Childhood:  Graham Norton grew up as Graham Walker in Bandon, County Cork, Ireland. He dropped out of University College Cork to move to San Francisco. In 1989 he was mugged, stabbed in the chest and left for dead.

Friends & Relationships: Norton had a long term relationship with Scott Michaels. The couple broke up in January 2001, allegedly due to Graham's hectic work schedule. Today, they remain good friends.
In 2002 Norton had a relationship with Mr Gay UK Carl Austin.
Norton is keeping tight-lipped about the identity of his latest beau. In an interview with Mirror he said “He is not in showbusiness - to be honest, I don't really understand what he does. He is from South Africa and we met there last year at a party, through mutual friends, Luckily he is based in London”.

Work: The Eagle pub in Clerkenwell, where Graham worked, had a popular upstairs comedy room.  It was here that he launched himself as a stand-up comic, calling himself 'The Karen Carpenter Bar and Grill' and 'Mother Teresa of Calcutta's Grand Farewell Tour'.  Before long, the bookings just rolled in.  Following this success, he took his show on to the Edinburgh Festival fringe, doing his one-man shows there from 1992 - 1997.  His name began to be nationally known, and in 1997 he was nominated for a Perrier award.
His first appearances in broadcasting were in his spot as a regular on the BBC Radio 4 show Loose Ends in the early 1990s. His rise to fame began as one of the early successes of Channel 5, when he won an award for his performance as the stand-in host of the late-night talk show usually presented by Jack Docherty. This was followed by a comic quiz show called Bring Me the Head of Light Entertainment, which wasn't well received as a programme but did further enhance Norton's individual reputation. He also took part in the show Carnal Knowledge.

After this early success, Norton moved to Channel 4 to host his own chat shows including So Graham Norton and V Graham Norton. As a performer who is not only openly gay, but also naturally camp and flamboyant, it was here that Norton's act was fully honed as a cheeky, innuendo-laden joker.

He has interviewed many famous celebrities including Cher, Dido, Shannen Doherty, Britney Spears, Sophia Loren, Elton John, Marilyn Manson, Mariah Carey, Shirley Bassey, Pete Burns, Gabriel Byrne, Orlando Bloom, Elijah Wood Heath Ledger and Diana Ross.

In the summer of 2004, Norton moved across the Atlantic to start a new venture in American television. The Graham Norton Effect debuted on 24 June 2004 on Comedy Central. In the midst of controversy surrounding Janet Jackson's Super Bowl performance, Norton was wary of moving into the market. The Graham Norton Effect got away with the same racy, suggestive jokes that made his previous shows so popular, but failed to attract an audience.

In 2005, he moved to the BBC and began hosting the Saturday evening reality TV series Strictly Dance Fever and Graham Norton's Bigger Picture. Norton read stories some nights on the BBC children's channel CBeebies as part of Bedtime Hour. He played Mr. Puckov in the 2006 comedy spoof Another Gay Movie.

Norton has been involved in a high-publicity advertising campaign for the National Lottery as an animated Unicorn, the stooge to a character based on Lady Luck (played by Fay Ripley). He has also advertised McVitie's biscuits.

Norton caused controversy on 7 October 2006, when he described cocaine and ecstasy as "fantastic".

In 2007, Norton featured in Girls Aloud and Sugababes' Comic Relief video for "Walk This Way". His new chat show, The Graham Norton Show, began on 22 February on BBC Two. On 7 July 2007 Norton presented at Live Earth and undertook a trip to Ethiopia with the Born Free Foundation to highlight the plight of the Ethiopian wolf - the rarest canid in the world.

Norton hosted the first annual Eurovision Dance Contest which was held in London, United Kingdom on 1 September 2007. The format was based on the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing and the EBU's Eurovision Song Contest.

In August 2008, it was reported that Norton is being lined up to replace Terry Wogan as the BBC's commentator for the Eurovision Song Contest as well as presenting the national selection show.

Greatest Achievement:  Awards that Graham has won include: A Comedy Award, for the time he stood in for Gay Byrne on Ireland's 'Late, Late Show'; Gay Entertainer of The Year (1999 Gaytime TV Awards); Bafta Award for Best Entertainment performance (2000, 'So Graham Norton' - Ch 4); Bafta Award for Best Entertainment performance (2001, 'So Graham Norton' - Ch 4) - for the second year running; Best Entertainment Programme or Series Award, 2001. 
In 2003, he was listed in The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy.

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