Janey Godley, who has died aged 63, turned a childhood full of pain and tragedy into a successful acting career.

A difficult upbringing in the east end of Glasgow was the common thread of his humour. Often angry, she specialized in the art of making the most unlikely subjects laugh.

Her behavior reflected the city that shaped her: working-class, crude, both angry and sentimental. She delivered her comic strips at high speed, driving her points home like a street fighter.

To her fans, she was one of them – and as her reputation grew, so did her influence. The former pub landlady became close friends with Nicola Sturgeon, the former first minister, after her videos speaking out about FM’s Covid press conferences became a viral sensation.

She was born Jane Godley Currie on January 20, 1961 in the Shettleston area of ​​Glasgow, the youngest of four children. Both of his parents were addicted to alcohol and the family home was both chaotic and very poor.

When she was little, she was sexually assaulted by an uncle. Thirty years later, in 1996, she and her sister spoke publicly about the abuse after their testimony convicted David Percy. He was sentenced to two years in prison.

Interviewed at the time, she said: “We waited 30 years but we did it, and we did it together. Anyone who has been abused knows that you can’t get rid of your guilt. But the the culprit was Percy.”

There was even more tragedy. In 1982, his mother Annie was found dead in the River Clyde. Godley was convinced she was murdered by her abusive boyfriend, although the man was never charged, despite the family’s calls for an investigation.

By this time Godley had married and was running a pub with her husband in the Calton area of ​​Glasgow. They had a daughter, Ashley Storrie, who would later follow her mother into acting.

His in-laws became an integral part of his comedy act. She often spoke of their criminal ties and it was a family conflict that led her to take the stage in her mid-30s.

The schism forced them out of the pub and left them homeless and jobless.

She occasionally performed at open mic nights, but was starting to take it more seriously. Years of honing her comedic style behind a bar helped her, and she quickly established herself on the comedy circuit.

His stage performance was uncompromising. In 2019, she spoke to the Guardian about her material.

“I talked about my mother’s murder, about child abuse, about gangsters. Back then, even the comics were like, ‘You shouldn’t talk about that.’ But I’m so glad I did it.

“The number of people who have come up to me and said, ‘I was abused and I’ve never laughed before.'”

As her fame grew, she wrote a memoir and a novel and became a regular on panels. She has appeared with Billy Connolly and the late Antony Bourdain, and played a bartender in the film Wild Rose.

Two things introduced her to a global audience and brought her into the world of politics.

In 2016, she was photographed at Turnberry Golf Resort holding a sign with an offensive word, to protest a visit by club owner President Trump. The photo went viral.

Then, during the Covid lockdowns, she began creating videos in which she dubbed Nicola Sturgeon’s press briefings, portraying the Prime Minister as a frank, sometimes crude character, exhausted by the demands of the pandemic and exasperated by the media. questions.

A fervent supporter of independence, she appeared on stage alongside Alex Salmond and was greeted by Nicola Sturgeon.

This bond was put to the test in September 2021 when comments she had posted on social media ten years prior came back to haunt her.

She was dropped as the face of a Scottish Government health campaign and admitted the tweets had “terrible, horrible undertones”.

Two months later, Godley revealed she was suffering from ovarian cancer. She documented her illness and treatments on social media and on tour.

For a time, she was considered free of the disease, but in December 2022, she announced her return.

She was told she might die within the year, but she continued to work. She made a BBC radio show about her condition and remained active on Twitter.

In April 2023, she won the inaugural Billy Connolly Spirit of Glasgow Award.

He said: “She’s a great girl, a great actress and an extraordinary life story.”

Godley said: “I can’t believe I won this. I won an award from a man I’ve admired since I was a child.”

Holding up the award, she said: “This is going to be my tombstone. »