. So did British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who was two years above him.
He was awarded the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best Comedy Performance in 1982 for the 1981 season.
He once crashed his McLaren F1, a supercar valued at more than $1,000,000, into the back of a stationary Mini Metro, valued at around $600. The damage was not severe.
He was one of the guests at Prince Charles' and Camilla Parker-Bowles' wedding.

People think because I can make them laugh on the stage, I'll be able to make them laugh in person. That isn't the case at all. I am essentially a rather quiet, dull person who just happens to be a performer.
[commenting in 2004 on Britain's proposed Racial and Religious Hatred Bill] To criticize a person for their race is manifestly irrational and ridiculous, but to criticize their religion, that is a right. That is a freedom. The freedom to criticize ideas, any ideas - even if they are sincerely held beliefs - is one of the fundamental freedoms of society. A law which attempts to say you can criticize and ridicule ideas as long as they are not religious ideas is a very peculiar law indeed.
Mr. Bean is essentially a child trapped in the body of a man. All cultures identify with children in a similar way, so he has this bizarre global outreach. And 10-year-old boys from different cultures have more in common than 30-year-olds. As we grow up, we acquire this sensibility that divides us.
I remember looking up Johnny English (2003) in a film guide and it said 'intermittently hilarious' - quite a good description of five good jokes and a lot of longueurs. I find it frustrating that, apart from Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), I have yet to be involved in a film of which I am totally proud.
The casual ease which some people move from finding something offensive to wishing to declare it criminal - and are then able to find factions within government to aid their ambitions - is truly depressing.